ten, eleven, twelve

So, as I said, Saturday was Dulcie's first birthday.  One year earlier, she was on a ventilator, the tiniest thing I had ever seen, or not seen at that point.  I was busy having morphine-induced dreams in intensive care while she was being transferred by ambulance to neonatal intensive care.  When I came round, I was left looking at a photo on our camera of a random baby with a pink hat pulled over most of her face until the webcam with her hospital was set up and I could watch her pixelated and tube-covered self that way.  I still hate to think about that time (the anniversary of it all has been tricky) but just look at our shining girl now!  Hasn't she done a great job of growing up?!  I bought her party frock on my birthday back in May, putting it away for a later date, and fortunately remembered about it the day before her birthday.  It fit her perfectly, like it was made to be her first-birthday outfit, and she was very cute and happy in it all day.

We had a bit of a balloon overdose as I had taken some with me and my mum had provided some too.  Dulcie's cousins decided we should just blow them all up anyway, which turned out to be a very good idea as they provided lots of entertainment all day.  Dulcie and Elsie both kept grabbing balloons and sucking the knot frantically.  My theory is that they thought they were surrounded by giant, colourful boobs.  Maybe they were hoping for some exotically flavoured milk?  Amazingly, neither of them suffered a balloon bursting in their faces.  Phew.

I think I have already mentioned Dulcie's love for The Very Hungry Caterpillar?  I also liked the idea of her having a cupcake all to herself, so the two ideas kind of came together and produced this very homemade monstrosity.  Carrot cupcakes (this recipe with added sultanas - v yummy!) made up the body, liquorice for legs and antennae, Delia's all-in-one sponge for the head.  My mum and sister had offered to make the cake, but I wanted to do it myself, although by the time I got off the train from Glasgow it was really the last thing I felt like doing.  I'm glad I did though (the first baking I had done in ages) and I actually love how unprofessional he turned out.

My sister found an old, worn-out copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the local dump and cut it up to make these decorations for my mum's sideboard.  Dulcie was delighted with them, although apparently my nephew Angus was in tears during the cutting up of the book.  Aw!

Dulcie's cousins also made these caterpillar-themed snacks for the birthday spread.

Green apples, Babybel and a little bit of liquorice.  My sister got the idea from here.

Here's Dulcie blowing out her candle (with a bit of assistance).

When she reached out to grab a cake, she looked round, waiting for someone to tell her she wasn't allowed... then swiftly helped herself to two!

Here she is enjoying her first taste of sugar.

And just to prove it wasn't all about the sweet stuff, here's a picture of her happy little pakora face.

As well as my side of the family, Dulcie's Auntie Dee Dee (Graham's sister, Laura) came to represent the paternal side.  Reprezent, Auntie Dee Dee!  Dulcie was loving all the attention and all the people to play with.

Presents were a big hit too, although Dulcie's cousins (who were helping her open parcels) were probably even more excited than she was.  I finished her pointy kitty just in time for the big day.

Dulcie absolutely loved every single one of her presents and I was pleased the pointy kitty managed to hold her own amidst all the bright colours and loud noises.  Since coming home, the pointy kitty has been kind of neglected in favour of her Fisher Price farm and talking dog, but I'm confident she'll love this cat in the long term.

Dulcie developed this new brand of cheesy grin over the course of the day.  I honestly don't think she stopped smiling from the moment she got up until she finally (finally!) fell asleep.  Oh, it was such a lovely day.  I kind of thought first birthday parties were for the guests more than the birthday baby, but Dulcie definitely knew something special was happening and she just loved every minute of it.

And I managed not to burst into tears once... or not when anyone was looking, at least.  Go me!