Simon's 1st birthday [part 2]

Simon's first birthday ended with a small celebration at our house.  While I was trying my best to keep things simple, I also tried my very hardest to make sure his party was as nice as possible.  The week leading up to the shindig was jam packed with trip after trip to different stores making sure I had all of the necessary foodstuffs and party favors for the event.  Eric and I spent a lot of time making sure the house was clean and we moved furniture around to fit all of our guests inside our tiny home. 

While the house seemed to be bursting at the seams with partygoers, we had a good turnout of family and friends from our small guest list.  When Simon made his entrance (after waking up from a solid nap with Cho-Cho), the birthday boy was in great spirits and really enjoyed himself.  He snacked on party food, opened his mountain-full of presents, ate his delicious cake, and played with his friends.  We got pictures of him with all of his guests and he had fun coloring for the first time and spending time with a bunch of people who love him.  Eric and I both agreed that our small event went smoothly and felt that the party was a success.

food central

the yummies

Obi-Wan Kebabs

Yoda Soda

Tusken Raider Taters

Jar Jar Links in a Blanket

Dark Side Salsa and Tractor Bean Dip

Vadar Veggies

Wookiee Cookies

Simon's cake

 all the treats + cupcakes

decorations

Simon's photos 1 month-1 year

"Simon" banner made using printables

décor - storm trooper and R2-D2

décor - Darth Vadar and Han Solo

the proud parents with the birthday boy!

opening presents:

hand made by Pappy

he loved the tissue paper!

Cho-Cho's sense of humor

 time for cake!

blowing out the candle

this cake is delicious!

party favors

 

signatures from guests

More photos will be posted to Facebook, hopefully in the coming week.  We are so thankful to everyone who joined in celebrating Simon's first birthday with us!



Simon's 1st birthday [part 1]

For Simon's first birthday, we wanted to commemorate the day's celebration by making it as special as possible.  February 10th fell on a Monday, so Eric and I were both able to take the day off from work to do something fun together as a family.  The time spent with our son on his special day was so memorable and our boy had a blast.  Here are some photos sharing how we celebrated Simon turning one year old.

We started Simon's special day by getting breakfast at Eric's favorite donut shop, Master Donuts.  Our plan was to share small bites of our treats (maple bar for Eric, blueberry muffin for me) with Simon but when the donut shop owner asked how old Simon was and we informed her that it was his birthday, she treated Simon to his very own sprinkled donut!  We mostly let him nibble off of the bottom of the donut and Eric ate the rest when Simon was finished, but the birthday boy really enjoyed the sweetness of his new treat.  We were totally not expecting to get a free donut for Simon's birthday, but we might make coming here a birthday tradition from now on!

Our next stop was to visit my work.  Simon hadn't been there since last May when he was 4 months old, so this visit was long overdue.  We went to my class first to see my students (the photo above is of Simon with my friend and classroom teacher, Jenny) and we played with the kids and took a few pictures.  After my classroom, we went over to the preschool class where I had started when I was first hired in 2010.  My fabulous coworkers in preschool surprised us with presents for Simon and we enjoyed cookies for both Simon and another staff member's birthday.  After preschool, we visited with a few other coworkers around campus and showed off Simon's birthday suit.  My colleagues really enjoyed seeing how much Simon has grown, and he was very sweet to the many new friends he met during our visit.

We were then off to our big event of the day: the zoo!  I'd taken Simon to the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary last summer, but this was Simon's first time at the big zoo in Sacramento.  Being so much older during this visit, Simon was really into looking at all of the animals and peering into the aquariums inside the Reptile House.  While he loved everything, Simon's absolute favorite animals to see were the giraffes.  He excitedly pointed to them and wouldn't take his eyes off of them while they snacked on leaves and moseyed about.  Eric and I referred to the giraffes as Giant Sophies, which most likely reminded Simon of his favorite teething toy.  Being a Monday afternoon, the zoo wasn't crowded at all and we were able to take our time viewing every exhibit.  The weather was perfect, our boy was in great spirits, and we had a ball having such special family time together.

After the zoo, we picked up Cho-Cho and headed back to our house.  Pappy and Uncle Ben brought pizza over for dinner (the birthday boy dined on spaghetti), and Eric and I shared about our fun-filled day with Baby.  After eating, Simon opened his very first birthday presents from his uncle and grandfathers and got some play time in as well.  The entire day went absolutely perfectly and there was nothing that Eric nor I would've changed.  We are thankful for our beautiful son everyday and know that he enjoyed celebrating his first birthday just as much as we did.  While I'm in no rush for him to grow any quicker, I am already looking forward to birthday #2!