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Remember when I had a baby? Somehow I now have a one year old daughter. Here are some pictures from Hadassah’s first birthday!
It was so special to have Ryan’s parents and little sister here for Hadassah’s birthday! They live in Canada. This was the first time they got to hold their little granddaughter! (We visited them in January since Ryan is a dual citizen and we were able to cross the border, but we had to quarantine, which meant distancing. It was better than nothing.)
It took her all of twenty seconds to warm up to them, if that. Burkholders are very social.
The pink crown was from Grandma. 🙂
Let’s start with cake!
Sorry folks, this cake is not THM friendly. 😉 I do try to eat healthy for the most part, but the chef in me enjoys working with regular sugar and flour sometimes for special occasions. Like first birthday smash cakes.
I used Claire Saffitz’s Confetti Cake recipe, which made 3 big cake layers. Two of these layers I stacked on top of each other for the adult cake (below). The other layer I cut into small rounds for Hadassah’s cake (above). I made the cream cheese frosting in the recipe above but added some powdered freeze dried strawberries (from Aldi) to flavor and color it pink. I also used these for garnish and filling in the adult cake.
If you need a good unhealthy cake recipe, I highly recommend this one. So flavorful and moist!
SIDE NOTE: See those balloons behind the cake in the picture above? That was a nice balloon garland made by Ryan’s sister Alyssa. It was going to be a nice backdrop for smash cake pictures. Now Hadassah is typically not afraid of much. Puppy licks in the face, blenders, vacuum cleaners – she just laughs and/or chases them. But balloons? She was terrified of them! We had to remove them from the vicinity before she would concentrate on anything else, and repeated attempts to desensitize her later were fruitless.
“Guys, I’m pretty sure those balloons are still around here somewhere. Why are you all looking at me?”
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you….
“OK, they’re all smiling, so this must be a happy occasion. I guess I’ll smile a little.”
“I think I might like this birthday thing after all!”
She was very dainty about the smashing process at first, dabbing a finger at the icing and licking it. Eventually she got around to the inevitable plant face in cake stage, followed by a fistful of cake and frosting. Falling crumbs were fastidiously picked up and eaten.
Some of her gifts…
I wanted to make Hadassah something special for her first birthday, so I tried my hand at this crochet stuffed bunny. (You can see the tutorial here.)
This pink ball ($3 clearance find at Marshall’s) turned out to be her favorite gift. Even a one year old knows what to do with a ball!
Here she’s watching Daddy get out of his car after coming home from work.
Eleven month pictures
The following were some eleven month pictures I snapped of Hadassah in one of my current favorite Sunday dresses of hers (a gift!). Front porch and landscaping courtesy of friends Robert and Ada Mae who invited us over for Sunday lunch.
“Let me think about that.”
Always a smile! And just look at those whispy little curls!
The look of wonder, adoration, and innocence in a child’s eyes is a gift from God.
Some of my favorite things about Hadassah:
- her infectious giggle (If you’ve heard it, you know. To give you a mental sound byte, she did it once during a church devotional on Psalm 23 and people thought she was making a sheep noise. It sounds like she’s doing it for attention, but this is how she has always laughed and it’s completely innocent. This chuckle gets comments from complete strangers an aisle over at Hobby Lobby.)
- her friendliness to one and all
- she always has a smile (You’d never know she was colicky for the first three months!)
- her love of books and morning story time with Mommy
- her love of the outdoors
- her little “Amen” noise after we pray
- her joy in the simplest of games (Right now, rolling her pink ball is a highlight.)
- she loves any attention from her fun daddy!
This was either a game of peekaboo or “happy happy!”
Playing with one of Mommy’s old stuffed animals – Pooh Bear.
Sleepy babies…my favorite. <3
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You had a baby! Wow, congrats! Apparently I’m way behind on my Stalking a Stranger’s Life (oh, and on doing anything with THM other than occasionally think I should do something with getting healthier…). 😉
Congratulations! And perhaps now I’ll get to glean some parenting tips from you (since the last comment I made was years ago, and in it, I commented that I really needed to get some parenting tips – I have been so inspired and humbled by your steadfast commitment to Christ and the honor you show your parents, siblings and now husband, all of which shine through your blog posts.). 🙂
Now off to continue my menu planning as I work on that second thing: getting back to healthier eating.
Well welcome back, Christie! 😉 Yes, parenting is very much a thing in my life now…but sharing parenting tips, I don’t think I’m there yet! =P I feel pretty green yet.
Thank you for sharing birthday photos with us. She is very photogenic & adorable in her Birthday Tierra/crown.
Happy Birthday!
I enjoy following your mothering journey with your precious daughter! BTW, I’ve known Ada Mae since I was a young girl, but we’ve only met a few times as adults, most recently at her son’s funeral. She’s a jewel!
Thanks, Sharon! And yes, she really is a lovely lady. I appreciate her a lot.
I love every single one of her many expressions! 😍 Her little laugh reminds me of our first baby, Anthony. He would catch on it made people laugh and thoroughly enjoy it!
