Liv's 1st Birthday-take 1, 2, 3, & 4

Great Grandma Donita
The weekend before Liv's Birthday (Aug.11th) we spent Saturday and Sunday with Lateaf's side of the family. On Saturday (take 1) we were off to Lateaf's mom & step dad's house for Val's pizza, cake, and presents. Brother J.R., step grandma Donita, Frank's mom Shirley, aunt and uncle Randy and Jeanine were all in attendance to share the special occasion. Sunday (take 2) we headed to his dad and step mom's house for Jimmy John subs and more cake & presents. My camera bit the dust..aka I ruined it:( so there aren't many pictures from either day. This year we decided to have a few gatherings instead of one big one. We ended up celebrating her birthday four different times. WHOA! They were all real intimiate and informal so it was nice.

On her actual birth-day (Take 3) Aunt Kate and Aunt Amy came over and we had dinner, cupcakes, and more presents. Liv was NOT a fan of her cupcake as seen here on footage from that gathering via my cell phone...

Take 4- was spent at the lake with my side of the fam. More food, more presents, and more cake. The funny thing is that she didn't eat ANY of it. She put it to her lips once and that was it. Therefore we ate lots of birthday cake on her behalf:)

singing to the birthday girl & her assistant who blows out the candle for her:)

playing with our new presents w/ Aunt Kate

Birthday girl was wipped out. We didn't start "celebrating" until late after we took a sun set boat ride so it became a late night. She was a such a trooper. Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet and perfect 2nd born child. (4 takes later;)

Me @ the 2011 Dorsey Fam reunion...

I played photographer, got 2nd place in the balloon toss, tended to kiddos, did sparklers with Harper (who wasn't a huge fan but tolerated it for momma's sake:) and had so much fun taking in all the festivities. It was the best family reunion I've ever been too. Extra huge props and thank you to my parents, Grams Dorsey and Uncle Tim & Aunt Tracey for working so hard to make it all happen.

The Hubs @ the Dorsey Fam Reunion...

helped set up, tended to the kiddos, took guests on a boat ride, was my partner for balloon toss, mingled with the family, and had a blast on the motorcycle...

Tough biker dude?!

Notice the hubs? He's catching the water balloon with some intensity:)

Harper @ the Dorsey Fam Reunion

I can only assume with Livy that she enjoyed the reunion, but I am 100 percent positive Harper had a fantastic time. She played her little heart out with kids. She rode on the boat, played with bubbles, swam in the pool, and threw water balloons. The only downer part for her was the firework show. She made it clear that night, over and over again, saying she doesn't like fireworks. Since that night, she continues to make it clear that she DOESN'T like fireworks. Other than the fact that she DOESN'T like fireworks, I would say she had a ball at her second family reunion.

Liv @ the Dorsey Fam Reunion

There are hundreds of pictures from the Dorsey Family Reunion. To break it down more effeciently, these pictures depict what Liv experienced during the event. She was held by many, ate crackers, laughed a lot, wore cousin Chloe's sun glasses, swam in the pool, parallel played with a distant relative (the little boy in the picture), and was a gem the entire time. She fell asleep before the big fire work show at night and suprisingly slept through all the loud booms which were a short distance from her room. I would say she had a great time at her first family reunion.