Ben's First Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Ben's First Birthday with our friends! His birthday isn't until Tuesday, but it's the weekend, so it seemed like a great time for a party! Luckily it did not rain and Eric was able to grill some wings, corn, and hot dogs! He also made some pulled pork in the crock pot. In addition to hot food, he also made some macaroni salad (Paula Dean style!), and two types of cole slaw. And of course every chef needs an apron, so he finally wore the apron I got him when Ben was born!

I was in charge of appetizers and dessert. Eric actually bought and cut up the watermelon, then I got whale crackers (like goldfish, but whales), and some m&ms...they have red, white and blue ones for the fourth of July, so I picked out all the red ones and had white and blue ones...my original goal was to make this an ocean themed party, however, I didn't end up doing too many ocean things in the end. That's okay! Lauren brought her yummy chicken buffalo dip, Crystal brought some broccoli salad, and Teresa brought some watermelon and pineapple - in her very cute, decoratively cut half watermelon!

Then there was dessert...OH BOY! I have to say planning this party while being pregnant and hormonal was not the best choice. :) I had a vision of the whale cake I wanted to make...thanks to pinterest. However, there were no directions on how to make it look just like the photo...so I had to improvise. That did not go so well. Maybe I will just tell myself, those people had their cake made by a professional! Yeah, that will make me feel better! So, it was not going as planned - I cried - I even figured out a way to do another cake that wouldn't be as cool, but would work. But after some calming down, Eric helped me envision the cake and piece it all together and in the end it turned out alright. Granted it took a very very long time, but it worked out and I grew an appreciation for the high cost of customized cakes at bakeries! Lesson learned: Next time, make a practice cake instead of waiting to do it for the first time the night before the party! Here's the cake...

Oh yeah, and luckily I took a photo of the cake as soon as I put it out. I guess it as kind of warm in the house, and his mouth and eyes started melting! By the time we served the cake, the face looked really bad! Oh well! I got the picture, right?! 

In the background of this photo is the birthday plate I made for Benjamin. I wanted something he could use every year for his birthday. He didn't actually use it this year, but we displayed it and showed it off! On the back I have his hand print and his birth date. Luckily, the pottery place allows you to take the supplies home and do the painting and then return it to be fired in the kiln. This allowed me to take my time and work on it while Ben was sleeping, instead of rushing in the studio before he got antsy! I love how bright the colors turned out and those hormones crept up on me again and I teared up a little when I picked it up! So glad it turned out well! Here's a close up.

Also, I made a little smash cake for Ben - because what's a first birthday without one? And I found a fun lollipop mold with ocean animals. Another hurdle I had to jump as I quickly realized you cannot add food coloring to the white chocolate melts. So I ended up with a few white chocolate ones and some blue ones. Once I got the melts, it was easy, but time consuming. Here's a photo of the dessert spread with plate, whale cake, smash cake, and ocean lollipops.

While Eric was cooking and as people arrived, we had some play time! Ben's friend Lex came (he's just a couple weeks older than Ben) and the boys had a great time playing with toys, checking out the dogs, and crawling after each other all around the house. Ben also greeted Regan (who is 2 - almost!) as soon as she came in the door! What a great little host! :) Ben kept trying to give Lex & Regan hugs and kisses! Such a sweet little boy! Of course, I never could quite get that super sweet shot, but here are a few!

Ben reaching to give Hugs!

 The boys checking out the dogs on the back porch!

And of course there was cake! In order to save on uploading lots of photos...I made a collage of Ben's adventure with his smash cake! Also, Crystal videotaped for us, so we could share Ben's first "Happy Birthday" singing and cake eating with our families and anyone else who wants to watch this little guy investigate cake! Check the video out here... http://youtu.be/MGTCL2oeRMg

Ben was pretty funny...he kept looking around as we sang like "What in the world is going on here? Why are all these people singing this song and looking at me?" He was a little apprehensive about the cake at first, but once he realized it was edible...he went to town! He ate the majority of the cake...while there was plenty on his face, arms, and onsie, I think he did a good job of getting lots in his mouth! So here are the photos...

A quick family photo before digging in! My little guy looks so serious!

I think he was just trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

 Cake eating time!

 I know this one is in the collage, but it is just so cute!!!!

I had to post a bigger version! :)

I love this little guy!  

So needless to say, this little guy was a MESS! Crystal helped me out as we excused ourselves to give Ben a quick little bath and a wardrobe change. We came back nice and refreshed ready to open presents! I forgot to try to have Ben wear his birthday hat during the cake eating, so I tried to have him wear it for opening presents. It lasted just long enough to get a photo and then he tried to take it off. So here are some photos of Ben "opening" his gifts...another collage!

 Fun with Bubbles...Ben looks confused, but Chris and Crystal are having fun!

 Ben looks scared of the bubbles here,

but I think he was more upset because he wasn't allowed to play in the dish of bubble solution!

 Regan enjoyed popping the bubbles...and even used the bat to get a few!

 I like this photo for two reasons. 1) Crystal finally convinces Ben that the bubbles are cool. And 2) Caught on Camera: Chris is SMILING at the baby! ;)

After some fun with bubbles, the party wrapped up and everyone headed home. Ben got a package in the mail from Meemaw and Grandpa, so we skyped really quick so they could watch him open it. Yesterday he got a gift from Aunt Kay. What a lucky guy! He now has his own computer (a superhero computer!) from Aunt Kay and a fun tool bench from Meemaw and Grandpa. After skyping, Ben needed a nap...he was such a trooper, since he only napped for about a half hour this morning...long enough for mommy to get ready! I don't think he stopped moving the whole time! He was wiped and had his eyes closed before I could even put him in his crib! I think he went down around 5:30 and it's 9 already...I think he's sleeping through the night! My other guy was sleepy too, and took a little nap after everyone left. Partying wears these guys out! :) I took the quiet time to upload photos and write this blog...baby girl is busy bouncing around too...looks like the ladies will be the party animals in this family! :)

Thanks to all who celebrated with us - whether you were here with us or just thinking of us! Can't believe our little guy is almost one already! But more on that in Tuesday's post - when he actually turns one...because I still have a few more days! :)