Twas a Grand Day

You know a day is wonderful when you replay it in your mind over and over again. I have been planning Coco's birthday party for the last couple months and all of the preparations culminated yesterday in quite an extravaganza. The whole day was marvelous!

When we started thinking about her birthday, we were met with the dilemma of our small apartment and the abundance of family and friends that we wanted to invite. We explored several options for location, and then amazingly, my friend from school, Arlene, offered her home as a party site. Needless to say, I was both surprised and excited by her offer, and when we accepted Arlene was thrilled! Now, I am convinced that Arlene and her family are the sweetest people in the world! They opened their home up for 40+ people, Bob (Arlene's husband) barbequed, and her three kids helped with corralling toddlers. I really wish I would have taken a picture of their front yard, because it looks just like the "Father of the Bride" house.

We invited a bunch of friends and family and the evening will be forever impressed in my memory as representing those who truly love our family. Only bummer is Coco will not remember...but we have some amazing photos to document the memory! Also, Matt and my gift to Coco was a plate that everyone signed. I imagine her using it one day in her own home to serve cookies or cupcakes...sigh. That's a little tear jerker. Alright, enough of my rambling. The photos are what really matter!

In keeping with her name, Cosette Amelie, we went for a Parisian theme with pink poodles as an inspiration ;)

The lovely centerpieces...Candace made them.

Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of the entire cupcake display :( I am terribly disappointed about that, because they were fabulous! But I did catch these shots before they fell apart...these are the leftovers.

Oh, and that is the plate we got for her. Sweet, huh?

Sawyer was showing his mama the lights.

Tim caught in a domestic moment.

Some of my most favorite peeps!

This is Coco as she looks out at the party scene. She was a little overwhelmed at first, but did very well. Notice the Eiffel tower and poodle on her dress? :)

Look at little Evie wearing the outfit I got her!

They're pretty tight.

Coco with her Grandpa, Daddy, and Great GrandPop!

This is the "We have the same birthday pose" that those related to either Hayes' or Leonards have heard numerous times since her birth...the horse is dead, Jack. Haha! Just kidding!

Quite happy with her audience...as usual.

I love this picture! It was so wonderful to have two of my oldest and dearest friends come down! I love you, Cara and Amber!

Also of HUGE importance are my English peeps! Charles, Vanessa, Becca, and Arlene--you all are so wonderful and make school so much fun! We have quite a little nerdy community, don't we?

Our bestest friends in Riverside! Uncle Dave and Aunt Em are a HUGE part of Coco's life! She loves them :)

Coco stole Sawyer's bat, and Grandma did not correct her.

Sawyer got it back on his own.

Is he not the most adorable little boy ever?? I love him!

Waiting for her cake--she has NO idea!

Yay! She saw the cake!

I must confess: she really was not that into her cake...I had to help make her look like the typical one-year old and get it all over her face. Once she tasted it though, she really liked it. She just kept looking up at me and waiting for me to say "no."

Opening gifts. There were A LOT of them. She got so many wonderful outfits and not too many toys. However, the toys she did get were awesome! Thank you everyone!

Haha! Sorry Candace! I could not resist. You worked so hard to get that thing out of there!

She knows she's loved.

Bob the barbequer!

This is Arlene--the wonderful hostess! Coco grabbed these pot-holders and would not let them go.

All of Matt's family who came down! Thank you guys for making that drive! We love you!

My beautiful niece, Josie!

This is what love looks like :)

Can we say sugar high?

Where's your belly-button?

"Where's your belly-button, Coco?" Grammy (Leann) has taught Coco to point to her belly-button. Granted, she does not always point directly to it, but she gets the general vicinity down every time. Strange to think that the 7 lb. 11 oz., gooey, trembling little body that they slapped on my stomach a year ago is the same precocious little toddler who proudly points to her belly-button today. I look at that belly-button in amazement, remembering the emotional tidal-wave that flooded over Matt and I as he cut her cord, and the care we gave to that belly button over the weeks, waiting for the last remnant of birth to fall away.


It's been an incredible year for Matt and I. I've heard my Mom say multiple times that life really starts when you have kids. I totally agree. Matt and I had a special time before Cosette came into our lives, and I am so thankful that we were able to bond as a couple first, and share in some big things before she arrived. But both Matt and I find more joy in raising a child than in anything else in life. I know that since we've become parents we've enjoyed a deeper bond in marriage, and a greater appreciation for God's creative nature. Before I became a Mom, I would hear Psalm 127:3-4 tossed around a lot. I thought "yah, yah, kids are a blessing," and I knew they would be...But now those words: "Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward" resonate in a deep and powerful way. I struggle to describe it, and I am sure I am not alone in that. How do we articulate something so innate?
All that to say--Happy Birthday to my beautiful little girl. You have given me so much joy each day of your life. I have learned that this love just grows, and so I am already overwhelmed at the prospect of what each year will bring! It seems that Daddy's and my song "I love you more today than yesterday" will ring true for you as well. I really do love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.

Good times, good times...

