Happy 1st Birthday Austin!

This week on June 25th was Austin's first birthday! I really can't believe that he is already a year old. On the other hand I can hardly remember the time before he was born - it seems like he has been with us for so much longer. Moving on from my reminiscing... To celebrate his birthday we had a big pirate-themed party and invited several nearby family members and also friends that have babies around Austin's age. All in all I think we had about 15 adults and 6 babies in attendance.

(Picture courtesy of Stacie Lyman)

For the little babies that came, we set up a little play station on blankets with lots of Austin's toys. It was so fun to see them interact. When each one first arrived they just sat and stared at one other, but as soon as they felt comfortable they were all over the place - in the kitchen, crawling out the door, outside on the grass, etc. making the party much more eventful for the parents.

While the kids played, Jason grilled up some amazing hamburgers and hot dogs which we had with fruit and veggies. 

Shortly thereafter we sang "Happy Birthday" to Austin and cut the cake. We got our cake from the local grocery store and since it was Austin's first birthday, they also provided a complimentary "smash cake" which I thought was an absolutely brilliant idea. 

 

(Just fyi, if you look closely at the candles, you'll see they are actually mini explosives)

Contrary to what we had expected Austin to do with his smash cake, he was actually rather gentle (click on this video above to see the action).  He began by scraping off the frosting and it wasn't until a few minutes later that he actually dug out a couple chunks of the actual cake. Here are a couple pictures of the aftermath.

Once most of the cake was consumed, we opened gifts. Austin was definitely spoiled this birthday - he received so many toys that I don't think he knows what to do with them all! He got some books, balls, bath toys, stuffed animals, bean bags, bubbles, a phone, etc. A few additional items that his parents especially appreciated include some little outfits, pajamas, socks, shoes, a stroller, and some decorations for his room. 

We really want to thank everyone who's help and generosity truly made Austin's first birthday the greatest! 

Happy 1st Birthday Austin!