Birthday boy!

It's so hard to believe my little boy is one already! We started the day with a little sleeping in, which was nice for everyone! I woke Hayden up singing "Happy Birthday" and he loved it! He had waffles and peaches for breakfast, played and had his birthday nap. I told him to rest up, because when he woke up it would be time to party!

I iced his cake and the cupcakes and packed up the car. We had gotten him a birthday balloon on Saturday since nothing is open on Sunday, and Oscar was not pleased with our helium friend. He was terrified of it, so it had to go in the car as soon as possible. Most of the birthday goodies were in two bags so it was quick work to get the car packed and get us ready. We got Hayden up, put on his special birthday outfit and headed to the bowling alley. About halfway there Jay realized he'd left his bowling ball, so we decided to drop me off to set up and he and Hayden would go back for the ball.

A month ago I called the bowling alley to reserve Hayden's party. So imagine my surprise when I got there to confirm it last Tuesday and they had no record of it. The big issue was the little birthday room, which was already booked. We decided instead of trying to move around our date or time (since the invitations were long sent) that we didn't really need the room, we just wanted lanes and space. We requested the last four lanes, since they were furthest from the door (for escaping kids!) and closest to the snack bar. So imagine my surprise AGAIN when I arrived yesterday and our lanes were not reserved. We took the other four lanes, and obviously our bowling was free. I refused to let anything ruin Hayden's day, and since he didn't really care where our lanes were, I started decorating.

It was quick work, since 1st birthday parties in my opinion should be all about the little ones. The pizza was ordered, the cakes were ready and now I just needed our guests and of course, the guest of honor! Everyone started arriving shortly before 2 and the bowling and pizza party began. Hayden had chicken nuggets and fries for his birthday lunch, and was so excited to see everyone! He loves his friends and Germany family, and was pretty excited about that balloon that had caused so much anguish for Oscar.

After a few rounds of bowling, we started opening the presents. Hayden was a little tired at that point, so I started out with daunting task of opening gifts while holding a squirmy one-year-old. Jay was a big help, switching opened presents for unopened presents, clearing trash and generally being awesome. Hayden was excited about everything once we got home and he was able to see it individually without the distractions of friends, food and falling pins. Then it was time for what everyone was waiting for...the cake!

I made Hayden a mini-cake, along with some cupcakes and picked up a sheet cake from the commissary. We set his chocolate-iced, dinosaur-sprinkled yellow cake in front of him with his lit candle and he was ready! We sang Happy Birthday, which he loved, blew out the candle and let him go to town. He had no problems digging right in. Jay helped him put a little on his face, which startled him but then everyone started to clap, so he followed suit clapping with his chocolate-covered hands. He ate about 3/4 of the cake and decided he was done, so Jen and I took him to the bathroom for clean up. Luckily I had brought a new outfit, towels and baby soap so the two of us made quick work of cleaning and changing him. He was glad to be clean again, and spent the rest of his party moving among the remaining guests for snuggles and testing his escape strategies.

We got all his gifts in the car, cleaned up the mess and strapped him in. He was asleep before we left the parking lot! Bless his heart, turning one is a lot of work. He napped a little when we came home, and then started testing out his presents. We only brought in a few so as not to overwhelm him, and he had a blast last night with his ball popper, cars and Vsmile toys. He also enjoyed his new "bathketball" tub toys during his bath and ate some big boy dinner with mom and dad before bedtime.

We're sad Hayden's family wasn't here to see his first birthday, but his Germany family provided tons of love and fun to help us celebrate! Today's tasks include all the cleaning and laundry that fell by the wayside in preparation for this weekend, more attempts to get Hayden to like milk and learning how to parent a one-year-old. Let the new challenges begin!