Hurray for ONE!

 

Kate had a Birthday shout hurray!

Kate turned one on Sunday.  

We celebrated a day early with a fun party with family.

We started the day off at Lava Hot Springs to swim in the indoor kiddie pool.

It was fun for everyone and the temperature of the pool was a perfect 92 degrees. 

We then came back to Pocatello for pizza, presents and cake.

Kate sure loved her presents! 

 

 She was excited about everything she received.  

She would give her presents hugs and kisses.  It was sometimes difficult to get her to open another present because she was so excited about what she already had.  Her facials were priceless and perfect.  It was so fun to watch her reactions to the all the fun gifts. 

Kate was pretty delicate with her cake.  I thought she might like getting the cake everywhere since she sometimes makes a mess of her food but she took little bites and only ate about 5 bites of the cake.  I was totally fine with it!  I didn't have a huge mess to clean up and didn't have a baby who was on a sugar high. 

Kate's birthday went so much better than I expected.  She wore the hat I made her!  When we tried it on her the day before she kept ripping it off so I was sure she would do the same for the party.  I'm in love with the hat and so glad she kept it on.  It made all the pictures so cute!   She also loved swimming!  She loved her gifts and her expressions to her presents made everyone feel like a million bucks because she was so excited about them.  And she didn't love her cake too much!

I don't think I could have planned it any better!

It was so fun to celebrate Kate's day with my parents,

Nate's parents,

 Ryan, Rachel, Noah,

and Camille and Andrew who we didn't get a picture with:(

Nate and I are pretty lucky to have Kate as our daughter.  

She is full of spunk. 
She has quite the expressions that make us cringe but laugh at the same time.

She keeps us on our toes with her speedy walking skills and her love for discovering new things!  It seems like she is always pushing the limits of what she can get away with but we realize it is all part of being a toddler and trying to figure out this crazy life we live in. 

 She may already be a handful but she is the joy of our lives.

  She loves life, which helps us see life in a new light.  It is the little things that really bring true happiness!

 So glad you are apart of our family Kate!  We love you!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

11 Months

 Kate started this month off with her top two teeth coming in at the same time.  For a week she suffered the pain of teething.  Kate's bottom two teeth didn't seem to bother her as they made there way up but her top teeth were killer and she was the grumpiest she has ever been.  It was not only rough for Kate but me as well as she wanted to be held constantly and was sleep deprived.  We were both exhausted by the end of the week and were happy when the teeth made their appearance so we could get back to our normal, happy selves.

Kate spent a lot of time with her cousin, Noah, this month.  She loved it!!  Noah not so much.  Noah isn't too good at sharing and Kate just destroys everything in her path.  They weren't a good match but Kate loved following him around the house and wanted to do everything he was doing.  I think Kate wished she had an older sibling after the fun she had with Noah.  The day after Noah left she sat at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him to come down.  It was pretty sad to watch her and know he wouldn't be coming down to play.  Kate loves to be social.  After seeing her love hanging out with Noah it has made me think we need to find some little friends for her to play with.  She is at the age where she wants to interact with other babies.

Two of Kate's cousins were born in November.  Baby Tate was born on November 7.  He lives in Missouri so we haven't met him yet.  We love Facetiming to see his cute face and Kate likes to put her mouth on the phone to give Tate kisses.  Baby Lily was born on November 16.  We met Lily this past week.  Kate wasn't too happy when I would hold Lily but she seemed to like her when she was in her bassinet.  She would try and touch her hands and face.  I think Kate thought Lily was like one of her stuffed animals or baby and wished she could have hugged and squeezed Lily like she does with her toys.  It might not be easy but we are going to have to teach her to be soft with the new babies.  We are so excited about these two little spirits who have joined the Nielson family.  Kate is going to have so much fun with these cousins in the years to come! 

I cannot believe this girl is going to be turning 1 in less than two weeks.  
This year has flown by so fast.  It is amazing how much a baby learns and changes in a year.
 I love spending my days with Kate and seeing what new things she learns!