we had decided to make it a family occasion. nothing big and fancy....we weren't that kind of people. we decided on a superman theme. i ordered the cake to be made professionally. probably days before the party. then i bought out the red food coloring at the grocery store. i made his personal cake myself. i spent HOURS on it. i cut it in the shape of the superman emblem. he wore a superman outfit. there were decorations. the grandparents were there. aunt staci was there. his great uncle jerry and aunt cindy were there. there was other food besides the cake. nothing flashy, like things that could be considered hors d'oeuvers, but extra food nonetheless. we even put a little fake superman tattoo on his arm. we were cool parents. there were gifts. lots and lots of gifts. the day had been in the making for quite some time. we had planned it. we had prepared for it. we had quite a birthday party!
olivia's first birthday.
we once again decided to go with the family only premise. i baked her a cake. this one was 9x13 in shape. wait, is that a shape? anyway, there was really no theme. i just purchased some cute little plates, cups, table cloth, and napkins that had flowers on them. olivia loved flowers after all. and i'm pretty sure there were some balloons. but the big event at this party was....are you ready? i had heard that the colossal colon was coming to dallas. in case you have not heard of the colossal colon, it is a gigantic colon that you could walk through. it displays what the inside of a healthy colon looks like. what a colon with diverticulitis looks like, and a colon with cancer. now, being the interested in colon health person that i am...i decided this would make for a good time while the family was in town for olivia's birthday. for whatever reason, my parents couldn't make it...but randy's parents humored me. they may have thought i was kidding. i'm not sure. anyway, we rode the DART (dallas public transit) into downtown dallas to see the "exhibit". it was eye opening to say the least. i will take this opportunity to say, "fiber is important people." after the good times in downtown dallas, we came home and had cake and ice cream. i think i may have had some extra candy to munch on, too. for whatever reason my parents were able to make it in time for the food....as is proven by the picture where my mother and i are standing in the exact same pose.
griffin's first birthday.
once again, a family affair. the grandparents were here, i think my sister was out of town. perhaps she heard about the last birthday party where an enormous colon was involved. and our good friend heather. i made a cake....i think. i'm pretty sure there was ice cream. and i'm almost positive there were balloons. i probably had other candy on the table. but i recall no theme whatsoever. i will have to look at the pictures. griffin got lots of presents. he has always been one to get lots of presents.
well, i found the pictures. no theme that i can see, but there was a table cloth, and cupcakes, too, apparently.
ella's first birthday.
i made a cake. i wasn't sure of the direction i was going to go with it until right before we were to sing the happy birthday to you....happy birthday to you song..... we bought plates with a disney character on them at toys r us 3 hours before the "party". we also bought her a present then. one present...because we are moving to africa and she can't bring most of her stuff with her when we go....so why buy it? we did take her to dinner at on the border...as she loves their enchiladas. when we got home, olivia wrapped her present with wrapping paper and glue....because we didn't have tape. we had no drinks. sorry heather, i just realized that. there was no extra food. there was no ice cream. and there were no balloons because ella is scared of inflatable things. pool toys and balloons send her into hysterics. she did get so excited when she saw the cake that she started to shake. griffin blew out her candle before she could get close enough. did i mention it was just us and heather? who i invited just a few hours prior to the big "party"? thank goodness she could make it. i would post the video....but i accidentally deleted it. i am so mad at myself for that! it was a good one, too. the kind where you can hear me telling people what to do and where to go over everyone else in the video. in all fairness to us as parents, we were traveling the day before and the day after this event. orchestrating a birthday party on top of itineration was just not something i could do. i'm sure others who have gone before me have done it, but i just couldn't. and have i mentioned griffin and ella were both sick during these festivities? a first time mom would probably have charged on with the party plans despite sickness, traveling or even a hurricane.....but i didn't.
the thing is, if it weren't for this post....i don't think the kids would ever know. the reason, because almost all the pics look the same. the baby in a highchair. a cake. the baby with cake all over their face... and the obligatory picture to remember it by. after all, when else do we take pics of our kids with food all over their faces? don't we usually try to at least spit clean them before a picture?
i've never been the mother of the year with my ability to remember all the things that i should do. i don't always take pictures of every important milestone. i have had to, on multiple occasions, ask my friends to take an extra picture for me b/c i forgot my camera, my camera battery was dead, or i just plain couldn't find the camera. i am at times unable to keep all 8 ears clean 24/7. sometimes i don't keep all 80 fingernails and toenails clipped to perfection. and i must admit, griffin had birthday cake for breakfast this morning. the thing is, i have some really amazing kids despite my imperfections. i guess it's possible that their super amazing dad is the one responsible and i'm just a smiling face roaming about the house....
back to my original point...do kids really care about their first birthday? i certainly don't remember mine.
