I know many parents feel like there are just certain things we don’t have to do as a privilege of being a parent. I don’t have to explain. I don’t have to abide by the rules. I don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have to because I’m the parent, and they’re the child, right? Wrong. I’m here to tell you that adapting that way of thinking is a sure fire way to push your child into developing unhealthy communication with you, and in turn, with other people.

Yes, you read that right. In 3 days, my daughter was officially out of pull ups (minus night time). By day 5, she was completely potty trained, even overnight. I know you’re probably reading this like “girl please, yeah right!” Trust me, when I heard about this method of training, I felt the same way. A few months ago, I tried potty training Sanai the old-fashioned way and it was an epic fail, so I put it off. I was intimidated by the thought of it and honestly didn’t want to make the time to commit to it. Then two things happened that forced me to get the ball rolling: 1) She was moving up to the next class at daycare and being potty trained was a requirement. 2) I was just tired of buying pull ups. So, I did what I do best: I got on Google and researched the best method for potty training. Tons of books came up, but one stuck out to me and it was titled: Potty Training in 3 Days by Brandi Brucks.

Sanai’s birthday theme this year was super cute and simple and we loved it: Two-tti Fruitti! Different tropical fruit and a bunch of bright colors was the gist of the decor. We kept the party intimate and had it in the comfort of our home- it was perfect. My best friend Jasmine, Sanai’s god mother, was my right hand (wo)man. She handled the decor and I handled the food (with the help of my friend Yaz). I got all the games and activities set for the kiddos and we had a good time!

A few weeks before Sanai was born, I started to imagine how she would look. She’d be chocolate like her mama and have those beautiful dreamy hazel/green eyes like her papa. Wrong. I also imagined how quickly she’d develop. She’d be crawling by 6 months, walking by 10 months, and talking by 12 months. Wrong again.

Milestone birthdays are always the hardest. And when it comes to the kiddos, every birthday feels like a milestone. So the question was: 1 year party or 1 year pictures? Which is more important? Which has more impact? Will they even remember the party? 

Sanai turned ONE on Saturday. Crazy, right? I’m still appalled at how quickly this year flew by. I went from refusing to let her leave my eyesight at the hospital when she was born to now planning her first birthday party. I literally don’t know where the time went, hence the party theme: One Year in a Flash!

Anyone that follows me on social media knows how much I love taking pictures. Well now that Sanai is apart of the equation, she’s joined me in my madness lol. My all time favorite hobby these days is taking pictures and capturing videos of my sweet Sanai. And I’ve learned that taking pictures and making videos is quite possibly a hobby of hers too. Crazy, I know!

It feels like just yesterday I was holding her tiny 6 lb body in my arms. I spent every waking second with her and couldn’t let her out of my sight. Fast forward to this moment, my princess is 10 months and counting and I don’t know where the time is going!