Declan's Birthday Party

Declan's birthday party was at Grandma's house on Sunday, the day after his birthday. Lot of friends and family showed up to shower him with love, attention, and gifts. In true procrastinator's fashion, we put the guests to work decorating and setting out food as soon as they got there. My mom grilled lots of food, there were margaritas for the adults, and the kids swiped as many sugar cookies as they could get their hands on (I'm looking at you, Ez). It was a very low fuss day and Declan seemed to go back and forth between loving being the center of attention and hating it. One thing he did not waver on was his disdain for cake. He smashed his hands right into the frosting, took one lick, and promptly started screaming and gagging. It was a complete 180 from Ez's cake smash, when I turned around to get some paper towels, turned back, and the cake was gone and Ez was licking his lips and smiling. After the disappointing cake smash, we let Declan loose on his mountain of presents, which he preferred climbing to opening. He was so spoiled with so many great toys and clothes, A big thank you to everyone that came out, helped out, and made his day so special. And an even bigger thank you to Gangy who went above and beyond making sure his day was just right. We love you!

Declan's Birthday

We celebrated Declan's actual birthday in a pretty low key way. We tried to feed him various birthday treats, which he vehemently rejected. We chased him around the way too hot playground. We tried to give him his present, which he had no interest in opening. There was a Target trip where he got to pick out a new vtech car. And I spent lots of time frosting cookies. (The same ones he promptly smashed into the grass). That's the nice thing about first birthdays, the expectations are nonexistent and it doesn't take much planning or money to make it a great day. Don't worry though, Declan did get a proper celebration the next day, but I'll save all those photos for a different post. For now, here's a few pictures of our newly one year old, as well as a fun little wishlist for anyone shopping for a first birthday present ;)

Happy 1st Birthday Declan!

Dear Declan,

I'm sitting here on the eve of your first birthday thinking back to one year ago when I was alone in the living room watching Law & Order reruns while your brother and daddy slept, reading birth stories on my phone, and wondering if tonight would be the night you made your appearance. I finally fell asleep around 1am only to be awoken three hours later with a contraction that I just knew it was the real deal. What I didn't know was just what a hurry you were in to be born. With your brother I really had to labor hard just to get him to leave my comfy belly and join us in the real world, but you were exactly the opposite. There was no keeping you inside, and trust me, several nurses tried. You were gonna do things on your own time in your own way and everyone else better get on board or get out of your way. I remember holding you in my arms afterwards and looking at your serious, sleepy little face and wondering if that labor and your birth would be indicative of your personality. Now, one year later, I can say wholeheartedly YES, that is you to a T. 

You are headstrong and determined. You see an obstacle and your eyes light up because you have to overcome it. You don't require an audience or applause or any prodding, you just get a personal satisfaction from overcoming every obstacle you see whether anyone else notices or not. (But don't worry, mommy always notices and mommy's always cheering you on.) Just today we went to the playground but everything was too hot to touch. Did you give up and walk away? No. You touched the stairs from several different angles just to make sure it really was unpleasantly hot. Then you touched the railing and decided that was ok to touch. And then you taught yourself how to walk up the stairs using the handrail instead of crawling up like you normally do. You never once cried for us to help you or thought about giving up. You were going to make it to the top of that playground, the only question was how.

You are playful and serious, loud, but also quietly calculating and scheming, you're sweet and stubborn, you love to follow your brother around but deep down you're a leader. You are so intelligent. Too intelligent. I think the phrase "curiosity killed the cat" was coined specifically for you. Everyday you make me laugh with your funny little facial expressions, the way you snort like a bull when you're frustrated, or do a long, wound up fake cry to make your point. You love to joke around with us and you're always the first to laugh at anything daddy says. You understand so much but you choose to listen only half the time. We know it's a calculated choice and not ignorance because you give us a pointed look that says I know you want me to stop but I'm not gonna. You keep us all on our toes and if there is an escape route open or a child proof lock that isn't fastened correctly you instinctively know it and head straight there.

