Our Little Sunshine Turns One~ A Look Back

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

Although I don't have the best of voices, it was that sweet song that soothed and brought smiles to my precious boy during his first year of life. So when I thought about the "theme" of his first birthday party, that is what immediately came to mind. It also helps that his favorite colors are orange and yellow! Okay, he didn't tell me that but that sure is what he always gravitates toward :-) Jeff and I went back and forth whether or not we wanted to have an actual party for Judah's birthday or keep it quiet and simple with just the three of us. After much thought, we decided to go all out. After all, I LOVE birthdays....and with the impending move out of our home as well as North Carolina, we thought it would be nice for Judah to share a day with all of our friends here who have made Carolina our home and celebrated every step of our journey to Judah. Additionally, Judah rarely gets to see his grandparents, so having all four together at his party was very special. So....thanks to Etsy, ideas from other blogs, and a very crafty mother-in-law, we had a heck of a yellow and orange "bright" celebration!

Welcome to the party!



We've got cupcakes



Plenty of orange and yellow food...

And drinks :-)  

 

Love the banner, made by my mother-in-law



Our guests received little clay pots of yellow flowers

We were so fortunate to have pictures of Judah from every month since he was 6 weeks old

And what's a birthday party without cake?! And especially the "smash cake" for Judah's first! It was so cute... wish I could say that I made it but I didn't :-(...we did make the cupcakes though!

Sunshine of Sugar!

Hmm...what's this?!



Make a wish!

Testing, testing...

So curious but still not sure

Daddy shows him how it's done!

Now we're talkin'!

Taking "smash" literally :-)

Would you believe he shared some with Allie?!

As well as his hair?!

By the way, all of these pics were taken by Kate at Craven Creative Photo and Design. They turned out great and it was so nice to enjoy and experience every minute of the party instead of worry about getting all of the perfect snapshots. One idea I stole from a blog is to have a "photo booth" of sorts where everyone at the party could get their picture made with the guest of honor...here are some of my favorites...

Just hangin with his best buddy Wyatt

And with his other best buddy, Carson

Mesmerized by Maddie

with the Coward's...now there's a new addition...his smallest friend, Caden

And I just love this one with his KK making him smile :-) 

We were very blessed to have one last hoorah in our North Carolina home...and for what better reason than celebrating our precious son's first year of life?! I'll leave you with my favorite black and whites from the day. Looking forward to years and years of birthdays with you, sweet Judah!

Just a Little Off the Top Please

Oh, the first hair cut...a true rite of passage into toddler-hood...our little J-man experienced that recently...sort of. Jeff and I love his curls (okay, mini-fro) so much that we just couldn't bear to cut it all off. However, he has had two "afro-horns" as we've affectionately named them for several months that have needed to go. You know, the hair that grows in earlier and faster than the rest? Well, J's was just perfectly placed on each side of the top of his head :-) They had. to. go. It was a quick, painless experience....well, maybe not so painless for his mama, who just can't believe her baby looks like such a big boy!

In awe of my big boy driving his airplane :-)

In control of the plane with his OUT OF CONTROL hair!

Always content with Mama's keys

All done!

Examining his first locks



Look everybody!

Big "High Fives" from Mama for doing such a good job!

And playing trains with Dada as a reward...don't they both look thrilled :-)



Springtime Oasis

Although Fall is definitely my favorite season overall, Spring is hard to beat here in North Carolina...especially went it's spent at Duke Gardens. Our little family had a wonderful time welcoming the first day of Spring last weekend in this beautiful oasis on Duke's campus. With a picnic lunch, a few toys, and near perfect weather~it was an unforgettable day!

Practicing new walking skills with Daddy (I'm obssesed with these shots-they had no idea I was snapping:-)

Bubbles with Mommy!

Meeting New Friends

Here's to one of the many places we will miss in North Carolina!

Celebrating 1!

