Happy Birthday Little Man!

Wow - what a party for Reid!  Though not 1 yet, his party was this past Saturday and what a memory maker it was!  We were going to have his party at a park in downtown Oswego.  Nice little park, but really pretty location right along the Fox River with a covered pavilion and bridge and lots of room to run and play for the kids while the parents socialized.  Nothing short of rain (and lots and lots of it) would alter our plans...and apparently that's exactly what was in store for us! Two days prior to the party, we had the largest flooding the area has seen in 20+ years.  It was bad - lots of people had damage to their houses, water in their basements, electricity out, etc.  Thankfully we were saved from all of that (one of the bonuses to living in a town home where the "basement" is at ground level), but our venue for Reid's party was not.  The entire park was flooded - to the point that you could only make out the top of the slide - and Christian and I were left to punt... 

In addition to the flooding on Thursday, there was a cold front that swept through the area post rain, causing temps to drop into the 20s - with real feels of 18 and sleeting/snowing/hailing.  Hmph...How are we really going to throw a party at a park?  It's April 20th for goodness sake, it shouldn't be 20 (or even 30 or 40)...but it was, and after pursuing all possible avenues that we could think of, at about 5pm on Friday we resigned ourselves to having it at our place.  With 40-45 people (kids and adults) this was no small task of figuring out how to make it work, but with lots of help from family cleaning/childcare/decorating and friends loaning tables and chairs, it all came together! 

The best part was Reid's happiness and enjoyment of the day, which was the most important part.  He truly enjoyed his party, and that made all the craziness worth it.  I will say though, now that it's over, I'm glad!  It was certainly fun to work on and put together (I might have taken on a bit much this year in the planning area) but there's also a sigh of relief flooding through me post-party. 

Happy Birthday Reid!  We love you so much baby boy.

 

 Party favors for the guests - chocolate bars and chocolate mustache pops.

 

From scratch cupcakes. This kind was a chocolate cake filled with a salted caramel sauce and topped with a salted caramel frosting and a bow tie chocolate mold. (I told you I might have been a bit ambitious on my planning... :) )

 

Reid's Smash Cake!  And just wait for pictures below - he loved it!!

 

The other kind of cupcake was a Vanilla Bean Cake (with real vanilla beans, my first time working with them - yummy!!!) and a vanilla bean buttercream frosting.  Now I happen to be a vanilla fan over chocolate, but I will say both flavors were well received :)

 

The dessert table.

 

 

My friend Alissa made me the shirt you see, which says "If you 'mustache' I'm Mommy's little man"  So adorable and perfectly suited with our theme!!   

 

Reid checking out all the decorations.  

 

My birthday boy - sooo happy!

 

Micah was trying to appease us with a smile, but we had pulled him away from his hot chocolate at his seat, and he was very concerned about it still being there when we were done.

 

Micah's smile getting more and more forced, as he kept looking over Christian's shoulder every 5 seconds (at least!).  Aren't my boys cute though, in their bowties?? :)

 

Daddy and his birthday boy!

 

Reid was loving all the activity that ensues with 20 kids running around our driveway area.  I had placed him next to a heater, so he was nice and warm and happily watching everything around him!

 

Still pretty happy, but not quite as warm.  It was necessary to move him, though, so the cake didn't get all over our garage at least :)

 

"Happy Birthday to you."

 

"Happy Birthday to you."

 

"Happy Birthday Dear Reid"

 

"Happy Birthday to you!"

 

Helping him "blow" out his candle.

And now begins the story from Reid's point of view...

 

Hmmm...what do I do here?

 

Oh, this is quite yummy.

 

So much so that I can't look up for a picture.

 

Seriously, stop trying to make me smile.

 

Okay, I'll give you one picture because big brother came in the picture :)

 

Now, back to my cake.  Get in my Belly!!

 

Oh, this is so good.

 

Seriously, nice job Momma!!

 

Although I really think any kind of cake would have tasted just as good to me :)

 

Oh, what's that over my head?

 

Never mind, back to this delicious goodness right in front of my face!

 

I'm in heaven, Momma! 

 

Don't you have enough pictures of me already??

 

No?  Okay, then here's my next trick: "so big"  And if this is what happens when you become "so big" I can't wait for more!

 

I get presents now, too?  What a great day!!

 

Reid flung cake all over me during the present opening portion...whatever kept him happy, ya know? 

 

Watch out Daddy!  You're not out of my reach either...

 

And you either, Pooh! 

Photo Booth time! This was the one part that we had a hard time replicating from our park venue, as we were going to hang the frame and just have people go over during the party to take pictures with the props, but again, we got creative and made it work!

 

I thought it was hilarious that Micah chose the pipe here :)

 

 

The Smith Family

 

The Lacy Family

 

The Sjogren Family

 

The Isaak Family

 

The Koss Family (they really embraced the theme, and I love it!!)

 

The Cunnington Family

 

The Villarreal Family

 

Uncle Andy, Aunt Katie and Lilly

 

Nana Kay and Papa C

 

Grandpa and Grandma

 

And one last family attempt

 

Nana Kay wanted one more picture with both boys, so we had to do one more the next day.  And of course, if he was using the frame, Micah had to include a prop with it :)

Happy Birthday Little Man.  You are such a joy to our lives, and can't believe it's already been (almost) a year!!  What a great year it's been, and we look forward to what the next year holds in our lives.