The Birthday Boy

(Disclaimer: This post is full of pictures and sentiment about my adorable son. He's cute though, so I think they're worth looking at. Just thought I'd warn you.)

Happy Birthday William!

When did I go from brand new mom to having a one-year-old who is on the brink of walking? I can hardly keep up with this boy. I've been meaning to post pictures from his birthday for a week now, but I'm just now getting around to it. Somebody's been keeping me busy.

I wanted to make Will's birthday special (I mean, you only turn one once), but I realize that he doesn't even get what birthdays are even about. I was trying to think of a party theme that would reflect something he's actually interested in, but he's so young that he hasn't really developed a LOVE of cars or trains or animals yet. But, I asked myself, "What DOES Will love?" One thing kept coming to mind: FOOD.

Will LOVES food, and he's a really intense eater. He shoves food into his mouth faster than I can put it on his tray, and he eats a ton! It's a wonder he isn't twice as heavy as he is. Anyway, at first, I thought "food" was kind of a weird theme for a party, but then I was noticed his copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar on the floor of his room. And it hit me...Will is my own very hungry caterpillar. So the party's theme was set.

The week before his birthday, my parents were in town, so we did a party that Saturday afternoon with my side of the family. We had a great time, even if, I was scrambling to get everything together at the last minute. 

My mom helped me make an awesome cake, which I based off of ideas from Pinterest.



Oma helped me prepare food to mirror the foods the caterpillar eats in the book. We had sandwiches with salami, Swiss cheese, and pickles; olives; watermelon; and a fruit salad with all the fruits he eats during the week.

Graham picked up some helium balloons that we turned into a caterpillar. (Those are the balloons in the background of the pic below). I had planned to make a face to put on the red balloon, but, you know, that just didn't happen. :)

P.S. - Will really likes his Grandpa Wright. I think the feeling is mutual.

I also made Will a onesie with a caterpillar (I happened across the fabric at a quilt store that week...serendipitous!) and a number one that had a bite taken out of it.

After a kamikaze attempt to grab the flame of the candle, and being VERY sad when I pulled his hand back, Will got his first taste of birthday cake.

Will wasn't quite sure what to do with his cake at first, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly and enjoyed dumping large quantities of it on the floor...and was sent straight to the tub afterward.



It was a fun time, and he got some great gifts that he's thoroughly been enjoying since then.

The following week, we had another party for him with Graham's side of the family. This time I was on my own for making the cake, and I almost collapsed on the floor in frustration a couple of times during the process of decorating it, but I think it turned out well in the end. The benefit of having two parties with the same theme is that I was able to use all the same decorations the second time around. That meant they got more use, and I had less effort to put into party #2 (which was good because the cake basically took me ALL day). Win, win!

Will still didn't really get what was going on, but he really enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper off of the presents, and he ate a lot more of his cake the second time around (though he still threw a decent amount on the floor).

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us!