San Diego for Kyle's Bday

Skyla and I flew down to San Diego with my parents for the weekend to attend Kyle's surprise birthday party.  Colleen had to change the date because Kyle was in the middle of SWAT team training, whcih meant that we were able to come!  We were so excited to be a part of it.  Skyla and Kaylee wore matching dresses and looked super cute.  Colleen made the party an Olympics theme, and she had all these fun games.  She also got some people to come make tacos on the spot for us, and they were amazing! Skyla has never eaten so much "grown up" food in her life!  Kyle was surprised, although there was a rumor going around that the guy he got to cover his shift so he could be there may have spilled the beans.  Still, a good time was had by all.

After the party we went over to Fiona's house.  We put Skyla to bed, and Fiona, Melissa and I caught up. The next day we went to brunch at Mission, then hung out at Balboa Park for some fun in the sun.  Some fun on the swings, then a family lunch at an Italian restaurant filled out the afternoon, then our whirlwind trip to San Diego was over.  Perhaps the most exciting part of all it was that Skyla and I flew home by ourselves.  I was pretty nervous but my perfect girl did just great.  Tory met us at the airport with dinner and flowers for me -- it felt great to be home!

 

1 year old and as happy as can be

We opened all of Skyla's presents the day after her party on her actual birthday.  I made us a yummy breakfast, complete with pancakes shaped like the first letter of our names.  Skyla of course loved the wrapping paper and gift bags more than the stuff inside at first.  We have had lots of fun since then playing with the new toys, reading the Italian books, and listening to her new Italian cd's.    A few people who couldn't make it to the party even sent gifts for her, which was wonderful.  It is so nice to have such sweet, loving, generous friends and family!

The other big post-party event was her 1-year check-up with Dr. Solomon.  It was a bittersweet visit; although she is perfectly healthy and is right where she should be, we have lost our health insurance and will no longer be able to go see this doctor.  I started crying when I explained our situation, and Dr. Solomon was very understanding and sympathetic.  He told us that we didn't need to get the vaccinations right away (they were astronomically expensive) and assured us that we could wait on them until we had new insurance.  Even without the shots, Skyla was skeptical of the whole visit and couldn't wait to get out of there.  I had to take one picture of her with her doctor who she's seen since she was just a few weeks old, but who unfortunately we cannot return to.

Skyla Belle's First Birthday

I will keep this short and sweet since I'm so behind in my posts!  The day was perfect: we had loads of sunshine, friends and family came over and hung out in our beautiful backyard (which we spend ALL of July working on!), Tory grilled pizzas, a TaskRabbit photographer snapped pics and video of the whole day, and I only cried a little bit when it was time for cake.  I tried making a speech and couldn't get much out, and then I was so emotional that we blew out the candle without singing "Happy Birthday"!  I realized it right away, so we had to redo it.  Tory said, "That's ok, this is our first kid so we're gonna make some mistakes."  Natalie told me later that she realized we had forgotten to sing but she and Alex thought maybe Italians don't do that!  Too funny!  All in all, i was a great day.  Happy Birthday to the most beautiful baby I've ever seen :)