So as many of you know 1st Birthday’s are a HUGE deal these days. A HUGE deal for the parents. . .because the 1 year old will not remember the party. So when it came time for Jared and I to plan Jackson’s first birthday party our goal was to keep it simple. We decided to have the party at my mom’s house, so that would help when it came to limiting out guest list. We did not want to be that family that had over 100 people at their kid’s 1st birthday (we do not judge if you were that family, we just wanted something more intimate – OK we didn’t want to break the bank for a party he would never remember!!)
We had the venue, now we just needed a theme! I set out to Pinterest for ideas. I wanted a theme that fit Jackson’s personality, I know he is only 1, but I didn’t want to pick Mickey Mouse because I liked Mickey Mouse. After searching and thinking about him, I landed on the theme A Very Hungry Caterpillar based on the popular Eric Carle book. This fit Jackson perfectly because he ate like a champ. The doctor always said “don’t worry about over feeding him, he will stop when he is full.” Jared and I always said to each other, “not our kid!!” The boy could eat!! I mean let’s be honest his mom and Miss Tiff are great cooks!
The planning began, I had so much fun figuring out food to match each day of the caterpillar’s adventures. This was somewhat annoying for people who wanted to help and would offer to bring something. . .I was that mom who said “Sorry, that doesn’t match the theme.” The first part of the pictures below show most of the food. For “main” courses we had lettuce wraps in honor of the day the caterpillar ate lettuce, anti-pasta squares for salami, and sausage for well, sausage. I prefer grazing style parties, mainly to keep things simple for me, so the food was out and ready for the guest to arrive.
Most of the set up was done in advance so the morning of the party I could worry about getting myself together and relaxing . . .it was a great start to the big day!! That is until I heard the door open at 9:00, an hour earlier than Jared usually gets home from playing basketball. I knew something was wrong, my hunch was right; he came down wrong from a jump and hurt something in his back. He could hardly move. Thankfully most of the set up was done, all I had to do was finish the cake and Jackson HAD to take an afternoon nap, we didn’t want a crabby birthday boy. As Murphy’s law would have it he refused to nap, thankfully I finished the cake! One thing I have learned as a parent, is there are certain things that you just have to go with. He didn’t nap. . .go with it. If he was crabby and had to nap during the party, he could go up to his room at Gigi’s house and nap.
So the party started and my shy little boy, who used to scream when Jared or I would leave him in a room alone, was a rock star. He was running around playing with everyone. When his day care friends showed up, his eyes would light up. He played well with the friends he knew and the friends he just met. He did a great job when it came to singing Happy Birthday, he sat stoically, until he realized it was a happy event and then started cheering!! He enjoyed smooshing his cake into his mouth and was a total prince until the last guest left around 7 (an hour past his normal bedtime – with NO nap!!)
Unfortunately, this first time mom had the video camera, but completely forgot to tape any part of the party. I guess a plus of that is I was enjoying the party so much, that I didn’t even think about it. I also didn’t think to bring PJ’s for him, so he got to wear an old pair of Uncle Dave’s, as you can see from the pictures he was asleep on the couch as soon as the house quieted down!
Enjoy the photos . . .
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