YUM, Yum....CAKE!

At first Anders did not know what to think about everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him, and he definitely did not know what to do with the cake.  Like us, he probably thought it was too pretty to dig into and eat!

Bringing the cake to the table and singing "Happy Birthday"...

Sweet Anders looked like he was going to cry -- I think he was a little overwhelmed...

Blowing out the candle...

Daddy helping Anders get into the cake...

His first taste...

Realizing that it is REALLY good and wanting more (and MORE)!  Anders sat at the table for more than a hour just eating away at the birthday cake, and sharing with Bella of coarse!  By the end he was completely dusted with sugar and needed a bath...(warning, LOTS of pictures - but I love so many of these!)

Shoveling it in (so funny)...

My sweet mess...

Our big boy using a spoon to dig into the cake...

Happy Birthday Anders, we LOVE you so much!

More BIRTHDAY party pictures...

Sarah baked & decorated BOTH cakes...

Mommy reading Daddy's sweet note to our little birthday boy...

Grandma signing the picture mat...

Anders DID NOT nap well the day of the party (maybe about 20 minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon).  It is like he knew everyone was coming over and he was going to get to eat as much birthday cake as he wanted -- and so he did not want to sleep!  He ended up falling asleep 10 minutes before the first guests arrived. So after 20 minutes of a nap, Anders woke up to find a house full of guest for the PARTY!  He wasn't sure what to think & note he is still in his PJs and not in his party clothes yet.

Looking down at all the party-people below...

Checking out a birthday balloon with Grammie (Anders is still not sure what to think about this party)...

The buffet of food - BBQ, grilled veggies, chips, coleslaw, relish tray and fruit...

Anders' BIRTHDAY Party

Anders' first birthday party was this past Sunday -- it was the final hurrah to his birthday week and a half celebration!

The INVITE:

The DECORATIONS:

The CAKE (isn't it the CUTEST, made by Sarah Holley):

The SMASH CAKE:

Picture mat for the guests to write a little birthday note to Anders:

Little more DECOR:

More birthday pictures and details to come...

Opening his FIRST birthday gifts

Anders has celebrated his FIRST birthday numerous times -- he has gotten to eat sugary treats and open gifts through out the past week and a half.  So I have a lot of blogging and picture posting to catch up on! 

Here he is opening his birthday gifts from Daddy & Mommy.  We gave him a few musical instruments including a drum, xylophone, and concertina.  But his favorite so far is the push cart full of wooden blocks (pretty sure it is Todd's favorite too).  Anders likes standing and pushing the cart around, and Todd likes building beautiful block towers and structures (for Anders to then knock down). 

Birthday cupcake, yum yum yum!

After eating dinner at Pei Wei, we went to Whole Foods to get a strawberry shortcake cupcake for our little birthday boy.  Anders got to stay up late for his birthday celebration (he hadn't taken an afternoon nap, so I was worried)...dessert started WAY after bedtime, but he was STILL the sweetest!  

Daddy wearing the birthday hat...

I think he wanted Daddy to keep the hat on...

Blowing out his birthday candle...

Licking the icing off the candle...

Being the good eater that Anders is, I expected him to devour the cupcake.  But instead he wasn't sure what to think about it or how to eat it...

Sharing his cupcake with Bella...

HAPPY Birthday ANDERS!

Today is Ander's Birthday -- he is ONE! 

Well I guess not really 1 year old until 2:02pm today.  It has been fun thinking back on this day last year -- the craziness of Todd's journey to make it home, going thru labor and delivery, being told by the nurse that Anders had a head full of hair, and finally seeing Anders for the first time.  So overwhelming and amazing, but on that day both Todd and I were clueless on how much change and joy Anders would bring us this year.   We LOVE you Anders!

His official birthday party is not until next weekend, but we celebrated earlier this week while Daddy was home.  Pam Burrus (our friend who has a baby girl just a couple weeks older than Anders) MADE this birthday hat and personalized bib (you will see the bib in the next blog) -- isn't the hat the CUTEST?!?  The hat and bib both match the monkey party invitations and theme.  Anders is not the biggest fan of wearing the hat.   But after some creative cropping, you can not see his grandma's hands holding down his arms to keep him from yanking it off!  I maybe should not have confessed what was really going on, and just impressed everyone with these shots...

Okay, time to take the hat off :)

 More birthday-boy pictures to come later!