First Birthday Party

The only reason that I have time to type up this blog post is because my son is still so exhausted from yesterday that he has literally been sleeping the day away. I feel like I have an itty bitty again, with all the free time I've had today (except that I got a good night's rest....that does not go in itty bitty territory).

So, the birthday party was a HUGE success! YAY! I've only been planning since (don't judge) January. The theme was 'Welcome to the Jungle.'

First, we woke up at 5:30 and started getting ready. "Thankfully," Little Man was up to keep me company...

I got to work decorating the table...

I decided to do cupcakes instead of cake because I thought they would be easier for parents and kiddos to eat, no one would have to be responsible for cutting the cake, and because the cake that I wanted was $151.00. Are you kidding me?

So we had jungle cupcakes...

Then, I got the idea one day while failing to avoid the Little Debbie section in Walmart, to do Zebra Cakes!

Then, I did Jungle Trail Mix...

And, finally, Cheetah Food...

It was a delicious, jungle-ish feast! :) (On a side note, can I just say that having a kid's party at 10:30 is like the perfect time to have a party?)



So, as far as decorations go, I was busy, busy, busy! Thankfully, one of my close friends, Tasha, helped me out majorly. Like, I couldn't have done it without her!! (Thank you, Tasha!)

First, there was the wall of vines that took me forever and a day to finish...

Then, there was the birthday banner, jungle animals, and pictures of Nathan month to month...

The barrel of monkeys hanging from the light fixture...

The Welcome to the Jungle leaves...

I had fun decorating the back deck, too!...

There was chalk...

And bubbles...

And big, bouncy balls (which were part of the party favors...a big hit!)...

The weather decided to cooperate and be pretty much perfect for the first half of the party. Everyone played outside. It was so much fun!

Then it was time for some serious gift opening! The birthday boy didn't rip into the paper quite like he did at Christmas, but I think it was because everyone was watching him and he felt a little shy. He got some awesome toys, books, and clothes!...

He loved his big gift from Mommy and Daddy...

And then it was time for cake. Mickey's Special Affairs did his smash cake, and I was totally in love with how adorable it turned out! I stripped him down to his diaper, because I know my son. He is not afraid of a little mess. Or a really, really big mess, for that matter...

And yes, in case you're wondering, we did have to clear his nostrils so that he could breathe. This boy seriously loves some cake. This was all that was left...

So, whew!, the first birthday party is over! It was a blast! I am so glad that I gave myself so much time to plan. I know I'm silly, but I felt like more planning went into this than into my wedding (wink, wink)! On his actual birthday (June 29th), I'm sure I'll have some mushy-gushy blog post. I only cried twice yesterday. That's not bad, right?? (Can you believe he is still asleep? I never thought I would get to finish this entire blog post!)

Happy birthday to my sweet little angel!! :) What a wonderful, memorable day it was!! Thank you to everyone who came and made little man's day so special!