Happy Birthday Isa!!!

Well Isa's first birthday finally came. I can't believe it has been a year already since I gave birth to her. It's funny how the pregnancy seemed to drag on but now that she is here, I can't seem to get a minute to savor this moment in my life. She is growing up so fast. We were scrolling through photos of her the other day and remarked at how much she has changed in such a short amount of time.



I am so glad that I was able to witness it all. I think it was worth the sacrifice of being poor to be with her and watch her grow.
Erick and I decided to celebrate her first birthday with the people that meant the most to us: our family and friends in Charleston. I'm so glad that Isa is somewhat of a roadie. She pretty much slept the whole way through except for maybe 2-3 "I can't take it anymore" moments.
The drive seems to take us longer now but luckily the weather was nice and crisp that day. We arrived a couple of days early so that we would have a chance to unwind and not feel so rushed. It was nice to play tourist for a day especially in Charleston. My mom offered to watch Isa so that Erick and I could go out on a date. He treated me out to SNOB (Slightly North of Broad). I can't believe that was our first time to try that place. I had been avoiding it thinking that it would be stuffy in there but it wasn't at all. My duck was delicious. With my mom babysitting all night we made grand plans to watch a movie afterwards but I guess our age got the better of us. We must be getting old because we were ready to pass out after dinner. Movie plans aborted. Nevertheless just the two of us being out alone was refreshing! Since Ricky's birthday was a few days shy of Isa's, Erick thought it would be a good idea to surprise him. I think we got him (kind of). Erick (the party planner) wanted to have it all stress free by having Sticky Fingers cater it. Thanks to his sister Cher who offered up her place for the special occasion. Erick's Mom and sisters did a great job decorating. I can't believe my mother-in-law individually cut all the colored dots we decorated the table with just so it would match the cake. That is love for you! The cake Erick picked was fun and colorful. I painstakingly tried to redecorate the smash cake to match it. It ended up looking so hideous that even Isa didn't want to touch it. I was disappointed that she did not dig into it like I thought she would. Ricky tried to help things along by showing her how it is done but to no avail. It made for one hilarious moment though. I couldn't stop laughing. Not giving up I thought it would be a great idea to have her father show her how to smash the cake. I thought for sure Isa would imitate her daddy. Bad idea because Erick who thought he was being funny decided to smash it on me which sparked a small food fight and left Isa bawling at the table. I don't think she got into the actual birthday ritual of blowing candles, greeting guests, and posing for pictures.Luckily she has a very sympathetic uncle.
I can't thank my family and friends enough for their generosity and for being there to help us celebrate Isa's first year.

I hope everyone had a good time...I hope this was a sign of too much fun. Oh well, at least I think the kids did. That was what mattered most. They went to town with the little gifts we bought them.
I am so glad we did that.

I didn't realize that Erick had bought me a gift as well. To commemorate her first year he had made a shirt for me with the goofiest picture of Isa I had ever seen. I was caught totally by surprise and could not stop laughing and beaming. Too bad he didn't order more, they would've been great party favors for our family. My mom found out it was too small for me and happily snatched it away. I never even got to wear it. Hopefully Erick will get me another one (hint, hint...)
All in all I think everything went well. I only regret not really being able to talk to everybody and I did get frazzled a bit with both grandmothers yelling at me to try to keep my daughter's hair out of her face as she was blowing out the candles. Oh well. I'm so glad I have a husband that likes to plan parties (although it made me feel like a bad mommy.) I think what matters most is that I hope it made a good memory for Isa. Thanks everybody!