Michiana

This is a long post.  Brace yourself.  

Last month Richard was doing a rotation in South Bend, IN.  Before we left Iowa in May, we made a pact that no matter where he was or what was going on in Utah, we would be together for Henley's 1st birthday.  We made it happen --  Boo-yah!   Before we visited, I had no idea South Bend was soooo close to the border of Michigan.  The people Richard stayed with actually lived in Michiana, MI.  Get it -- Michiana.  On the actual birthday Henley woke up doing a new birthday trick...the fish face.  Probably learned that from her good friend Brianne.  

 

We hung out most of the day waiting for Richard to get off.  They let him go early (which I love them for) and we headed over to the fanciest restaurant in town, Five Guys.  It was delicious and we both ate our own weight in fries.  After dinner we played by the fountain for awhile.  She wanted to jump in, and I wanted to cave cause of her birthday, but for once I used my brain and thought about how terrible the aftermath would be.  We walked around the mall so I could see what stores they have (just in case we end up there) and Henley had an amazing time people watching.   

Then there was cake.  It started out with a little finger dip, and suddenly turned into a full on cake massacre.  She massaged the thing to death and got as much in her mouth as possible.  Almost looked like the boy on the movie Matilda.  You remember that one?  She was slightly cuter though. 

 Giving herself props for doing so well on cake eating.  Can you blame her?

After a quick bath, she opened a few gifts.  We let her stay up later than normal and then we kissed our 1 year old goodnight.  I am no different than any other mom out there when I say, the first year has flown by and I am a little sad to see the baby stage go.  I have to admit though, this 1st birthday thing gave me some stress.  I felt like I needed to do something grandiose.  Like, outta this world exciting.  With a theme.  And decorations.  A million gifts.  Tons of guests.  Ya know, sometimes Pintrest can make you feel like crap.  When it was all said and done, I was insanely glad we went the simple route.  It fits us better and she had a good ole time.  Also, if you are in the market for an amazing toy for a 1 year old, check out the V-Tech activity book that sings.  It has been dynamite. 

Back to Indiana.  While we were there we hit up a high school football game.  We heard the crowds were huge and it was kinda nuts.  Um...total lie.  There were maybe 150 people in the stands and that was pushing it.  We had more fun watching Henley cheer than we did watching the game. 

Richard swears she learned to love football in the womb.  I did fall asleep to a lot of games while I was pregnant...

Next up, Notre Dame!!  That campus is beautiful and humongous.  We got all stoked because we found two tickets on Craig's List for a home game.  When we went to pick them up and the guy asked if we had bought a ticket for Henley.  No, we hadn't.  He explained that every person, regardless of age has to have a ticket to get into the stadium!!  Excuse me!!  We were not about to pay $110 for her to sit on my lap the entire time.  It was pretty disappointing.  We still went to the campus on game day and saw all of the drunk tailgaters, "Touchdown Jesus" and the Grotto.   I couldn't believe how many people were there for the game.  It was a sight to see. 

The trip went way too fast and so did Henley's first year of life.  Can't believe we have a 1 year old.  (I will do a more detailed post on her later.)  Since we haven't been with Richard, I had forgotten what it was like to not be a single parent.  Gosh, I miss having him around.  We can't wait until we are back in the same state.  Only two more months!!