Shawn’s 1st Birthday Party

Well, it is hard to believe that it is already time for Shawn's first birthday. But more on that tomorrow.

We had Shawn's first birthday party on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. We had the party at the nearby park so that the kids could play on the playground. We have a big backyard but figured we'd need more than just our little playscape to entertain everyone.

We did a neutral party balloons theme. It was really pretty with RED, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE and ORANGE.

Here are some pictures.

Goody bags for all the kids at the party.

These next few are from before the party started. Here is the present table.

One of the four tables, we had food on each table. We had Animal Crackers (a hit with the younger group), popcorn, and cheetos.

The birthday cake. I made it the night before and had just a few issues. :) But I think it turned out okay, and boy was it YUMMY!!

This is Shawn's personal birthday cake. He had a LOT of fun eating it!

The drink table: water, kool-aid and lemonade.

The decorations on Shawn's high chair.

The birthday boy. He was woken up from his afternoon nap prematurely. It took him a little bit to fully wake up and get into the party mood. :)

He is SO close to walking. I thought he might actually do it at his party. But he was just teasing me! This is a super cute outfit his Nana Thompson bought him. It's a 12 month outfit and I had been saving it for his party. Even now it is too big. Needless to say, many thanks to everyone for all the 6-9 and 9-12 month clothes! Very handy to have around right now! :)

This is Shawn's cousin, Eddie. Isn't he adorable! He is only about 10 days younger than Shawn. His party is coming up soon.

Here is Eddie offering us his carrot. Him and Shawn become good buds. They were trying to share food and sippy cups, pretty much anything they got their hands on. They were so cute together.

This is Eddie's big sis, Abby. She has the most gorgeous ringlet curls and is so sweet. She was my helper bringing me gifts for Shawn to open. I hope I have a little Angel like her someday. :)

The birthday boy opening his first gift. This one is from his sweet Nana and Papa in Atlanta.

Here are some of the adorable outfits Nana and Papa bought Shawn. I can't wait to see them on. Thanks again! :)

His Pooh card from Kathy.

Presents from Aunt Cherie and Uncle Noel.

I love this little outfit they bought. He will definitely be styling. :)

An outfit from his favorite Aunt Sara. And the finger puppets are super cute. I can't wait to play with them, I mean, Shawn is excited to play with them! :)

Starting to understand the opening presents thing.

The super cute book from Nana and Papa. The little ducklings on the front are soft and fuzzy. We've already read it about 6 times since Sunday.

The cute card from Great-Papa (Bryan's grandpa). The little dump truck on the front actually moves. Shawn was just mesmerized by it! :)

And here are the CDs Great-Papa sent. There are 3 60-minute CDs of Christian songs and lullabys. We listened to them today and they are great. I even know most of the songs and could sing along.

This is one of four little Tonka cars Rick and Jacquie bought Shawn. He loves them already and even makes little car sounds when playing with them. He says "Voom, voom". Is this a guy thing, or what?! :)

Shawn finally started getting into the presents and was telling everyone what he got--a Curious George shirt and little shorts.

When it was finally time for cake, he was NOT interested in wearing his party hat and bib. What does the song say? "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!" So, he did. :)

He got better once the hat came off.

Lighting the candle on his brthday cake.

He was mesmerized with the candle. Every month we do a birthdya cupcake with candle and he wants to get to it so badly. We've never let him be this close to it. Frankly, he just didn't know what to do!

Same with the cake. He would touch it very gingerly. Just with his finger at first. He'd stick a finger in and then lick off the frosting.

Then he started sticking his fingers in.

But it wasn't until he got his fork that he really wen't to town on the cake.

Little messy face. He even has blue icing in his hair!

Now on his chest.....

And more icing.....

We figured if we were going to break the no icing rule, we'd let him have his first cookie, too. He really liked the cookie.

We also let him have some ice cream. He enjoyed that as much as the rest. But he only wanted to eat it with his fork.

Can you see the full extent of the mess? He has cake and icing on his legs, arms, belly, all over the high chair. It was a real mess! :)

He even wanted to share with Mommy! :) If you look closely you can even see his top two teeth.

Here are some of the party-goers. Thanks again everyone for make Shawn's birthday SO special. We love you all and cherish our friendship with each of you.

July Girls Night Out

Well, I didn't post about the past few GNO...sorry! In May, we went to see a movie and it is hard to take a picture inside a movie theatre. :) On May 17th we went to see a "Chick Flick" and had so much fun. There is nothing like seeing a good girl movie with other girls. We saw Made of Honor and laughed (and cried) with the rest of the crowd. It was a great time.

In June we met for coffee in Belmar, and then headed to Lucky Strike for some bowling. The Lucky Strike alley is AWESOME! It is always good to have time with the girls. We had a good turn out and will definitely look to do this again in the future. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and so there are no pictures! OOPS!!

I again forgot my camera at this month's fun GNO. Luckily, my good friend Laura remembered hers and so she got some great pictures. We went to a Paint your own Pottery studio and really enjoyed the time together. There was a good turn out at this event too and we will be adding this one to the schedule again soon (maybe in time for the holidays?!). Here are the pictures from the evening and also some from each of our 'masterpieces'! I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed painting them. :)

Our group on Monday: (L to R) Lynette, Sara, Cory (my good friend from Allied), Rachel S., and Me (Laura is the photographer)

Busy at work

Another shot of us at work.

The other half of the table working.

Laura at work on her Masterpiece! It turned out gorgeous.

Smiling for the camera.

Here are our art pieces. This is Lynette's--she is a HUGE Detroit Redwings fan. She also painted a really cute pair of flip flops.

My friend Cory painted this adorable jewelry box for her three-year-old daughter, her nickname is "Mo". I love it, Cory!

This is the frame I painted for Shawn as a gift for his Birthday. I LOVE the way it turned out. Let's just say I cried when I saw it. More on that in a future post.

This is what Rachel painted. You can't really tell the colors from this picture, the swirls are a pretty chocolate brown, and the dots are maroon. She said these colors match her kitchen and she plans to put it on the wall in her kitchen.

This is Sara's plate and I love the way it turned out. She painted it a dark Eggplant purple-which matches her kitchen. She painted these cool swirls in a puffy black paint along the edge. Shw plans to use it as a candle plate in her kitchen.

And last, but certainly not least, is Laura's plate. Laura and her husband are moving from Colorado to Missouri in September. They are moving there to open a Ranch for Troubled boys called Whetstone. She came prepared with a picture of what she wanted to paint. This is actually a replica of the Colorado state quarter. This picture definitely does NOT do her plate justice. It is absolutely gorgeous and I am in love with it.

Thanks for such a great time, Ladies. See you next month for another great time!