Whew! What a party! We did it. We celebrated Quinn's first birthday with a big shindig at our neighborhood park this morning, and man, was it fun! Honestly, with two kids and a crazy schedule, it wasn't easy to throw this party together. Just last night, I said to Sam, "We are never doing these big birthday parties again!" simply because it's just so much work, energy, time, and effort! But, then he said something that put it in perspective for me. He responded with, "We better keep having these birthdays!" And then, I thought about it, the same way I had on Banner's first birthday (when I gave up worrying about whether everything would go as planned and look the way I wanted after reading my friend's blog post about her son having cancer right before we left for B's party). Simply put, birthdays are milestones to celebrate - and to celebrate big time! I'd rather be stressing over cupcakes and icing and balloons and how much food we have and the weather - etc, etc, etc - than not having these birthdays to celebrate. Thank God for birthdays and that my children have them! So, with that perspective, I pressed forward with getting everything ready and organized for the big day!
So, where do I begin writing about this fun celebration? Well, let's start with the theme. I selected a literary theme for Banner's
first birthday (
The Very Hungry Caterpillar), and I decided to stick with literature for Quinn's first birthday. I picked
Oh, the Places You'll Go for his birthday theme - fitting for a celebration of life just beginning. Oh, the many adventures he'll have, the many people he'll meet, and the many places he'll go! It just seemed to feel right. So, with that, we moved forward with his invitation that we decided to call his: Quinnvitation! :)
And, once party day rolled around, I couldn't have asked for better weather (well, okay, I maybe could have asked for less humidity to get more cooperative hair and to allow for me to use cotton candy in the party favors instead of lollipops - see below). Seriously, the high temperature for the day was 81; there was no rain; there was a nice breeze. Perfect! And, we had such a nice turn-out! I especially love how helpful everyone was - helping clean up, take pictures, watch the kids, clean after the cake destruction, pick up pizza for us, etc. We have the best people in our lives!
Here are a "few" pics from the party:
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| The big cake - the one I did NOT make |
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| Monthly photos in a suitcase |
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| The sugary spread |
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| These were supposed to have cotton candy in them. The wet air was making the cotton candy wet, and it shrank. I had to come up with a plan B. I think these worked out, though! And, I'm glad I won't be saving baby food jars anymore! |
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| We asked guests to jot down a few wishes for Quinn and all the places he'll go. We will give these to him on his 18th birthday. |
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| Sam made a short video of Quinn's first year. It's our little gift to him. Sam did great! |
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| Watching the video |
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| When the video was over, we posed for a family picture. Banner was not up for it. Quinn wanted to give Daddy kisses. I was the only one participating. :) |
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| THIS is the cake I made. Quinn's smash cake - a hot air balloon basket. |
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| Although not strongly enough, Quinn did blow on the candles. We've been working on "blow." |
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| He was tentative about this new food. |
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| He did NOT like this texture and kept trying to throw it on the ground. |
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| With some help, he got to see the inside (a rainbow of colors), and he got more interested. |
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| Daddy showing him how it's done! |
After the party, we got home for some much-needed rest. Quinn was spent and needed to nap. But, once he woke up, he got to open a few presents. (We had requested no gifts - unless guests wanted to make a contribution to
The Birthday Party Project. Some people didn't listen to us! Regardless, here's a few of Quinn opening his gifts, which he and Banner both enjoyed!)
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| Quinn LOVED his new toy from Aunt Mischelle, Uncle Brock, and kids... |
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| Giving kisses to it! |
And, Mommy's gift was another "I Believe" just like Banner got this
year. I decided to do these for the boys each year - which helps me and
them reflect on our year together. This was the year Quinn was "0" years
old, hence the big "0" watermark. Reading through it makes me cry -
just thinking back to how far we've come in this big year of change. Oh,
the people we've met, the experiences we've had, the things we've touched, tasted, smelled, seen, and heard. Oh, the places we've been!
Happy Birthday, Quinn Redding!
