1-year and counting…

Well, one year has come and gone already. Who knew it would go so fast? When you’re in K-12, it seems like time drags on and life takes forever. The moment you enter the real world, it’s like time speeds up.

On March 27, 2019, Riley Elizabeth-Lynn Earley was born…and now here she is, already one years old and counting!

Riley’s birthday took place on a Friday, and we had planned on having a family birthday party for her the following day on Saturday, but the current coronavirus pandemic changed those plans. My mom was going to make the cake for the family party, but since we had to postpone that to some unknown point in the future, we had to improvise.

The week prior, we ordered some groceries from Meijer, and along with them, a cake mix and some frosting. On the morning of her birthday, Meghan baked and frosted the cake. Later in the afternoon, Meghan made up some homemade frosting and I did my best to “decorate” it.

Not the best looking cake in the world, but Riley didn’t mind.

With the cake ready, I decorated the kitchen with a banner and some emoji balloons.

Just before 4:57pm (Riley’s birth time), we called up family on FaceTime so that they could see her and sing Happy Birthday.

Let the singing commence!

With the singing finished, it was time to cut that cake and dig in. Up to this point, Riley has only had a little bit of sugar here and there, certainly nothing in as large of a quantity and this piece of cake. I think she liked it…

With the cake eaten up, we said goodbye to family, cleaned Riley up, and then headed into the living room for presents. What did she get?

An activity table…

A tunnel…

Straps to finally be able to hang her swing from the giant maple tree out back…

And oversized farm magnets for the refrigerator (don’t have a picture of those!) Overall, a very good first birthday party! Can’t wait to see what the coming year holds, and how much Riley will change from where she is right now. Onward to year 2!