5, 4, 3, 2.....ONE!

We have a one year old!  The countdown of the last year blew past us and all of a sudden we have a little boy, not a baby, in our home.  What a bundle of energy and noise he is, and what a delightfully exhausting job it is to be his parents! :)

The birthday bash was a huge success and though I told myself I would keep it simple and not do much since it was just the first birthday......yeah, I ended up doing a little...I had to, to make it fun and festive!  Would you expect anything less of me?


We started birthday celebration off right, with presents the day before and a special visit from Auntie Laurie (my best friend) and Ben's first set of Mega Blocks.

love the look of concentration....we may have an engineer in the making here

Ben was actually afraid of the balloons at first, but once he learned that you can throw them, whack them, bounce them, lick them, thwap them and chase them....well, they got REALLY fun!

Ben's best present of all was a visit from Gran (John's mom).  He filled up on snuggles and hugs and giggles and playtime with Gran and it was so special to have her there for the actual party.  She and Laurie and my mom helped tremendously to pull it all off and make it a wonderful celebration.

Birthday morning he got to open a few presents from Gran.  This was a little shopping cart with some plastic food.  His foodie mom was thrilled. :)

he's in training to take over the weekly grocery shopping

Look at those pearly whites!  He now has 8 teeth (two of which showed up and we didn't even know about them until they were in and announcing their presence!  A far cry from the work we all went through to get the first four!

A little decor for the party.  I actually had this sentimental moment while decorating after he had gone to bed.  I was remembering all the birthdays that I had as a little girl, waking up to a decorated house and presents and how special that felt.  And now I get to do that for Ben.  I was looking at the family room thinking of all the birthday celebrations it will see over the years as our family grows.  Ahh, a girl could get misty over all this, but not me of course. :)

AHHHHI LOVE PRESENTS!!

She's at it again!  Ok, I have secretly been wanting one of these awesome cupcake pans for YEARS, and then Linda bought me one for Ben's birthday!  Score!  A present for ME for Ben's birthday! 

As if the cake wasn't already amazing, I decided to add M&M's to it.  Seriously good.

My One Year Old tablescape...it's just so much fun!

I love my new kitchen--perfect for entertaining and buffet style get-togethers.  We enjoyed pulled pork sandwiches, a yummy jicama slaw, watermelon, tea, pasta salad and of course CAKE!

Ben loves to be the center of attention, so this part didn't phase him a bit.  In fact, before the cake time we had laid out a blanket in the center of the group and Ben kept trying to make sure the attention was still focused on him.  "I AM the birthday boy, after all!"

The first taste, and......

....his first reaction was a giggle.  I love my boy--that is how it should be--good food (especially sugary food) should just bring on a spontaneous giggle.

After about 3 bites of the cake and frosting Ben decided he was done and wanted his watermelon rind again.  Guess I shouldn't complain that he likes fruit more than dessert.  It won't last for long I am sure.

Ben loves to share now....his toys, and his food.  He will hand it to you and want you to take a bite or just eat the whole thing.  We are trying to encourage the whole sharing thing and saying "thank you" but are challenged a bit when the offering is soaked in a thick layer of slobber. 

This little face brought on the nickname "Mr. McTongueGrin"

Ben is so very talented at being messy!

Ben's most favorite present: a microwave.  He LOVES our microwave and lunges for it whenever he gets close to it.  He loves opening and closing the door, slapping the sides, pushing buttons and seeing the digital lights.  We found a play microwave that beeps and when you push start the turntable actually turns and the light goes on--very realistic and very adorable!

Jack and Ben playing nicely....for now. :)

All in all, a success!