Absolutely adorable and beautiful. Happy birthday to your little one. Blessings to you all.
Belated happy Birthday little Hadassah! Gods Blessing to you today and everyday!
She is adorable! Thank you for sharing these beautiful pictures, especially the black and white picture.
Sure she will get over the balloon scare. Maybe have her watch you blow one up and let her play with it like a ball.
More memories to make during this 2nd year of life. Wait until she starts walking/running… sooofun.
Send Love, hugs and God’s peace to all 3 of you! Ursula
Every stage is so fun. I get a little sad that she’s not a baby anymore, but then I see her learning new things that are equally as fun and special. And to think that this is how it will be for her entire life – always learning. It gives me a perspective on how God joys in us as His children!
I laughed and shed a tear or two of joy at these precious pictures of Hadasseh. Thanks for sharing. You brought joy to my heart to see this precious child.
A grandmother of 16
the overwhelming love of a mother
happy she has a ‘ fun daddy’
sheer joy
enjoy His rich gift
Thank you for sharing about Hadassah’s birthday. You can never underestimate the joy your children can bring to others. The smile of a child lightens hearts and the hope found in the future of children is encouraging. I can definitely see the family resemblance in the photo with Hadassah’s grandmother. She must have been so grateful for the time to spend with you all and blessed that Hadassah didn’t take long to warm up to them.
“You can never underestimate the joy your children can bring to others.” Isn’t that beautiful? It’s so fun to go shopping with her and see the light she brings to everyone around her. How glad I am that God gives us children to remind us of the good in the world.
Such a blessing to see your sweet family photos of this precious new life. Always looking forward to when you are led to post more. Happy, happy Birthday (belated a bit!) to your sweet one year old! She has so much expression!
Thank you, Briana, so much, for sharing.
Rena in Idaho
Oh my goodness, she is so cute and your pictures are gorgeous! My daughter was afraid of the balloons at her 1st birthday party too and we had to remove them so she would stop screaming every time she saw them. She just turned 15 and has long since passed that stage but we still laugh about it to this day.
It was completely unexpected because Hadassah is usually not the scared sort! But yes, quite funny. We had to have SOMETHING go wrong to make some memories. 😉
She is so precious and beautiful! Happy 1st Birthday!
Oh Briana, what an adorable baby! Every day must be filled with so much joy. Her pictures show how happy she is. You are blessed!!
She does indeed bring more joy than I could have ever imagined.
Such a beautiful child. And yes, time surely does seem to fly when raising little ones. Cherish every second. Blessings to y’all!
She is awesome! I have 4 grand babies so I know awesome when I see it!!! 😉. I really cannot believe it’s been a YEAR already.
What a darling, beautiful, precious little girl! Enjoy every minute as she grows into toddlerhood and beyond. ❤️ Thank you for sharing her with all of us via cyberspace. Prayers for your best life to continue.
She is absolutely adorable….that b&w picture, ohmygoodness! That could win awards! I so enjoy getting glimpses of your lovely family! And I dearly love your recipes. I have both your cookbooks and I had your calendar last year, and I use your cookbooks more than the THM ones I also have. This week, I made Turkey Pot Pie Chowder, except that I used chicken, as I had one of the $4.99 roasted chicken’s from Sam’s Club that needed to be eaten. And I added fresh mushrooms, because they needed to be eaten, and I didn’t have frozen green beans. Also, I made Scalloped Cauli and Ham this week…yum! I often make Basic Ice Cream, only this time, I added 2 T of cocoa and some slivered almonds. VERY good! I inherited an electric ice cream maker from my Dad, that has a chiller in it. It’s very heavy, and it lives in one of my base cabinets, and every time I use it, I have to carefully pull it out, and lift it up to the counter. So as long as I can continue to lift it, I will be eating your ice cream recipes. Thank you for sharing Hadassah’s 1st Birthday with us!
Aw, thank you, Bonnie! I love hearing what you’ve been making. That ice cream sounds delish.
What a beautiful little blessing from God! She is absolutely adorable!!
I just loved that post!! Thanks for the lovely pictures and the laughs…especially her little “sheep laugh” during church! Hadassah truly is adorable.
God bless you both as you nurture her…
(Great Aunt) Joanne🥰
Oh, I so wish you could meet her!
Oh my goodness! Absolutely beautiful Brianna! Thank you so much for sharing this precious little girl with us! Every picture is a delight to behold! What a blessing to share in your life has been for me! Remembering the posts from when you helped in the peach stand and experimented on recipes in the evening using a hot plate and crackpot! I feel like I’m a part of your life. Lol! God has brought you a long way and He has even more to come!
You really have been part of my life then – a big part! Thanks for sticking around! God has been so gracious.
Happy 1st Birthday Hadassah🌺❤🌈😊
Thanks for the photos!
Happy Birthday sweet girl. She is so adorable. Enjoy cause they grow up so quickly.