THE BIG ONE

After taking a week off from the blogging world, I'm finally ready to catch up and share some of the details of Kendry's 1st birthday bash.

Leading up to the party I really didn't think we were following in the footsteps of "those parents" (you know who you are) and going completely overboard with the party. No designer invitations, no three-tiered cake, no pony rides - just a simple BBQ with friends and family. I did, however, put on my crafty mom cape to make a few of the party decorations, a "1" birthday shirt, a 12 month photo banner, and a tiger birthday cake - tasks that I'm told I will have to repeat for the 1st birthday of every single child I conceive hereafter, lest there be any accusations of preferential treatment toward our firstborn. At this moment the very thought of doing it all over again makes me want to curl up under my crafty mom cape and take a nap. That being said, I did have a lot of fun completing these projects and was very happy with how they turned out. The fruits of my labor:

The "1" Birthday Shirt

The Banner & DecorAnd the Tiger Cake (animal themed party)

The day started off rainy - not a good start for a BBQ. But it subsided as the day wore on, and by the party's end we were all in the back yard, basking in the sun.

Someone apparently explained the saying "its my party and I'll cry if I want to" to my son, as he acted a bit spoiled throughout the day. In his defense, he was sick a good part of the week leading up to his birthday, thus receiving a lot of extra attention. As soon as party guests started walking in the door Kendry wanted to be outside, then inside; then he wanted to climb up the porch stairs, and then back down, and then up again. You can't win with this kiddo and his constant need to explore and climb on everything!

He started acting hungry, and rightly so as he hadn't eaten since his 7am breakfast, but then had a meltdown when I put him in the highchair and tried to feet him a hot dog. There was just too much going on and he had to be a part of it. The whole scene started to remind me of the book "The Berenstain Bears: Too Much Birthday", where Sister Bear is so excited for her party, but all the festivities overwhelm her and she finally bursts into tears. (FYI: this book is a great one for a kiddo's personal library.)

Finally, we made it to the big cake moment, which turned out to be pretty anti-climactic, as I'm sure most 1st birthday parties are since the birthday kiddo has no idea what all the fuss is about is anyway.

As you can see, Kendry wasn't too keen on diving into his cake. Or perhaps it was simply the fact that I was trying to help him eat it. Once I left him alone with his own cupcake the two of them formed a beautiful (and very messy) friendship.

"Cupcake? What cupcake?"

Next up: a clean shirt and birthday presents! Still not understanding the concept of opening gifts, Kendry ate the decorative tissue paper while I opened the presents for him. But, just like his daddy, you can always get his attention with a good book.

It was a wonderful 1st birthday party. Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate our beautiful little boy! And special thanks to Andrea and Angela for taking pictures throughout the event. Who knew that its nearly impossible to take photos and video while throwing a party for 20+ in your house and keeping up with your 1 year old son? I may consider myself one heck of a multi-tasker, but even I know my limits.

I did, however, manage to snap one incredible photo of my boys: