The "Baby" is One!

I am always shocked by how quickly time goes by when you are busy having fun with kids! It is hard to believe that my "baby" just celebrated his first birthday. I wonder when we will all drop the "baby" from his name, Baby Ira. :) We had such fun at his birthday celebration and I had so much fun planning for it, I just had to share. Mikayo's first birthday was themed after a favorite classic children's story of mine (Where the Wild Things Are) so I thought I would follow the same trend and choose a book for Ira's. I chose one of my all time favorite children's books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The little man loves this book too and brings it to me several times a day to have me read it to him. Here is a collection of photos from the big day:

From top left: 1. Our photo booth was transformed into a fruit toss using imitation apples and pears. It was a big hit with the little ones. 2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake made from a Chocolate Wafer Cookie Log and a giant cake ball for the head. 3. Craft - Coffee filter butterflies. We also had finger print caterpillar bookmark craft, coloring sheets and make your own caterpillar glue craft with pre-cut green and red circles. 4. Butterfly cupcakes with yogurt covered pretzel wings and jelly bean bodies. We also had caterpillar (worm) cupcakes with mocha icing for the grown-ups. 5. Thank you for coming lollipops and jellybean caterpillars (using skinny cellophane bags from Stampin' Up!). Special Cheerio/Baby Puff Butterfly treats for the youngest guests. 6. We had antennae headbands for all our little guests and some butterfly wings to play with as well. 7. invitation with pictures of the little man throughout the year. 8. "ice cream cones" made from Rice Krispie treats in mini cones, chocolate drizzle and an m&m "cherry" on top. These were my first attempt at making Rice Krispie treats and I have to say, they turned out pretty well! 9. Hand painted photo booth (later to become the fruit toss game) 10. Paper plate caterpillar displaying photos of the little man chronologically throughout the year. Guests were given plain paper plates with their invitations and were asked to get creative and decorate their plates green. I loved seeing what everyone came up with. 11. Sign in on themed/decorated scrapbook paper so it can be added straight into his scrapbook and so that we can always remember who was there celebrating with us on this special day. 12. Most of the food came directly from the book, "On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry" Food is labelled with artwork from the book. We also added caterpillars made from grapes with a strawberry head, and mini cucumbers with baby bell heads. Gummy caterpillars (worms) and gummy butterflies as well as themed plates and napkins from http://www.carlemuseum.org/Shop/Party_Supplies finished the snack table.

Now for one last photo from the day because I just can't resist:

Looking Back

My birthdays have never bothered me.  Getting older is just part of life and I am enjoying life more and more with each passing year.  35?  Bring it on!!  My little man turning 1 on the other hand was a whole different story.  I still can't believe my baby is a whole year old.  Sometimes I look at him and feel like he is looking less and less like a baby and more and more like a little boy.  Of course he still wants cuddles from Mom & Dad but he is getting more independent by the minute.  It makes my heart ache to know that one day he might not want to be rocked to sleep, one day he may not need an extra little snuggle when he has a fall, he will one day rather hang out with his friends than be here with us and he will one day move out on his own.  The rational side of me knows that most of these things are a LONG way off but part of me sees the big picture and can't help but feel like I need to hang onto these special moments as long as I can.  Just for today, I will enjoy the time I have with my new family and be thankful for my many blessings!

The Celebration Continues...

Sunday night was birthday #2 for the little man.  Some of the family were away for his first party so it was an excellent excuse to extend the celebration.  

The cake was much more fun to crumble and toss around but some did manage to make it to his mouth.  

Daddy helped the little man open his gifts.  

Mikayo is lookin very cool in an outfit that Nana and Grandpa K got for his birthday. 

'Here I am showing Grandpa M one of my favorite birthday toys - my farm & letter fridge magnets.  Thank you Gaby & Landon!'

We were very excited to receive another package in the mail today from Olivia.  Here he is modeling his new cap.  I think it is SO adorable!!!  Thank you!

As you can see, the little man got spoiled like crazy for his birthday.  We want to thank everyone for their thoughtful and generous gifts and for sharing this very special time with us!

Birthday Boy!

Well, have we ever had a busy couple of days!  With all the birthday prep and celebration I haven't had any time at all to post.  The rational side of me says, 'It's a 1 year old's party - he won't remember it anyway so relax' but the reality is I get so stressed out about things like this - I woke up at about 7:30 am on Saturday (I'd hoped to sleep until at least 9) and couldn't fall back to sleep because my mind started listing all the things that still needed to be done before the party.  Luckily my mom had come over the evening before to watch the monkey so that I could get some work done around here and Dad came by too to put steps on the deck.  I can't tell you how nice it is to step out of the back door onto a real deck - but I'll save my house/yard reno stories for another time - that could be a whole blog all by itself!  :D

The Birthday Boy

Saturday was a perfect day for a party and with this small house - being able to be outdoors was wonderful!  

Mikayo and his buddies playing in the yard.  

The ball pit was a big hit with the 1 year old crowd.

Mikayo loves being outdoors so he really enjoyed himself, he didn't care much for opening gifts but he seemed to really enjoy his cake.  

The Wild Things Cake

The Little Man enjoying his cake and what appears to be watermelon.

He got lots of cool toys, clothes and books and has been busy checking everything out.  

Today we went to Mikayo's friend's first birthday and though the rain kept us indoors for part of the party we had a lot of fun!  Cake 2 days in a row?  Oh my!!  

Mikayo is pulling himself up on everything these days - it's great to see him getting around and exploring his world.  Unfortunately, increased mobility = increased chances of getting hurt.  Today Mik was pulling himself up on a dining room chair and managed to pull it down onto himself.  Poor little bug!   He had a few tears (though I think I may have been more upset than he was) and is now sporting a very fat lip.  

Even with a fat lip - I'm still pretty cute.  Check out my crooked smile!