We celebrated Caleb's first birthday with a cookout on Sunday, July 12 starting at 4:30 pm. After cleaning the house, weeding our flower beds, mowing our lawn, buying & preparing food and decorating, it was finally time for the party to begin!
We invited both sides of both our families, our life group friends and my dear friend Suzanne, who unfortunately couldn't make it. It ended up being our family (Shawn, me, Joshua & Caleb), of course; my sister Jen & her husband Mike and their five kids Grace, Faith, Emma, Daniel & John; Grandma (my mom) & her husband Ken; my sister Becky & her husband Tim; Shawn's brother Brian & his two kids Grant & Jenavieve; Shawn's sister Missy & her husband Kevin; Shawn's sister Hilary; Nonie & Poppy (Shawn's dad); Shawn's sister Alicia & her son Jordon; Shawn's Grandma Good; and our lifegroup friends Becca & Angel with their kids Alayna & Kyla; Chris & Lisa with their daughter Isabella; and John & Angie with their daughters Lael & Alonna. I don't think I missed anyone!
Unfortunately, Caleb was somewhat crabby that entire afternoon. First, I thought he might be hungry...
So, we invited our guests to eat. Shawn was the grill-master (thank you, love!) and cooked hamburgers & hot dogs. We also served macaroni salad (thanks for your help, mom!), watermelon, a veggie tray, doritos, chips, pickles and all the fixins that go along with the burgers, etc.
Eventually I got the boys something to eat and tried to scarf a little myself before getting Caleb back down, who continued to cry. :(
Joshua & Daniel ate together at the picnic table.
Most everyone else sat on their lawn chairs and mingled.
Before long it was time to break out the cake. I had ordered both cakes at Giant, where you get a free round cake for your child's first birthday. They were marble with buttercream frosting, and we had three types of ice cream: chocolate, vanilla and 'party cake' (which Shawn picked out - and it was delicious, I might add).
With the 'pleasant' breeze, the 1 candle blew out before I reached Caleb as we sang to him. That was okay, though.
Unlike Joshua, who dove right in, Caleb simply put a finger in the icing and decided he didn't want any. He cried 'til we got him down, and the cake was basically in tact.
I took him inside to see if I could calm him down, and he tried to go to sleep. I realized that he had taken an earlier-than-normal nap, which had been great for us in getting things done for the party (like chopping veggies) but it didn't work so great for him, who was now exhausted.
I didn't let him nap because we had gifts to open, but eventually he got a second wind. I felt bad he didn't enjoy his cake (or his party, really).
I also didn't get to chat much with anyone 'til the end of the night because I was walking him around. He was a momma's boy, which is okay by me (for now). :)
Unforutnately, we couldn't give Bean much attention either since Daddy was grilling and I was consoling Caleb. I think our guests picked up on his need for love, though. That night after the party, he decided to come and snuggle us in bed and told us basically that he had missed us all day. He was so cute that we couldn't say no, especially with my surgery the next day.
People were starting to leave, so we knew it was time to keep the party moving and started opening gifts with Caleb.
He got some very cute books...
and toys...
...money for college and more!
When the party crowd had died down, Caleb actually started enjoying himself. Some of the aunts & uncles took the kids across the street to the playground, which I know Bean loved. Our life group friends with their little ones stayed and we sat in a circle and chatted while Caleb played and played and played.
Soon everyone parted ways and we cleaned up outside and inside and prepared for the next day. Caleb stayed up until almost midnight - his second wind carried him way past his bedtime, and he refused to lay down. Then Joshua came into our room about an hour after Caleb finally passed out. So, we got no sleep that night, but I'm not sure how much I would have gotten anyway the night before my surgery. I love my boys. Happy 1st birthday, Caleb Luke!
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