Fun to Be One! Henry's First Birthday Party

We had so much fun celebrating Henry's first birthday with family and friends and all of the details/party pics are posted below.  We went with a "Fun to be One" theme as he is at such a fun age and truly is a happy guy.  As I've mentioned before, my sister in law, Courtney, designed and had the invitations printed and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.  She is so talented and the invites really set the tone for the party.  Also, not pictured below is the back of the invite which had a timeline by month of Henry's milestones and his favorite things.  A detail that I loved :)

The morning of the party was a little crazy as we were out picking up food, blowing up balloons and getting everything ready.  We did manage to snap a few pictures out front and this is my favorite of our little family.

We decided to go with a few big balloons and I loved how it all looked outside and in our house.  We painted the letters ONE and tied a big balloon to them to greet all the guests.

Another favorite detail of mine was a board that my mom made listing all of Henry's favorite things and milestones as a one year old.  We ordered cookies as party favors from Hayley Cakes & Cookies that were seriously so good and cute.  I've included another close up picture below.

The party was at noon and we served Pot Belly sandwiches and chips in blue strawberry baskets I ordered from Tomkat. We also had fruit and picked up a tray of chicken nuggets from Chickfila.  For drinks I made a Fall Sangria and had a variety of Izze fruit drinks that were blue, green and orange.  For dessert we ordered bundtinis (a personal fave of mine!) from Nothing Bundt Cakes.

I knew I wanted to display monthly pictures of Henry and this window pane was perfect.  My mom and I made the banner and printed out balloons to place next to each picture with the month.  I loved how this turned out and it was so fun to see how much he had changed throughout the year.

We had a photo booth area which was so much fun!  I had each guest take a pic with Henry and then I had all the pictures printed polaroid-style through Printsagram to send in the thank you notes.

And of course, I have to include a few shots of the birthday boy himself.  He loved playing with the big balloons and wanted to grab all the props :)

Henry did so well at the party and was happy to see and play with everyone.  He received so many great gifts and had fun tearing open the paper.

After we did presents it was time for cake!  We stripped him down and all sang Happy Birthday to him.  He was so happy and excited and I'll always remember this moment.

Henry had tasted the cake previously at his trial run and this time he was all about eating instead of smashing.  Can you blame him??  Who wants to smash the cake when you can eat it?!?

We took a quick rinse in the sink and then it was time for an outfit change.  The Aggies were playing Alabama and most everyone was staying over to watch the game.  It was requested that Henry wear maroon at this point :)

Henry spent the rest of his party playing with his toys and hanging out with family.

And a few photo booth pics :)

All in all, it was such a fun day and one we'll never forget.  The Aggies managed to beat the #1 team and the celebration continued all afternoon and evening :)

We are so thankful for the family and friends that helped plan for this party and then helped us celebrate our baby boy.  Hard to believe my boy is now a one year old but I'm looking forward to what's to come.

Before I end this post, I have to show a picture from the next day.  We had the BEST morning and Henry went from toy to toy and playing with his balloons.  He seriously couldn't stop smiling and laughing.  Now that is a memory that I'll never forget :)

Thankful

So much to be thankful for this year but I'd say this guy is definitely at the top of my list :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Smash Cake Pictures!

A week before Henry's first birthday party we decided to do a little test run with the smash cake.  I'm so glad we did this as it was fun to see all his expressions and capture it on film.  He was a little more reserved at his actual party with all of the people there so I felt like we got the "real deal" with this go round.  

We took the pictures at my parents house and I think they turned out great!  My mom found the high chair on Craigslist and had painted it.  She was also responsible for the cute decorations and baking the cake - Thanks Mom!  

Henry loved the balloons and was very interested in touching them.... That is until the cake came along!

 Hmm.... what is this??

Not so sure about this...

Is she actually going to let me play with this?!?

Well in that case....

It sure feels good on my fingers...

This is pretty fun...

Mmm...and tastes good!  

Feels good and tastes good?? Score!

Thanks Mimi :) 

Best day ever!

Let's get back to eating...

 And smashing...

Birthdays are awesome!

Party pics coming soon :) 

Twelve Months!

Henry Ryan... you are twelve months old!  

And you are so over these pictures.  You and I both buddy.  You just have no desire to sit still in this chair and smile pretty for the camera.  I hesitated posting this picture but this is the truth and that's the story I want to tell.  You did great for 11 months in this chair so I think we'll call it a success.

I did distract you momentarily with a book though :)

You are still all smiles and the happiest little boy I know.  I'm not so sure I can call you "little" as you weigh nearly 22 pounds but I love your big cheeks and your round belly.  You are wearing size 4 diapers and are in 12-18 month clothes.  You continue to love all foods and we're yet to come across something you don't like.  We traveled to Kentucky this past month to visit your cousins and I'm pretty sure you ate more than your 3 year old cousin, 5 year old cousin and even your 7 year old cousin!  You are taking a morning bottle, night bottle and every now and then one during the day.  You are still on soy formula but we hope to transition you to whole milk here soon. You had a new tooth pop through on the top which takes you to a total of three teeth!

You're not walking but love to cruise around with all your fun toys you received for your birthday.  You are not standing on your own either but I think we're close.  

You are finally taking great naps, usually 1-2 hours in the morning and then another hour nap in the afternoon.  You go down in the evenings between 7-8 and wake up between 6-7 in the morning.  No complaints here!

This is the point where I stop posting cute pictures with my nice camera and show the real life photos.... 

Kiddo, you are out.of.control.  And I love it!  I love your smile, your laugh and your curiosity.  We are constantly chasing you around and trying to keep you off the stairs.  You love to turn on the water in the bathtub and giggle, you love to climb on top of the laundry basket and you love to splash in Benny's water bowl.  Speaking of Benny, he is your favorite.  I know you two are going to be best buds.  Not sure Benny thinks that at the moment but I know he'll change his mind :)

You love to play in the pantry and pull everything off the shelves.  I caught you pushing an empty water bottle  box up the wall.... Pretty impressed with your skills actually :)

I also caught you with the toilet paper one day.  You successfully pulled it all off and dragged it across the room....

You also turn in to "Superman" when you get excited.  You point your toes and your arms go straight out and you wave them up and down.  It is the absolute best and makes us smile.  

I am so thankful for my iphone so I can capture all these moments.  So long are the days where I can take great pics on my camera and you smile and pose for me.  You are on the move and I'm lucky to snap a quick pic on my phone.  

H Man - this has been the BEST year of our lives and we are looking forward to many more to come.

Happy First Birthday Henry!

Happy Birthday Henry!

These past twelve months have been filled with more joy and happiness than we could have ever imagined.  We've loved watching this boy grow and look forward to many more celebrations.  Happy Birthday H Man!

Quick Pic & Birthday Invite...

We just got back from a week long vacation visiting family in Kentucky and it was fabulous!  A full recap is coming soon but for now I'll leave you with a quick pic from Henry's first Halloween   Isn't he the cutest monkey you've ever seen?!?  Now I'm off to finish a few things for Henry's first birthday party next Saturday.  Aunt Courtney designed the invites and I'm in LOVE with them.  Can't wait to post all the details afterwards!