I think I was more excited about his birthday than Atlas was, but I was glad my excitement was contagious and he was smiling as I got him out of bed. That, of course, made me even more happy because my one year old little boy is just the cutest! I hated going to work and missed him even more than I do on regular days. I was just glad he could spend his birthday at Grandma Gardner's because he probably loves it there more than anywhere else (including home). 
I made all the decorations for the party and spread out the crafting for at least a month so it didn't seem like too much work (I can hardly call it work because I love creating things). Side note- there seem to be two groups of people when it comes to a baby's first birthday party. There is the group that makes a big deal and throws a themed, decorated party and the group that says, 'a one year old doesn't care about a party'. I knew Atlas didn't care about a birthday party but I still found myself in the first group. I came to the realization that I wanted to make all the decorations and throw the party because that is what I really love to do, not because he cared or because other moms might care. It was a little reminder that I can still be a mom and incorporate doing the things I love into my child's life. End of self introspection. Back to the cute boy.
I wanted him to have a fun hat to wear since little girls get to wear tiaras. I think this fit him well. The theme of the party was "Celebrating our little adventurer". His baby shower was nautical themed and he's had whales and such in his room for the past year, but it just didn't seem to fit him as he grew into a little man. So I came upon this adventurer theme that fit him perfectly. The bonus is we can use these party decorations to decorate his room (who wants to throw away all their hard work?!).
I kept the food super simple- Costco rolls, green salad, and a hearty Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli copycat soup (recipe here).
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| I've got to brag a little here... I designed this myself on my iPhone with the Rhonna Designs app. It's probably the only app I've ever paid for but I think it was well worth the $2 to make this poster. And then I printed it on engineer paper at Staples for another couple dollars. I love cheap and easy! |
I had some ideas about making a healthy cake from scratch, but in the end I decided I'd rather use my time on other parts of his party. So I just cooked up a box cake mix. However, I probably shouldn't have chosen the pudding-in-the-mix cake because it pretty much fell apart when I tried taking it out of the pan. So his two layer cake ended up being one. I know he didn't mind.
Let's be real here, the best part of the whole first birthday party is the smash cake. We couldn't wait to see how he would react to a whole cake to himself. He actually took a long time to get into it. He loved digging in and then putting it on his tray but we had to convince him to start eating it. Even though he seemed to like the taste, he didn't eat tons. I don't think he loved having his hands covered in goopy cake (I really shouldn't have gotten the pudding mix kind). But he got messy and had fun while we all loved the entertainment, so that alone made the party a success. Side note- I'm so glad we live in San Diego so that it was warm enough to be possible to have an outdoor birthday party and be able to strip him down for the cake smash!
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Atlas isn't your typical baby when it comes to presents. I know most people say the kids will love to tear open the wrapping paper and play with that or the box instead of the gift. Nope. There's no foolin this kid. He doesn't care at all about the wrapping paper until you open it enough for him to see there's a toy inside. So I had to wrestle him to open each gift and then he absolutely loved his new toys. Grandma Carpenter got him a big dump trunk with a shovel and other toys that he's been using outside to play in the dirt (his favorite pastime). I'm sure it's going to be fun at the beach too if we ever decide to take him on that adventure. She also got him this little lawn mower that sings and it's become his other favorite outside toy.
Grandma Gardner and family got him this cute puppy, Scout, that talks to him and sings. It even calls him "Attie" in this adorable little voice and sings his name into songs. I'm not gonna lie- I sing along to those songs and love them. And now I've started calling him Attie, even though I didn't think I would like that nickname. It also plays bedtime music and he uses that to go to sleep at night. So, yeah, we love that toy. Aunt Kamden sent the perfect moccasins, which he now wears everyday. He brings them to me when he wants to go play outside.
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Apart from our family, we were so happy to have our friends Parker, Stephanie, and their little girl Cora join the party. I don't know who loves the play dates more- the kids or the parents. But tell me they aren't adorable playing together! Cora gave Atlas this little plane toy but wasn't too excited to give it up.  |
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| He loved this water bottle from mom and dad all of two weeks and now we can't find it anywhere. :( |
 Aunt Sue and Cousin Andrea crafted up the cutest box frame from classic children's books. It's already on display in Atlas's room and it fits in perfectly! |
While we were all sitting around enjoying each other's company, Atlas couldn't contain his excitement. I wish I would have taken a video of him. He basically did laps around the yard. He would run down the sidewalk, run through the grass, run onto the patio (occasionally fall and hit his head- oops) and ran back to the sidewalk. Over and over and over again! He didn't even eat enough of the cake to blame it on a sugar rush. He was just so happy because it was the perfect combination of things he loves- being outside and free to run, and being surrounded by people. I'm glad he enjoyed his party!  |
