May 5

Today we celebrated Daisy's first birthday.

Today also happened to be Kentucky Derby Day, so we had a good old-fashioned Derby Day party.

I'm pretty sure I didn't take most of these pictures; I'm pretty sure I was either annoyed with my camera, busy making things happen, or drinking mint juleps for most of the photo ops today. I am forever grateful to whomever happened to pick up my camera!

Our stable of stick horses, ready and waiting for the races. Chris and I worked together to make these, using this tutorial. They were relatively easy, relatively inexpensive, and a big hit with the kids.

I made each horse different, hoping that each child would find a special one to love

Our drink station, featuring iced tea, lemonade, and mint juleps. I used this recipe for the mint juleps; they were pretty strong (as juleps usually are), but tasty! Also hidden back there was a bottle of pomegranate margaritas. We had to include that after learning that the Spanish word for "Daisy" is... wait for it... "margarita"! How funny is that?

We had floppy hats for all of the ladies, too,

And provided play money so that the adults could bet on the horses. Since we didn't want any children to have hurt feelings, we bet on just the horses, before they were chosen by their riders.

Daisies and Derby roses.

Boy - those horses look ready to race! 

The kids didn't need much prompting, either!

Caleb and Michael, preparing for the race.

Ryan chose to bet on the horses, rather than racing one. I guess he's a grown-up now!

And they're off! Just as we suspected, Carter took an early lead.

 

Can you tell how much fun the kids had?

Well, Cooper didn't have too much fun. Halfway through the race, he tumbled to the ground in tears - a victim of hurt pride, perhaps? Also, our birthday girl didn't get to join in the races. Luckily, a snuggle with Sara consoled both of them.

Amber and baby Andrew braved the heat to celebrate with us, too. It's a good thing they came; we're really hoping Daisy and Andrew fall in love one day.

 

I pretty much planned this whole party on Pinterest.

Daisy didn't care about any of the details, though. She was just happy to be with all of the people she loves!

She might have also been happy about getting to eat a cupcake.

Yum.

She even shared some with Daddy!

Cooper definitely enjoyed the cupcakes, too.

Oh. So did Mary.

And Carter.

And Michael... oh, wait, no. Not a cupcake. That's a cucumber.

Chris' Grandad and our beloved BG joined us to celebrate.

Those are some good-looking men, huh?

Sara's boys had so much fun that they didn't want to leave!

Unfortunately, all good parties come to an end.

Daisy with her (clearly adoring) grandparents.

We only managed to open one gift - felt strawberries, made by Amber and her girls. But they were a hit! All of the kids crowded around to play with them and load them into Daisy's picnic basket.

Jenny and Hannah are the niece and great-niece of our neighbor, Mary. Hannah is a month younger than Daisy!

And Hannah's big brother is Caleb, who is two days younger than our Caleb. And Hannah's Dad works in the same field as Chris. Crazy, isn't it?

Terry and Mary came over to celebrate, too. We're so blessed to have neighbors who love our kids so much!

Amber and her kiddos were the life of the party, as usual. In a surprise turn of events, little Mary took second place in the horse races, beating even her older sister! See the trophy in her hand? It turns out that Mary is an expert galloper.

Ryan, Mom, and Jenny were there to represent my side of the family - my dad was out of town, and Emily had to stay home with Max, who is suffering from Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Poor baby!

Love them!

And our sweet little family. How blessed we are. Happy birthday, Daisy!