Time for a Birthday Party!

Hard to believe, but Nate will be one year old in just a couple days! Last night he got to celebrate his birthday with Grammy, Grandpa and all the aunts, uncles and cousins on Mommy's side of the family. (Except, Aunt Codi couldn't make it ... she is going through the very sick pregnancy stage and had to stay home - Nate forgave her since he'll be getting a new little buddy out of the deal! We missed having you there, Codi!) Brian and Logan did record some of the night's activities for her, and as she said about Nate, "He was sooooo cute and Nate like (calm and smiley)." And he was. It was a lot of fun to watch him eat up the attention! He seemed to really enjoy all the bustle and noise around him.

Some of the moments I loved ...

1. Seeing what a great job Ron and Ben did putting up the decorations.
2. Watching Nate laugh when the adults laughed at dinner ... he seemed to genuinely want to join in the fun!
3. Trying my hand at making and decorating his birthday cake - and having it turn out cute and yummy!
4. Watching all the kids pretend to be puppies (our theme) and playing great together.
5. Relaxing and talking with my family.
6. Watching Nate enjoy absolutely every bit of the piece of cake we gave him.
7. Listening to Lauryn quietly ask, "Can I open my presents now?" (She didn't quite understand that birthdays aren't like Christmas. She thought for sure one of those wrapped gifts was hers!)
8. Helping Nate open his birthday presents.
9. Seeing the other kids help him open his birthday presents.
10. Finishing up the night and not feeling too exhausted ... it hit me this was the first time I had planned and executed a 1st birthday party for one of my kiddos that I wasn't pregnant! No wonder I was able to get so much done without feeling tired and grouchy!