Celebrating Our Little Pumpkin

I love first birthday parties, and I know and will admit that they are more for the parents than the babies, but the guest of honor is always so cute at a first birthday party!  There are so many accomplishments in that first year for both the little one and his/her parents, and in a way, it's like they're graduating from being that little baby to a big baby precious little pre-toddler!  

Jake made planning his first birthday so easy.  From the day I found out I was pregnant with him and counted nine months ahead, I knew we were having an October baby.  He was our little pumpkin from the very start, so what better way to celebrate his first birthday than with a pumpkin theme!  Out of all the parties I've planned (not that many honestly, but still enough for this statement to be somewhat meaningful), this was my favorite.  So, let's get going with the details!

First off, the invitation was adorable!  My friend Jesse made it for me.  You're going to have to take my word for the adorableness of it because I don't have a picture to post, but trust me when I say it was so cute!  The wording for it was "Load up the pumpkins and jump in the hay, it's time to celebrate Jake's first birthday!"

Now to the food...

I am kind of weird and like for my food to somewhat go along with the colors for the party, which were orange, green, and brown for this party (sounds pretty, huh?!).  I don't think I really even thought about the food colors going along with the theme this time until I'd already made the menu, strangely enough.  Karl and Cooper cleaned out the inside of two small/medium pumpkins for me to use as dip holders.  The first one had Ranch Dip (1 packet of Ranch dip mix and 16 oz of sour cream mixed together) in it, and we had celery and carrot sticks to go with it.  The other one had Pumpkin Fluff Dip in it, and we had cinnamon pita chips and green apples to go with it (I actually preferred the green apples with it, and I don't typically like green apples).  We also had a large chicken nugget tray from Chick Fil A, pretzels, and Cheez-Its to snack on.  For dessert, we had pumpkin-shaped cookies from Fresh Market and mini-pumpkin cupcakes with an orange cream cheese icing (which turned out really delicious, despite how odd it sounds; I tripled the icing recipe since I was piping it on the cupcakes).  To drink, we had juice boxes and sweet tea.  

Decorating with this theme was so easy and so fun.  Because of where I hung Jake's one year photo banner (a picture of him from each month this year), you can't see how cute it is, but once again, trust me.  I got pumpkin cut-outs from Hobby Lobby and strung them on thin twine.  Throw in small pumpkins, a couple hay stacks, and just the same ol' fall decorations I put out every year, and we were set!

We had the party from 11:00-12:30 on a Saturday, which is risky during football season.  Luckily the only game on that anyone cared about was the Georgia game, and we had that on the tv.  I was so proud of all the guys there because I didn't hear any grumbling about how this was taking away from their football day!  We opened presents while most of the children played on the deck or in the front yard.  Jake got some great little toys, but the little football he got was his definite favorite.  As I looked through pictures that night, I giggled at how he didn't let go of that football and wasn't interested in any other presents!

Everyone was already starting to nibble by the time we got done with gifts, so we moved on to the smash cake (the best part of a one year old party)!  I couldn't wait to see Jake's reaction because he has a major sweet tooth!  Cooper was hilarious with his smash cake and literally smashed his face right in when he realized he could eat it faster that way.  Jake, well, he didn't have that same reaction.

I learned that day that Jake doesn't like getting his hands dirty.  I made the mistake of kind of pushing his hand down in the icing some, and that really stressed him out.  He kept holding his hand out for me to clean.  And when I didn't, he started to cry.  The smash cake was a definite bust with Jake!

The part of the party I was most excited about was the hayride to our makeshift pumpkin patch!  Karl had borrowed a trailer from a friend and got hay to go around the edge for seating.  We got all the little ones and some parents loaded on, and Karl drove us around the neighborhood to the end of the street, which is just flat and grassy lots that haven't been built on yet.  We had put out pumpkins (smallish-medium sized) with Pumpkin Patch Pop-Rocks candy tied to the stems as the party favor.

When we got back to the house, everyone played and ate a little more.  It was such a fun day of celebrating out precious little pumpkin with so many wonderful friends.  It just warms your heart when everyone comes together to celebrate your child.

Donielle, Jennifer, and I lived together our senior year of college, and we all had a baby within the past year.  Actually, I had Jake in October, and then they both had their baby girls at the beginning of June, but it's still fun to have little ones close in age!

Jake is One!

Jake had a "one-derful" first birthday!  His daddy took off work to spend the day with him, which of course made both boys (and me) so happy.  He got his birthday presents first thing that morning.  His Nana got him a little four-wheeler so that he now has something to ride and play on when we're outside too!  Since our little one loves balls so much, we got him this little sports center to play with and a little football.  I've always given Cooper a book on his birthday instead of a card with a little note on the inside.  I decided to get Jake the same book as I gave Coop for his first birthday, Love You Forever.  It's just a classic!  

