Gabby's 1st Birthday!

Before I begin, let me just say...this day did not go according to plan at all!  I thought it was going to be this magical day full of wonderful memories and happy moments.  YEAH RIGHT! I'm not going to say it was a day of hell, but there were parts of it I sure felt I was there.  We got ready, and even though I woke up THREE hours before I wanted to leave, we still didn't leave on time.  How is that possible??? So, on to the events!

"Helping Mommy get ready"

All ready to go!

We spent the day at the zoo.  It was insane!  There were at least 30 school buses of kids there plus the regular visitors like us.  It was a mad house! It took us forever to park and we fought through people the entire time.  We had 5 children-all under the age of 5.  Our kids (Gabby and Jasmine), My sister's kids (Elizabeth and Brianna), and our niece Savannah.  Tony and I went, my sister, my mom and my brother went.  So even though we had 1 adult per kid, it still felt like we were way out numbered.  There were usually at least 2 kids screaming/crying/whining at the same time.  Kids getting in and out of the stroller(s), taking off when we turned our backs for half a second, then crying because we put them back in the stroller for walking away...stuff like that...all....day....long.  There were some happy moments, like this one!

On the Carousel

HI!!!!

And passed out before we really got to see any animals

Jasmine wasn't too far behind her

We finished up at the elephants and there was a small statue.  We tried to get all the girls (except Jasmine) to take a picture in front of it.  This is what we got:

Apparently it's pretty difficult to get 4 (basically) toddlers to pose for the camera at the same time.  Oh well :) 

Getting ready to leave

Then we went to my mom's house for the remaining festivities.  After we ate dinner, we opened presents:

Then it was time for cake.  My AMAZING sister made 2 cakes for the occasion.

This one was for us to eat

And Gabby had her own cake :)

While we're singing "Happy Birthday"

I put the cake in front of her to blow out the candle and she touched the flame and burned her fingers!  My poor birthday girl!!!

I picked her up and calmed her down and tried to get her to dig into the cake, but I think she was way too scared of the cake by then...

And then Tony tried to help-with no luck

And then Grandma tried to feed her the cake with a spoon---
she wasn't having that either!

So now the big day is over.  Both girls are asleep and I am absolutely exhausted! I cannot wait for bed time, which will be soon.  Although the day didn't go as planned, and I know I complained a lot in this post, I really am so grateful for my daughters, and today, I am especially grateful for Gabby.  We were told it would take us at least 6-9 months to get pregnant, but we 2 weeks later we found out we were having Gabby.  She is our miracle and I wouldn't trade her for anything in this entire world.  My girls, after my husband, are my everything.  They are the reason I get up in the morning (and most mornings my alarm).  I love them so much and even though motherhood is hard and frustrating, it is also the most rewarding thing I've ever done.  I feel like the most blessed woman on earth to have such sweet spirits entrusted to me.  Happy Birthday Gabby Cakes!  Mommy and Daddy love you so much! We look forward to seeing what your second year brings!