A 1st birthday and a jaguar…

"There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why."
-William Barclay

It’s always good to see the kids get excited about each other’s birthdays and the older they seemed to be especially excited for their baby sister’s first.  They wrapped her presents and of course helped her open them first thing in the morning after she woke up.  It was a good start the big day for Isla.

After a bit of play time we packed up the Odyssey and headed off to the Dallas World Aquarium, or the Zooquarium as the kids call it now.  With temperatures above 100 degrees the regular zoo was out of the question.  Luckily we have a much cooler alternative.

Mom thought it would be fun to dress Isla up in the same clothes that Ashlyn wore on her first birthday.  We weren’t at the same zoo but we were able to take a couple of pictures of Isla that were similar to ones taken of Ashlyn.  Here is one of my favorite pictures of Ashlyn being excited about a tiny bird next to Isla next to a bird that looks like an oversize duck crossed with a  turkey.

There were no white tigers at the Dallas World Aquarium but there was a jaguar.

I can’t leave James out of the comparison shots.  James and Isla both share the same interest in hanging on to fences to see over.

After all the excitement Isla quickly fell asleep in the car.  But that didn’t stop her for enjoying a birthday lunch at the kid’s favorite restaurant.

After lunch it was time for the birthday cake.  Even though the party wasn’t going to be until Saturday we still wanted to let her dig into a cake on her birthday.  You never know how a baby is going to react to the smash cake.  She picked it up and threw it down.  She stomped on it.  She sat on it.  She broke it in half and tried to eat it all in one bite.  In short, she destroyed that cake.

Birthday party preparation is always more fun when you get the kids involved.  Their favorite part was making cupcakes.  James was especially proud of the lady bug cupcake he decorated.

The birthday party came and she celebrated with all her family around her.  She’s a lucky girl.

Happy birthday Isla, we love you!  And thanks everyone for making it such a special day for her.