I love how even during the crazy-busy times, God provides moments of rest and fulfillment with little anomalies within our schedules.

Several weeks ago, Matt and I were thrilled to be on the receiving end of Joe and Candace's spontaneity as they randomly drove down on Joe's one day off and spent the night with us. This was really the first time I got to interact with my niece for more than fifteen minutes. Let me just say this, it is so fun (now that I'm an old, experienced parent--wink, wink) to watch my big brother and sis-in-law act as parents. Adorable is the best word to use. Josie, unfortunately, was getting sick when they arrived, and so what would have been a leisurely dinner at Olivia's rapidly ended with Josie's wails. She did not care in the least that her mama was craving a Riverside-only-cuisine. We ended up getting her some vicks, I bought a new humidifier, and exchanged happy hour plans with a babysitter for an evening at home :) I got a good hour in of just holding and absorbing her newborn nature. Sigh. Don't get me wrong, I adore my personality-charged 12 month old, but soaking up newborn essence is irreplaceable. It was just what I needed to bond with my little niece.

My niece is a beautiful little girl. Notice how I like calling her "my niece"? There's an element of pride that should be read in that phrase. Hope you picked up on that ;) I am so excited to see her personality come to the surface! I know that in just a few short years, she and Coco will dominate the Hayes household with dress-up clothes, Barbies, and hopefully other safe options for little girls to play with. I don't really know what we should expect, however, because the DNA on both sides is a little frightening.

Joe was a very driven little boy. In fact, besides some obvious monumental catalysts in his life, adult Joe bears a very similar resemblance to little boy Joe. He's always been a Marine, he just didn't get credit for it at five, if he did--he'd have a few more medals, I am sure. (He had an end-of-the-world survival kit that was well furbished with everything except antibiotics). I like to think that I am quite different from little girl Hillary. I didn't have it all together, like Joe, at age five. I was a bit of a wild child, and I am going to be on the look-out for those characteristics in my own kids. Yikes.

Unfortunately, or maybe this is fortunate, I didn't know Matt or Candace as kids, but I've heard enough stories to be concerned for future Hayes' and Leonards'. Now, this is pretty darn cute, but a little odd--Candace had imaginary penguins that she required her parents to seat belt into their van, and pray for every night. I think its safe to speculate that Josie could quite possibly resemble a cross between G.I. Joe and Alice in Wonderland.

Similarly, my husband was quite a funny little boy too, and I just love hearing stories about him. From what I've gathered, he was an extremely energetic child. His parents and grandparents will laughingly remember how Matt would eat really quickly, run around, and then puke at every family gathering. Isn't that just adorable? To me it conjures up images of Speedy Gonzales or some other crazy mouse.

His teachers thought he had ADHD, but in fact he just was very fast at accomplishing his tasks. He doesn't puke any more, but if I ask him to do anything around the house its like he has to break a previous record, so its a very efficient way to get things done around here.

Anyways, this is a bit of a digression, but what I mean to say is that I am thrilled at the prospect of Coco and Josie's childhoods. While we don't live close to Joe and Candace, our time spent with them is always precious and maybe even more so now that there is another baby. I think we've all agreed to be more intentional with spending time together and being there for those important moments in our kids' lives.

On a similar note, this month also brought a sweet visit from my wonderful friend, Amber. Amber and I go way back--junior high was the start of our friendship. I can look back to our days of passing notes labeled "For Your Eyes Only," to talks about wedding plans, to long conversations about pregnancy, and now the continuing dialogue about parenting. It is so fun to share in such big events with each other. Amber held an on-going record of beating me to everything including highschool, graduation, first kiss, college, engagement, and even marriage. And even though she was two weeks behind me in pregnancy, we were pretty sure she'd pop Sawyer out before Coco. But, I surprisingly went into labor first. haha. Not that I'm keeping a tally, but I think that all those milestones illustrate just how much we've been a part of each other's lives.

Anyways, Amber and Sawyer came down this week and spent the day with Coco and I. We had so much fun watching these "toddlers" interact. I think Coco was a little more into Sawyer than he was into her. Man, its like the film "He's Just Not That Into You." Really, these things start at birth. Amber and I ventured to Chili's for lunch, which was perhaps a mistake. Our table looked like a tornado had hit it, and neither of us had a bite of hot soup, but the chillens succeeded in convincing us that they needed a bath together. Muahahaha. I've always wanted to hold those kind of photos over someone. Poor kids. They are going to have no chance when they are teenagers. Their bath proved to be a fun social experiment, until Sawyer hit Coco in the face. She had it coming, what with constantly steeling his pacifier and grabbing his hair. Apparently, she can dish it but can't take it :)

Overall, it was a wonderful day spent with a wonderful friend. We may not get to live close to each other, but I know Amber and I will live up to our Junior High promise of being old ladies together. Its all planned: Amber will have pink hair, and mine will be purple. I look forward to it. Perhaps our grandkids will participate in the trend we set...

Thank you Joe, Candace, and Amber for taking time out of your busy lives to spend time with me and my family. If I remember anything from this semester, it will surely be the combination of time spent with all of you.