Dagny :: A baker's dozen

Dagny turned one year old a whole month ago and I've yet to tell you about the extent to which we celebrated.

That's because a lot has happened in our fair state since then.

But now that Dagny is thirteen months old, I thought it high time to make amends.

Before reading further, you should know that we don't do over-the-top Pinterest-inspired birthday parties in our family. The most likely reason is that we're too lazy.

Even so, we weren't without a theme.

For her baby's party, Audrey wanted vibrant colors, flowers and butterflies. Happy things.

We found everything we needed -- except the cake, and Dagny's actual presents -- at the dollar store.

Audrey stylishly and cleverly mixed stripes with petals and polka-dots. The effect was innocent but bursting with life, just like Dagny.

She found bright flower cutouts strung on invisible line that we hung from the ceiling behind where the birthday girl would sit, to form a backdrop.

There were mylar balloons. A little kid cannot have a birthday party without mylar balloons.

Audrey skewered marshmallows onto bright-pink straws and dredged them through chocolate, then sprinkles.

I made pulled-pork barbecue and we had the usual sides.

Aunt Stephanie and the cousins came from North Carolina. My parents came from Greenville. Uncle Andrew, having deployed to Qatar a week earlier, texted his greetings.

It was hot. Mucho caliente.

Did I mention it was hot? All emotional events are made worse by ambient heat. Remember that.

The party got underway at around two in the afternoon with our meal, followed by presents, then cake and coffee.

Dagny received books and toys and beautiful outfits, accompanied by cards both homemade and store-bought.

Aunt "Fashionista" Erica gave her a pink hat, a sartorial expression of which Dagny appeared both duly enamored and faintly wary.

The ooohs and aaaahhhs went on for what seemed like hours. I was so hot.

Dagny truly didn't know what to make of all the fuss, although she seemed early on to have made peace with the attention she was getting.

Audrey had bought the baby an elaborate cupcake but Dag was clueless about that too. I guess she's never heard of a smash cake.

Allissa and Audrey, one on each side, took turns feeding fingerfuls of eye-wateringly sweet frosting to the Birthday Small-Fry until she was in a quasi-stupor.

As it should be.

Before all the celebrating got genuinely underway, I took some shots of Audrey and Dagny together. I call it pirate posterity.

The next day -- June fourteenth, Daggy's actual first birthday -- she wore her Birthday Girl badge to church.

That afternoon -- it remained awfully hot out, I am just saying -- Audrey and I managed a mini-shoot with the still-buoyant balloons and Dagny decked out in a pale-pink ballerina-decorated dress, a gift from me and TG.

The baby hammed it up with her balloons. She's always been a good sport when it comes to posing to have her picture made. Here's hoping that trend continues.

All events taken together were a curious mix of joyous and exhausting. When it was over, poor tender-hearted Audrey practically had to take to her bed. The emotional expenditure was nearly too much.

Ah, babies. To quote Melanie Wilkes: The happiest days are when babies come.

The second-happiest days have to be when we give our hearts, minds, and energies to marking -- with food, fun, and flourishes, with gifts and with our time -- another whole year in which we've had those babies to love.

In eleven months we'll do it all again. Until then, Happy Every Day to you, precious baby Dagny.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Monday ~ Happy Week

Comments

[irene]

Happy Birthday to lovely little Dagny , she sure is growing way to quickly. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful time. Clearly your dollar stores are better than ours.

[Mari]

Oh Jenny - these photos are priceless! That child is so pretty. I see a lot of resemblance to her cousins too. Happy Birthday to our sweet Dagny!

[Barb]

The exhaustion and the joy - you've described it well. Dagny seems to have taken all the accolades in stride - she knows what's her due! She and her Mama are both gorgeous. And Grandma the Pirate, too. We returned our 2 year old (soon 3) Grandson today after having him a week. It's so quiet now - we find ourselves checking to see where he is and what he's doing before we realize he's not here! Dagny will cherish these photos someday - they show her innocence and sweet character. PS Those eyelashes!

[Jennifer]

@Irene ... our dollar store is truly awesome, especially in the party, greeting card, and gift wrap categories. xoxo

@Mari ... I didn't mention how sweet it was when the doorbell rang halfway through the festivities and your gift arrived, wrapped in owl paper. Dagny loves her dishes. xoxo

@Barb ... those eyelashes are the eighth wonder of the world, especially against that creamy skin! I know you had a sweet time with that grandson. So short the time to have them small! xoxo

[Donna (Texas)]

Isn't she just too cute?!!
Love all the photos Jenny!
hughugs

[Judy Miller]

Precious little girl and her Momma, who she looks just like. I do love little ones birthday parties!!

[Jennifer]

@Donna ... she's too cute for sure. We marvel at it every day of the world. xoxo

@Judy ... it's a lot of effort to celebrate but it's worth it. She sure is precious to us. xoxo

[Sally]

I loved every photo, every word you wrote, but I especially love baby Dagny. She is truly a blessing, and so adorable. :)

xoxo

[Jennifer]

@Sally ... you nailed it, my friend. For someone so little, Dagny has been and is still the biggest blessing. xoxo

[Heather]

She is adorable! What a sweetie. Happy birthday Dagny!

[Audrey]

Sweet baby!! I love those pictures of her in the hat Erica got her. I hadn't seen those! So cute and her face in the first one... 😂