People will tell you how quickly time flies when you have children but I didn’t quite believe it. And then along came Evie and in the blink of an eye an entire year has come around and I now have a one year old. How on earth did that happen?!

A few days ago my baby girl turned one and even though I don’t want to get all soppy and emotional on here, I still wanted to share her birthday celebrations (of which we’ve had many) with you and to keep a permanent reminder for myself of how amazing the last year has been with her in my life.

We celebrated with not one but two parties, and not one but three cakes! I loved the idea of setting up a cake smash myself and even though she was far too dainty and delicate to actually smash the cake herself, we have the most adorable photos to cherish forever. And of course the cake didn’t go to waste – I obviously still ate all the smashed bits!

Her first birthday celebrating with family and her baby friends couldn’t have been any more magical and she was a lucky little lady to have been so completely spoilt.

Before we get onto the soppy stuff (only a little bit of soppiness I promise) I just want to thank everyone who sent Evie their best wishes (and especially those who sent me their best wishes too because most people seem to forget that I was the one bringing her into the world a year ago!) and also to share some amazing gifts that made her birthday that extra bit special.

This absolutely beautiful bear from Marni & Rose is about as special as it gets. Handmade with love from some of Evie’s very first outfits and baby grows, not only will this be a bear friend for life for Evie but it’s also a wonderful keepsake for me to always remind me of those first few months with my brand sparkling new baby. She’s completely personalised with Evie’s name and date of birth stitched into her feet and part of her belly says “adventure begins” which comes from one of my favourite little jumpers of Evie’s and of course represents all the adventures I take her on! When she arrived home a few days before Evie’s birthday I couldn’t help but burst into tears because she was so special

Another of my favourite gifts is this amazing teepee from MiniCamp which not only looks great (because I obviously have to look at it sitting in my living room every day) but Evie seems to have fallen in love with it straight away. She crawled straight in when she saw it on her birthday morning and she loves reading her books in there and especially napping in it – she’s never napped so well in her entire life as she has done in this teepee! Sleeping in it underneath the world map I like to think she’s dreaming about all the adventures I’m going to take her on.

One last item is a macrame swing from Adelisa & Co which I actually got her for Christmas but we’ve only just managed to put it up! She loves going to the swing park so how cool is it that she now has a swing indoors that she can play in whenever she likes and we don’t have to go out into the cold!

Her cakes were made by Worth’s Bakery and they were both so beautiful that I didn’t want to ruin them by cutting into them or having Evie smashing one. But we did and they tasted just as delicious as they look! With the lovely sparkly gold personalised cake topper from Aria Lily Designs they seriously looked so pretty. We have so much cake we’re going to be eating it for the next month!

 

I always wanted to be a mum but I didn’t realise quite how much I would love it and adapt to motherhood so quickly. Since the second she came into the world my every thought, my every move, my every waking minute has been about her. Of course I sometimes get frustrated at being woken up five times every night or not being able to have a relaxing bath in over a year. I haven’t got through a single book in months and there is never any room for me in my own bed (how can such a tiny person take up the whole of a king size bed?!). But mostly I don’t care. Because, even all bleary eyed in the middle of the night, her infectious smile and the way she holds her arms out to me when she wants a cuddle jolts my heart every single time.

Even though I can’t yet understand all her babbling, our chats are the best part of my day and playing peekaboo never gets boring. She is the bestest little friend and she is the one who keeps me entertained and laughing all day when it should be the other way round!

She is already more beautiful, more strong willed, braver, funnier, sassier and a better traveller than I could ever have imagined.

She has travelled to seven countries and two continents; she’s been on road trips, on trains, a cruise and 10 flights; she’s visited cities, climbed mountains, swam underwater and dipped her toes in sandy beaches. She’s already been to four zoos because she loves animals; she’s always inquisitive and eager to go off exploring; she tries new foods everywhere we go and seems to be just as much of a foodie as me.

The last year has been tough for many reasons but with this one by my side I have a reason to smile every single day. Even though I’m all emotional that my baby girl is already a whole year old, I’m excited to fill her next year of life with a whole new lot of adventures, starting with her eighth country where we have just jetted off to!

To find out where we are on our next adventure you can follow along on Instagram where I’m posting lots of photos and videos in my stories!

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Some of the gifts mentioned in this post were received for free but I wouldn’t mention them if I didn’t love them!