Lyla is 1....
Everyday I get asked "How's Lyla doing?" My response recently has been, "She just turned 1" with not much to follow. I realize that I have been kind of sad about this momentous occasion. There is something so exciting yet sad about your child turning 1. This year has opened my eyes to how quickly time does pass!!!! You think it, you say it all the time - but do you really get the meaning of time passing. I think I do and I am so thankful...
For Lyla's birthday we had a party at her favorite neighborhood park. We invited all her friends to come and play and thank goodness it turned out to the perfect autumn day. But just in case we did have a weather plan which was a private party room inside the park facility. I'll start things off with a little bragging cause darn it I worked my butt off. Lyla's party was of course bird themed!!
For those of you who live in Chicago you must check out your neighborhood parks. Commercial Park is part of the Chicago Park district. We gave them a donation to use this wonderful room which was absolutely perfect!!! 
The party was for the kids so of course we had to designate a special area just for the them!!
For those of you who live in Chicago you must check out your neighborhood parks. Commercial Park is part of the Chicago Park district. We gave them a donation to use this wonderful room which was absolutely perfect!!! The party was for the kids so of course we had to designate a special area just for the them!! Complete with organic juice boxes, organic fruit roll-ups, carrots and some special treats!
Lyla didn't want any of her friends to feel left out so she gave them party gift bags to take home!
Lyla's birthday high chair...
It was worth the 3 days it took to bake bird shaped sugar cookies :) 
The end result was everyone got to take home some cookies to enjoy. Also in this picture is Lyla's 1st year photo album. I am so glad I took the time to do this for Lyla. I think she will love this when she gets older. Many people commented on wanting to do one - my suggestion is to do 1 page per week. It kept it fun and not too overwhelming. It allowed me to really get into the details and make it even more special for Lyla. 
And you can't go wrong with cupcakes...always a crowd favorite!! 
Okay so now I am finished bragging about the decor :) Lyla still isn't walking and really isn't even close. Maybe her hip dysplasia is delaying her a bit after all but I am not one to categorize my child - she'll walk when she feels like it! But on this very important day she stood without support longer than she ever had before. Maybe her tutu helped balance her out!
For those of you that have not discovered http://www.etsy.com/ you must check it out. It's a website that hand makes everything and it's fabulous. Check out Lyla's birthday outfit straight from etsy.com 
I am going to skip right to the cupcake series and will come back to the part I missed about all of Lyla's friends...that is worthy of it's own post!!! 
Everyone sang Happy Birthday to Lyla as she looked at everyone in amazement. 
Round 2 - here we go!! Oh and this is the "jumbo" cupcake which is twice the size of the one she enjoyed on her actual birthday....
She couldn't eat it all so she decided to share with mommy....
and daddy.....
and grand-daddy...
After she finished she was ready to go play outside with all of her friends. Coming right up is all the fun Lyla shared with her family and friends. It was a very special day - the perfect day!!!
She couldn't eat it all so she decided to share with mommy.... 
and daddy..... 
and grand-daddy... 
After she finished she was ready to go play outside with all of her friends. Coming right up is all the fun Lyla shared with her family and friends. It was a very special day - the perfect day!!! 