Everyday I marvel at the world as you see it and I feel so proud and blessed that I'm on this journey with you. One year is short but at the same time it feels like you've always been a part of our family. I am so excited to see what the future has in store for you. Or, perhaps more accurately, what you have in store for the future. Your daddy, brother, and I love you more than you'll ever know. Happy birthday sweet boy.

It's the Little Things: Cake Smash

Ezzy's best deer-in-the-headlight impression while we sang Happy Birthday

It looks like he actually helped us blow out the candle.

Once the singing stopped he started to get really upset...

...until he tasted the frosting.

From that first bite he was all about the cake.

The messier, the better.

Once he realized he could just shove giant pieces in his mouth at will...

...it was game over.

Notice half the cake is already missing? This was like two minutes later.

That one little tear is so sad!

There, that's what an "I devoured a whole cake by myself" face should look like.

Get your own cake, Dad!

All mine!

And I'm definitely not sharing with my cousin lurking behind me, either!

As I'm sure you gathered from the other posts I've written leading up to Ezzy's birthday, I was most excited about the cake smash. I had a feeling though that Ezzy was not gonna love having a bunch of people sing Happy Birthday to him. He sat stiffly through the song, staring directly into the camera with a traumatized look on his face. He burst into tears as soon as the singing stopped. So, naturally, I shoved some cake in his mouth as quickly as possible and then all was right in his world again. It took a little guidance to make him realize he could just tear the cake apart with his hands and shove giant fistfuls into his mouth, but once he got that down the cake disappeared in under five minutes. (I think, anyway. I went to the bathroom for some paper towels and came back to a cake-covered baby and a plate of crumbs.)

I love that last photo of Ezzy's cousin watching Ezzy eat cake behind the chair. Next time I will make sure all the kids get cake at the same time, so there are no plots on my son's life. Rookie mistake.

This week I'm linking up with Jess and Ashley for their Little Things series!

Ezra's 1st Birthday Party

There was so much excitement leading up to Ezzy's 1st Birthday party, and then it flew by like a whirlwind. Joe and I loved having so many family members that hadn't met all together in one room. A huge thanks to all the friends and family that were able to celebrate with us, and to all the family that sent love and gifts and video messages from far away. Your presence and love was the best present, everything else was icing on the cake! Speaking of cake, I'm saving the cake smash photos for a separate post, because I don't want to overload you with cuteness all in one post ;)

We had Ezzy's party at El Torito, in our own separate room, with a yummy buffet. Although this might not be the most cost effective route, I was very happy with the minimal clean up, and not having to cook or worry about food. When guests got there, we had them sign in on a copy of Dr. Seuss's Happy Birthday to You. One of my favorite parts of the party is being able to read through all the messages written to Ezzy and I know he'll love looking back on that through the years. I made two collages with 12 monthly photos of Ezzy, from birth to 1 year old, and had those set up on either side of his high chair. It was so crazy to see the change in him from month to month. Right around month three he really went from looking like a newborn, to looking like Ez (just smaller and less chubby). Afterward I gave them to the grandmas for Mother's Day. Joe and I made an Ezzy trivia quiz with 15 questions and prizes for the top 3 winners. My mom, Joe's mom, and Uncle Avery wound up winning, and they got an Ezzy mug, an Ezzy reusable shopping bag, and Ezzy magnets. For party favors I made sugar cookies shaped like a 1 and covered in different colored sprinkles placed in a clear bag along with stickers of Ezzy that I had made through Shutterfly.

The party went from 1 - 3, which overlaps with naptime, so when we got to El Torito Ezzy was sleeping in his car seat. He woke up right around the time guests started arriving, and it took a little while for him to warm up to the situation. By the end of the party he was having a great time though. His party was everything  Joe and I were hoping it would be, and again, a big thanks to everyone who celebrated this milestone with us. We love you!