We also introduced him to our traditional birthday breakfast tradition: donuts!  He and his sweet tooth loved this!  I don't know how or when this became a tradition, but I feel like it's been for a long time now!

After breakfast, we had to do Jake's one-year pictures, and he showed off for me by showing me where his head is when I asked him.  I think it's so cute when he does it!

On Cooper's first birthday, we took him to the zoo for the first time.  Although Jake's been many times, it just seemed like the right thing to do that day.  After getting a quick Mexican lunch, we headed to the zoo, and it was rather cold!  It had been warm when we left he house, but it clouded over while we were at lunch, and it was cool!!  We all had fun nonetheless!

Griffin is the small giraffe you see in the middle.  He was born on New Year's Day this past year, and we always get so excited when Griffin is out!

We finished off our day with good naps and dinner at home.  Jake loves ice cream, so we went and got ice cream after dinner.  It was a wonderful day celebrating our baby and his first year.  As I rocked Jake that night, I couldn't help but just smile down at him.  I am so thankful of this child.  Every single thing about him.  God blessed us beyond measure with this sweet boy.  Lovable doesn't even begin to describe him!

A Hunter in the Making

My little adventurer has enjoyed several trips to the hunting club with his daddy and Pappy recently to get ready for deer season.  Four wheelers, chainsaws, and tools to put up the new shooting house he helped build...what more could this kid want?! My sweet father-in-law does a great job sending me pictures of their adventures.  These were two of my favorites!

My Little Boys

Some mornings are best spent bribing your children with candy so you can get some sweet pictures of them to mark your favorite ages/stages so far in motherhood!  Cooper is now a little way into being four.  I love Cooper at four!  He has such a servant's heart and wants to help anyone with anything all the time.  He has a sudden thirst for knowledge and is really starting to soak in so much academically.  If you know me, you know I am loving his sudden interest and excitement in the alphabet!  He looks after Jake so well and amazes me constantly with just how great of a big brother he is.  Jake was almost one when I took these pictures.  I love Jake at one!  He is so curious and suddenly has this independence blooming in him but still likes to have me close by for reassurance.  He has no problem letting us know when he doesn't like something these days.  He is the little brother, but he keeps his big brother in line.  He is so easy to make happy, but nothing makes him happier than Cooper.  And balls.  The boy loves any type of ball, but he seems to prefer footballs.  Little boys are special, but having two boys and getting to witness the bond and beauty (and messiness and rambunctiousness) of brotherhood is such a blessing.  As I fall more and more in love with my little guys and am soaking in the joy of them both being in such sweet stages at the same time (I know this may never happen again :)), I decided we needed to document this specialness!  Most of these pictures are of Jake since a candy bribe will only work for so long with Cooper, and Jake isn't mobile enough yet to get too far when I want to take his picture.  

Happy 1st Birthday, Jake!

I guess I've been in a mild state of denial that my baby is now one year old, and I've drug my feet on this post!  I can't believe he's one.  I see him as such a baby still, but I guess that's how it goes when it is your baby.  Do they ever really grow up in a mama's eyes?  

On the day Jake was born, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. having contractions (and went into immediate denial that I could be in labor...Jake seems to have that effect on me!).  At 4:35 I woke up Karl.  After a lot of stalling on my part and incredible patience on Karl's part, we arrived at the hospital at 6:00.  My contractions were 1 1/2-3 minutes apart at that point.  Jake was born at 9:45 that morning.  

The world became a better place when he took his first breath.  There was a sweetness, tenderness, and beauty in the world that hadn't been there a minute before.  I had spent months worrying and crying that I wouldn't love him as much as I Cooper and that I wouldn't have the same bond.  I laugh at that now.  

The moment I saw him, I was so head over in heels in love that I really believe I saw a glimpse of what it'll be like to enter Heaven one day.  Everything felt so perfect.  I looked at Karl a little bit later that day and giddily told him, "I do love him!" He laughed and said, "I told you you would."  

And oh how I do love this little boy, my baby boy.  He is a joy.  I've said it so many times on this blog, but he brings such a peace to our family.  The first year is so special as you witness your tiny brand new baby grow, learn, and explore.  Each stage is so short-lived, and each day is an adventure.  He is my little baby no longer; he is now my curious, sweet, sensitive, easy-going little toddler who tries to become more and more independent by the day.  

Thankfully he has a wonderful big brother who likes leading the way for him.  I pray they always will find a way to walk through life together like this.  

Happy 1st Birthday, Sweet Jake!  You are the joy of our lives!