Happy 1st Birthday!

Well that was fast! My baby is ONE! Where did the past 365 days go?  

1 week

1 year

Overall, the last year has been amazing.  It's been a privilege to watch our son change and grow. I love watching him explore new things.  It's fun to see the world through his eyes.  The relationship and bond he has with his Daddy, melts my heart.  I love hearing his giggle when he sees his puppy in the morning and the way he laughs when she gives him kisses.  I will never forget the way he looked up at us when he took that first step all by himself--he was beaming with pride.  I know future years will be just as exciting even though those "firsts" are checked off the milestone list. 


Anyways, enough sappiness for now.  Now for the fun stuff..the party! We held his party a few days before his birthday.  We invited all the immediate family members--there were about 14 adults total. "Farm" was the theme of choice for our (hopefully) future farmer.  I made Philly Cheese-steak Sandwiches, roasted sweet potatoes (Owen's favorite), cut up pineapple, broccoli/cauliflower salad, and cherry/pretzel desert.  It was a pretty tasty meal. 

For the cake, I cheated and made a boxed confetti cake.  It was easy, I was running out of time, and who doesn't love confetti cake?!?  For Owen's smash cake I made an apple/banana smash cake; I modified the recipe from Our Haven Hill.  I used all-purpose flour compared to whole wheat since I don't stock whole wheat in my pantry. It's actually, a pretty tasty cake--it was more like banana bread than cake.  Going along with our farm theme, I frosted the cakes in a barn/farm scene and cow print.  My husband joked with me that I spent far too long decorating the cake. I probably spent 2 hours on it, but I thought it was well worth it!

Farm themed for our future farmer!

Owen is definitely spoiled.  He received so many wonderful gifts from family members.  At first, he was pretty exited to open presents...however, that excitement waned after his new car came out! Note to self: save the exciting gifts for the end! After he opened his car, he was done with presents for a good 30 minutes or so. We gave him a Case IH sweatshirt, a few books about tractors, and a swing for outside. He also received a lot of cloths, books, and toys.  In the weeks that followed his party, we had to put a few of them away to bring them out for later.

After presents were opened, poor buddy needed a nap---too much excitement!

Cousin Picture---They think it's fun to pound on the countertop

Hmm, what is this sweet stuff?

Not too messy

Beep, Beep! Coming through!