First birthday!

Well, Braelyn's first birthday weekend started off rather bad...Saturday we had to take Nate's car in for it's second battery since February.  And we had to take Howie back to the adoption place we got him from.  He had been a little aggressive toward Braelyn before, so we'd always been a bit nervous about having him around her.  However, the final decision was made because he got in a fight with Hunter which left them both a bit bloody, so we knew that this was not the best place for him and it was best for our family that he go.  The adoption place we got him from requests that you don't find the dog a new home, but you give them back to them.  So we did that.  I feel really bad that we had to do that, but I'm sure it was the right decision.
Here's one last picture of all our "children". :)

After lunch we went to go get her 12 month pictures taken at JC Penneys.  We hadn't gone to this particular location before and apparently they are much busier than the one we usually go to.  We had to wait about an hour for her pictures past the time we were supposed to go, but at least she smiled for some of them and we got a family picture which no one will ever see where we are all happy, but I look like a freak (perhaps that's my normal look, right Christian??).  We got a couple of really cute ones that family will be getting...

Today was her birthday and possibly her best day in the church nursery yet!  She still cried when I left, but she actually got down and played with the other kids.  Then she took a nap on the way home and was still napping after we got home.  We had hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, jello, and peas for lunch (Braelyn "had" all that, but didn't actually eat much of it...she enjoyed playing with it) and then Braelyn had her cake.  We got her a individual sized "Nothing Bundt Cake" carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  I don't exactly know why Nate wanted to get that cake instead of me making one, but oh well.  It is really good cake.  I think it was his excuse to get a white chocolate raspberry one for himself.  

This is what Braelyn thought of lunch.

 Braelyn trying to touch the birthday candle.

 Eating some cake.

 Smashing some cake.

 Getting ready to dive in face first (no that is not all that is left of the cake, we took away at least half of it and she didn't even actually eat this part).

"Eating" the cake off the tray.

 All of her birthday presents.

 Her favorite present, a musical remote.

 Dancing to the music.

 An outfit from the Grandparents Hagge.

 A toy from Mommy and Daddy.

 This was a hilarious face.  On this toy, you can put balls through a hole on top.  Braelyn kept putting her hand through the hole and trying to get the balls out that way, which of course she couldn't...she had the biggest surprised face while trying to do that.