Elias will be turning 1 year old this Friday. The whole year has gone by quickly, but now that it is less than a week away I feel somehow that I have been cheated. What happened? Where did the year go? My little boy is growing up! One of the sweetest things I’ll ever experience is his hugs. He’ll just crawl up to me in the middle of play time wanting a hug. But even then, he wants a one to two second hug. Then he struggles to be free again. What happened to the days when he’d lay in my arms looking up at me contentedly for minutes at a time? They are long gone. Pretty soon he’ll have stinky feet and muddy hands. He’ll make that machine gun noise that all boys instinctively know how to make. He’ll not only be walking, but running. His kissable chubby cheeks will have wasted away to a slender, handsome face of boyhood. I’ve got to enjoy every second I have!
We decided to celebrate Elias’ birthday this weekend so that next weekend we can have a quiet family time. We invited over all of his grandmas and grandpas in the area along with uncles and aunts. There were eleven of us all together squished in our place celebrating Elias’ first year. The little guy was quite overwhelmed most of the time. I think there were just so many people. It was noisy and crowded, but full of people who love him. There was an (almost) embarrassing mountain of presents for him. My sister-in-law was joking that it’s no fair we get the most presents, attention, and naps of our lives when we are too young to remember or care.
Elias' pile of presents.
When everyone arrived we made them watch a slideshow that Nathan and I made of Elias’ first year. Then we started opening a few. We knew it would take us awhile. Elias didn’t really know what to do at first:
Elias didn't really know what to do at first during present opening time.
Daddy and Mommy had to open most of the presents, but Elias eventually got the hang of it:
Elias liked ripping off some paper, but then he didn't want to finish the job...he just wanted to play with the paper.
After the first present opening round, we served a nice dinner. For dessert, I made Elias a monkey cake and some mini-cupcakes.
I'm quite proud of this cake I made. I've never tried anything trickier than a regular old layer cake. I had lots of fun and Nathan already has orders for his birthday next summer.....
Elias got to try the first sweets of his life. We’ve never given him anything except fruits or vegetables with the exception of mommy’s milk and a little salmon. He mostly just played and made a mess, but he did definitely taste some chocolate frosting. Yum!
Elias eating his first sweets....a birthday cupcake.
So of course, we had to take a break and give him a bath to clean all the frosting off. He had lots of fun.
Elias in the bath
Finally, we went to round two of present opening, and finished off that task. Elias got a lot of great loot including a handmade toy box, lots of fun toys, clothes, and books as well as puzzles. He even “read” the cards.
Elias "reads" his birthday card.
Needless to say, we had one tired boy. This morning when he woke up, Elias crawled out after nursing and was very happy to see all of his new toys and decorations still out.
Elias and Daddy this morning. Elias played with all his new toys....and the decorations too.
This Friday when Elias actually turns one, we will have some quieter family times. But I’m so glad that everyone could get together and help us to celebrate Elias’ first year!