I love birthdays. So much. I think I love them so much because my sweet mom always made them so special. And it wasn't until my adult years that I realized how much I took that for granted. Most years growing up, I had two celebrations...a weekend party with friends that more than likely wasn't on my actual birthday and then a family celebration on my actual birthday. Gifts galore. Birthday cakes. Outrageously fun parties. Balloons (there were ALWAYS balloons). Flowers delivered at school. Sweet, sweet cards. Dinner outing of my choice. Even a surprise "Sweet 16." Still today~much older and miles apart~ my mom finds a way to make my birthday a BIG DEAL.
I tell you this because this is exactly how I feel now about my son's birthday. It's a BIG DEAL. Every year it will be, but this year was his FIRST! A monumential day! As you've seen from my blog, we've had quite a bit of transition going on around here. So I must say, I was a bit concerned that we'd have trouble pulling off Judah's celebrations. Besides the minor incident of selling our home earlier than expected and having to be out before his orginally-scheduled party for which I already had the invitations printed (nothing a few post-it notes on the invites couldn't fix ;-)...we pulled off several celebrations!

Judah shares a birthday two days after my mother and one day after my step-father. That's right, mid-March (16th, 17th, 18th) calls for quite the party in our family! We are so thankful that Judah, his KK and his K-Pop had a night to celebrate together. And Gran'ma and Pop joined us, too! We all went out to one of our favorite restaurants in Chapel Hill, had a great dinner, opened gifts, and enjoyed cake back home.

Having fun with KK and KPop

Playing with Dada at the restaurant

Singing "Happy Birthday" to KK and KPop

Helping to blow out the candles (but distracted by a roll of ribbon :-)

The next day was Judah's big party at our home with our family and friends. When I thought of his special day, the "theme" for the day came easily. "You are My Sunshine" is not only one of his favorite songs and the only song that was able to calm his cries during his first year of life, but it also represents how much he means to us and those who know him. He truly is "our little sunshine" and brings big smiles to so many faces. Oh, and his favorite colors are yellow and orange, so that made the decor, food, etc. really easy! Another post will be dedicated to this party in the near future when we get all of the photos back. In the meantime, check out our photographer's blog post to see a sneak peak of the day.

Fast forward two weeks...Judah gets another celebration (on his actual birthday) in our new~albeit temporary~home...complete with lion and tiger cupcakes~his two favorite animals :-) 

Lion cupcake~the Tiger was sharing the box and took a bite out of Lion when he was removed!

Anticipating his Tiger Cupcake!

Daddy lets him taste the icing!

Taking a big boy bite!

I think he likes it! Clapping for approval :-)

Mommy's turn to share!

So delicious! Watch out Judah before your mommy eats it all!

Judah-1; Tiger-0

 Much love to our little birthday monster!

Happy First Birthday Sweet Boy! Did I mention I love birthdays?!

I think Judah does too!

Springing Forward

Surprisingly, I'm not referring to the time change or the coming of a beautiful season...in their literal senses, anyway. The Nix family has been sprung forward into a new home and a crazy time of transition. That's right, since my last post we've officially sold our home, packed up everything we own and stored it in 5 different locations, as well as planned out where we will be for the next 3 months until our move to DC. 

Moving week in our empty house

Our plan is complicated and includes us "living" in a few different places until June...let's just say God has opened many doors and we are grateful to friends and family for allowing us to become their temporary houseguests. We sold our home MUCH sooner than anticipated...

That is a real SOLD sign, unlike the fake one I posted earlier :-)

We are so very grateful but it has been a bitter-sweet whirlwind. We walked out of our door on Summit Drive for the last time this week, and it was so very difficult. While we are excited about our new life in DC (my husband begins a fellowship at the NIH in July), we are sad to leave North Carolina. After living here five years, this has become home. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Jeff and I experienced so much in our first home so it was very difficult to say good-bye. For now, however, we are certainly springing forward into a changed time for our family and certainly, a new season.

"How is Judah?", I hear you asking. He has handled the transition very well....better than his mama and dada, I think :-) He never ceases to amaze me. When I think of all he has experienced during his first year of life (yes, my baby will be 1 tomorrow!), I become overwhelmed with so many emotions. On this, the eve of his birthday, I am incredibly grateful that he is my son and even more grateful that Jeff and I were able to experience the absolute joy of parenting him for most of his entire first year (we received his referral and first picture when he was just 6 weeks old). However, my heart is tinged with sadness as I reflect today. I think of this time last year, and my heart immediately breaks for Judah's birth mother. I cannot help but wonder what she is thinking, how she is hurting this week, and how she must miss sweet Judah. Although I will never know her personally, she has given me the greatest gift on this side of heaven...and I share in her heartache today. However, through Christ there is joy amidst the pain. And love is the greatest gift of all. Judah's birth mother chose love through ultimate sacrifice. Tomorrow, we will celebrate joy. And love will prevail.


Happy Birthday sweet boy!