Birthday month wrap up

My baby is 13 months old now.

Wait, what?  Wasn't her birthday just yesterday?

The birthday month flew by! Here's a "quick" recap:

Her birthday was on a Sunday, so we had a "small" gathering on Saturday.  Check out this link if you missed that story.

B picked out this party dress for T way back in September!  It fit perfectly!

There's a sneak peek in this photo of the  birthday decorations I made for T.  I'll post more later!

The next day, we had church in the afternoon and B and I dedicated Miss T to Christ, that we would raise her in a home that loves Jesus and that we would teach her how much He loves her.  She did great during the ceremony.  The highlight for some might be that she wore her white squeaker sandals and they made sooo much noise as we walked up the aisle!

Later in the brithday week, we took Miss T and her grandparents to Washington DC during the Cherry Blossom festival. We went during the week so it wasn't too crazy. We parked at Union Station and then walked the whole length of the mall. B's parent's hadn't been to DC since they were little kids. They got to experiece the Vietnam War Memorial Wall and the Korean War Monument for the first time. We got to experience a poignant reminder of how important it is for us all to remember the soldiers that sacrificed for our freedoms. We stopped by the World War II monument as well. This is one of the newer monuments and it is beautiful. I've been on a historical fiction reading kick lately, focusing on that period of time. I think it made it all the more real to me as I walked around that monument.
(BTW, if you're looking for a recommendation, pick up "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption" by Laura Hillenbrand. True story and a page turner!)

Our last celebratory event with T's grandparents was a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.  It was awesome, and Miss T loved it!  The only part she didn't like was the really loud waterfall in the Australia exhibit.  Besides that, she loved seeing the dolphins swim by, the jelly fish glow, and the turtles.  Ok, the turtles were my favorite! 

As our last birthday hurrah, T's cousin K came to visit with her parents a week later.  K just turned 2 and we planned a special trip to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.  B has some contacts and arranged for a personal behind the scenes tour!  We got to wake up sleepy polar bears, listen to lions roar, feed giraffes, and get pecked by penguins!

Well, I finally finished Miss T's Cherry Blossom dress, the 2011 edition! I went with a very cute pillowcase dress pattern from my favorite pattern maker Little Lizard King. Her patterns are so cute, her instructions are super clear and easy to follow, and when you're done, you have an amazing creation!



Miss T has just recently learned to kiss.  It is so sweet and she smiles so much after she gives you a kiss!

 I did end up choosing the pink and orange fabric from Studio E and a coordinating brown fabric with butterflies. It came out super cute, but I didn't get it done in time for T's birthday, so she wore it for Easter this year!

BTW - we're linked up at Embrace the Camera over on the Anderson Crew.  Go check it out!