The last of the cake pictures (I promise)

So, these are just a couple from our first attempt at 1 year old "cake eating" pictures. I love that he's covered in blue frosting...but I had a hard time coming up with a good place to take this photo shoot. I DID NOT want all of that blue frosting inside my house where I normally take back-drop photos. I could just imagine me scrubbing well into the night sobbing about how we'd have to pay enormous fees for replacement carpet when we moved out in October. So, we opted for outdoors (in a waterproof diaper so that we could just dump him, diaper and all into the tub afterwards), which I think is smart...except the lighting was not too bueno. We got some harsh shadows...but cute moments nonetheless. So, I'm sharing them, for the grandparents' sake if nothing else. Thanks for putting up with my obsessive cake photos, blog friends! This really is the last of 'em and I promise I'll move on to another topic. I just still can't believe my baby is 1 and turning into a toddler right before my eyes. He's beginning to talk more, meow more (that's right...he knows that's how he gets the adoring looks from the ladies in the supermarket and wherever we are!), walk more and today he folded his arms during the prayer at dinner and said "Ummmemmm" at the end. It's exciting and it makes me want to cry all at the same time! I wish I could bottle these moments...but I guess photographing them, journaling them and blogging them will just have to do.

It's my party...

So, I've never thrown a party for kids. NEVER. We decided to only invite the kids Wes actually plays with. I thought I'd keep it simple...cupcakes, snacks and playing at the park. I bought sidewalk chalk because there were some older kids coming and I knew they'd like it. Well, luck of all luck...I chose the ONLY day where it poured rain. We moved the party indoors and the kids were great! There were no tragedies with the green frosting in the house (my couches and floors are all still the right color). Wes only ate a little of the chalk while the kids drew on the porch and everyone played nicely. Nothing got broken beyond repair. It was surprisingly enjoyable and I found myself thinking that I could do kids' parties and LIKE them. So, we'll be in England next year with a whole new set of friends...but already my mind is conjuring up fun for next year's party. Here are a myriad of shots from the party (and I'm posting most of them because everyone likes to see "their" kid!)

How to REALLY eat a cupcake!

Weslee is one year old (and has been for a couple of weeks...but we just had the party) and I can't believe how quickly the time has flown. Each day he learns something new. Tonight he learned how to say "blue" well, kind of and he learned how to stick his colored alphabet letters in the tub to the wall. He is SO MUCH FUN to be with every day. I love waking up and wondering what he'll come up with. Anyway, one of the joys of turning one is the cake! We had cupcakes with green frosting (and because it was raining, we brought the party, the 12 kids and the green frosting inside...which wasn't disasterous like I had imagined). It was fun and I'm glad I captured it on film. I was looking at pictures the other day from a year ago and couldn't believe he was ever so tiny (or that my back was ever able to handle carrying him for more than just a few minutes). Here's to another year...and don't worry grandparents, more pictures will be forthcoming. These are just a couple for tonight!

I put the pictures in order from clean to dirty. We still have green frosting and chocolate cake smashed on our porch...just in case you were wondering.