Julia has been a lucky girl and has been celebrating her birthday for a week now. I think she has really enjoyed all the attention and yummy snacks. Her first birthday party was in Florida a couple days early. On her actual birthday we had a family dinner out, and the weekend after her birthday we visited a corn maze and pumpkin patch. Each time we celebrated we had either cake or cupcakes. Emily now thinks that we have cupcakes with every meal.

Julia is pretty good at eating cupcakes herself. She starts with playing with the icing and then licking her fingers. Then she picks up the cupcake and puts it into her face and starts chowing down. When the big pieces on the high chair tray are gone, she starts looking for the pieces that have fallen onto the bib, lap, or chair. One time I saw her trying to lick crumbs from her bib straight into her mouth. Too much fun to watch! She has eaten 5 cupcakes and several fork fulls of cake over our three celebrations.

Playtime among the pumpkins and corn stalks. Four little girls have lots of fun in the fall sun.

Emily asked for a play date with Elena, so we made quick plans for a sunny day at the pumpkin patch for the girls to play together. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day. The weather was sunny, cool, and not breezy. We shared the pumpkin patch with three bus loads of kids so we took a low key tour of the farm and corn maze and didn’t get any pumpkins. It was a lot of fun for the girls and the mamas.

Just some photos of the hugs and play that we shared while we visited Florida. The girls really enjoyed themselves. Emily was absolutely in love with Natalie. She called her ‘my Natalie’. They just played and played together. It was a good time just to spend with family although it seemed to be really short.

This has been a fast year! Julia has grown so fast and it has been a joy to have her in our lives. Words just do not seem adequate to express my joy, gratitude, and love for her. What a great gift she has been for us. Happy Birthday, Julia! We praise God for the blessing she will be to many during her life.

We attended a family wedding on the beach this past weekend. After the ceremony the girls had some playtime in the sand and water. They loved it! Emily did lose her footing while a wave was passing and got a little wet. I think it added to the play! Julia enjoyed the sand and water. Her Mother even let her put a little of it in her mouth.