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It's been almost a month since we celebrated Micah's 1st birthday and I'm still working on sending out thank you cards to everyone who came and made his day so special! I am so thankful for how many people we have in our lives who truly love us and our little boy! :)

On to the details...

Micah b-day invite blog

Date and Time: Sunday, Sept. 1st from 2:00-4:00pm

Location: We decided on having it at our house. I knew the time of the party was right in the middle of nap time, so I wanted to be home to sneak in some quiet time before, during and after the party, if needed. Also, I wanted the environment to be as comfortable as possible for Micah. Can't say an 1800 square foot house is the most ideal place to have 50+ people, but we made it work! ;)

Theme: I settled on an "ocean theme" once I realized that having a theme actually made life easier and not harder. The colors were blue, light blue and gold,  and ended up being pretty similar to his nursery (I feel like he's too old for me to call it that now... :( ).

Food: Since we did an after-lunch party, we just had finger foods and cake. I searched google and pinterest like crazy to find ocean-themed food ideas and to my joy, there were some very cute and creative things out there! We had seashell pasta salad, peanut butter and jelly-fish sandwiches, tuna fish sandwiches, multi-colored (and flavored!) goldfish, "foreign fish" (swedish fish candy), "bait" (gummy worms), "pearls" (yogurt raisins), "seaweed" (spinach) dip, and "crab legs" (carrot sticks). I think this was probably my favorite part about doing a themed party. Cute food. :)

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Gifts: We spent a good half hour opening gifts in front of everyone. Micah was more interested in entertaining his guests than opening his gifts, though. He sure has enjoyed playing with all of them since!

Cake Smash: This was definitely the highlight of the party! We set up a tent outside (to shield as many as possible from the scorching Florida sun) and placed his high chair under it. Then we gathered around and sang "Happy Birthday" before letting Micah devour and destroy every piece of his sugary, buttercream-frosted cake! He definitely had fun with it! (Thanks to everyone capturing photos and video, we still get a kick out of watching it now!)

Favors: In light of the theme, we had ocean "bubbles" to send home with the kids.

I am so glad we were able to celebrate this special day with so many of our friends and family! And even though Micah won't remember, it was an exciting day for Josh and I to experience together as new parents.

I am so thankful for you, Micah Jordan. You are loved more than you could ever know and more than I could have ever imagined! Looking forward to many more birthdays with you, sweet boy. :)

Watch highlights from his party below!

Shots captured by Justin Robinson Video compiled by my lovely husband. Obviously, "Little One" is his favorite song to use in almost every video. I'm not complaining. :)

>>> My advice to any other new parent planning a first birthday party:

1. Invite people who mean a lot to you and have invested in your child, not just acquaintances who have other small children. There will come a day when they get to choose their guest list. For now, help them by choosing people they are comfortable and familiar with.

2. Make sure it'll be a fun day for you too!

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Today we made our way to the doctor bright and early to find out the gender of our next baby! We are SO EXCITED to announce that our  next baby will be the...

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AHHHHHHH!!! We are having a GIRL!!!

I was so shocked and excited that I CRIED! I honestly wasn't sure it was in the Robinson DNA to have a little girl. For those of you who don't know, Josh has three brothers and his dad grew up with all brothers, so the Robinson male line is a strong one!

But if I were completely honest, in my heart it wasn't a complete surprise.

Josh actually prayed a few months ago (before I was even pregnant!) that we'd have a little girl. It was very random and sweet. We were out to eat and he just looked up and said, "I prayed that we'd have a little girl next." I was shocked, first of all, that he was talking about having another baby so soon! Haha. And then, I was worried that it wouldn't happen and it would seem like his prayer was unanswered.

So this whole time, I have remembered his prayer. And when we got pregnant again, it was the first thing I thought about.

I'm so glad Micah will be a big brother and get to PROTECT his sweet little sister!! I think his only concern right now is that she will want to play "ball!" with him. If she's anything like her mama, I'm sure she will. ;)

We are still deciding on a name (believe it or not, we had a boy name picked out!) and will share that process on here soon!

We can't wait to meet Baby GIRL Robinson coming March 2014!

(Also, be sure to check out my husband's blog for a video announcement he put together!) 

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Since Micah turned one a couple weeks ago, we've been on "walk alert" ever since. Watching and waiting for him to take those first few steps on his own. There are some days when I think he's close, and others when I think he's still a ways off from walking independently.

I remember a time when I looked at him and thought... how will he ever learn to roll over?! And then at 3 months, he did. How will he ever be able to sit up on his own?! At 5 months, he was. How will he ever learn to crawl?! At 8 months, I couldn't get him to stay still! And now I look at him with wonder and think...

How will he ever learn to walk?

You see, from a mother's perspective, I am always fascinated when he learns something new. Because it has nothing to do with me. I never pushed him to roll over, sit up or crawl... and I'm not rushing the walking either. He is learning to grow independently. And at every stage, I am just thankful that he comes running back to my arms... well, crawling back, for now. :)

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Becoming a parent has made me see things from a completely different perspective. I can't help but think about how my Heavenly Father looks at me. I'm an imperfect parent and he's a perfect one. And I know that the unconditional love I feel for Micah is just a smidgen of what God feels for him, and me and you. But it may be the closest experience we can have to understanding God's love for us, here on earth.

But here's the big difference... instead of watching as I learn to grow independently and apart from Him, God is watching as I become a baby again in His arms.

I've lived life on my own, apart from Him. I've fallen and gotten back up, with bruises and scars to prove it. But Jesus said something more profound than I ever realized before having a child of my own...

“I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."Matthew 18:3-4

Wow. A child. God wants me to stay little for as long as possible. He's not concerned with me learning how to crawl, walk, or even run through this life without Him. He wants me to sit in his lap, content with just being with Him.

This frees me from needing all the answers, or gaining biblical "knowledge" that is useless apart from just simple obedience.

A few weeks ago, my pastor said a statement that hit me in the gut, "Some of us are educated far beyond our level of obedience." Wow, so true. In the past I have been guilty of thinking I needed to go "deeper" or gain more biblical knowledge to show my devotion to God... but was I even loving my neighbor as I love myself? Or tithing? Or spending time in prayer?

Back to His lap. That's where I want to stay.

When other people fly by in their cool walking shoes, strutting their stuff independently and having all the answers, I will rest in the fact that I am exactly where I need to be. A baby in my Father's arms.

And today, I am happy that my one year old is still sitting perfectly content in mine.