Rolin's real 2nd birthday -- July 24th

We celebrated Rolin's 2nd birthday the weekend before his actual birthday, once the Thompson grandparents arrived (more on that celebration later). We still didn't want to overlook the actual day of his birthday, so we had another mini-celebration at home with a few more presents and ice cream cake. 

His favorite present of all has been his mini construction trucks and his rock box from the Chyterboks!

We brought him his cake with candles...

...which he quickly took a bite of as soon as we turned our back on him. I tried to fish out the wax....

...then daddy tried to get out the candle wax. 

Then we gave up and took a family picture. This is how Rolin smiles for the camera. 

Sugar crash commencing...

Here's a little clip from his birthday where he thinks the cake is ham...

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My parents came down for my birthday weekend. This was probably the strangest birthday for me, mentally...I've always been pretty pumped about my birthday...I used to create countdowns and hang them in my locker at school. I think I was always so excited about them because my parents did a great job celebrating us. Whether we had slumber parties, family parties or just pizza after a soccer game, our birthdays were always made special.

I can only hope to do the same for Rolly and other kiddos.

But, as I said, this just felt different for me. I kept forgetting my birthday was coming. I kept forgetting it was October. I think the weather had something to do with it. Maybe it's because, while I still am important to myself, there is someone much more important that I think about all day long. Little Rolin!

However, mom, dad and Justin still put on a fun celebration, we gave Rolin his first taste of real ice cream (because he could have dairy at that point) and I scored a bicycle, some artwork for the wall and some other sweet gifts.

On my actual birthday, we went to breakfast before I took mom and dad to the airport. The exterminator came to spray our house later that afternoon and life went back to normal. Thanks to all who sent birthday messages! It's so nice to be remembered on your birthday :)

Riding the new bike!

Rolin with Grandpa and Gigi at breakfast.

Rolin was cleared to have diary shortly before my birthday, so my dad requested to be the first to give him a taste of real ice cream. It took a few licks, but he loved it!

Rolly and momma. Thanks for the earrings, mom!

We also went to a concert in a nearby park. Rolly got his groove on:

July 24, 2013

Rolin's actual birthday day was in the middle of the week, but we still celebrated a bit at home. 

We set up his gifts with a balloon the night before so there would be something new when he came downstairs on his birthday morning. 

He sat and looked at the set up for a few minutes before he went over to discover its mysteries. 

Then he didn't waste any time diving into the pile of gifts. He kind of had his mouth agape in wonder and awe the entire time he was with his pile of presents, with both Justin and I saying Oohh and Ahh as we marveled in his sweet face and wondered how on earth he was already a 1-year old little boy.

Look at his mouth -- he was like, whoa, all morning. 

After presents, we had pancakes and fruit for breakfast.

Later that day I staged his official birthday photo shoot...these do not get any easier. I have probably 100 pics of him in various positions, sneaking away with only one or two good pics. At least I got one :)

I'm not even sure how this scene unfolded...Rolin on the floor, Lenny falling off the chair.

Somehow he managed to grab my cellphone in the middle of the shoot. That always makes him happy for a minute or two. 

Yay, a good one! So cute!

After Justin was home from work we went on a picnic at Cannon Hill Park, our favorite park for walks and playing. It was a lovely evening, complete with Jimmy John's.

Rolin ate (spilled) peas.

 

He also ate (his dad's) keys. 

He wasn't happy with his own water, of course.

I really hope he thought it was a special day for him. His mom and dad sure thought it was! 

We love you so much, Rollybug. You make us proud every day!

Rolin's 1st Birthday

We changed the location of Rolin's 1st birthday party at least three times.

Plan A: Have the party at my parents' house and invite the universe.

Plan B: Have the party at our new place in Spokane (and con a comparatively smaller group of invitees to carry in and/or unpack a box during their stay). Invites went out with this plan.

Plan C: Have the party at a generous friend's house in Spokane (and con an even smaller group of people -- who still actually were ok with me changing their weekend plans around AGAIN -- to periodically remind me to take a deep breath in the midst of all the craziness).

Plan D: Have it at my parents' house after tacky-fully sending out late-night text invitations a day and a half before the party (and con people into actually coming so my kid will see pics of people at his 1st birthday celebration).

We executed plan D and had the party at my parents' house. I unpacked boxes of birthday decorations that I'd packed to move up the hill, revised the menu a bit, threw everything in the car and we drove to Grandview on Friday, also known as our fifth wedding anniversary.

Justin's parents arrived that night, too, and mom prepared a nice surf & turf anniversary dinner for everyone. We thought it was fun to celebrate our fifth anniversary in the same place where we married -- we even went out to the site of the ceremony for pictures.

This is the spot where were were married exactly five years before. (They still host weddings in the yard, hence the backdrop set up).

Rolin didn't care to listen to wedding tales of old. "I'm outta here," he said. 

The next day was a scramble to get everything together. Everyone jumped in to help hang up signs, make dishes and entertain Rolin. Thank goodness my parents had actually purchased hot dogs and buns. They also let me raid their cupboards for random condiments, decorations and other tidbits.

The party "theme" was Hot Dog Smorgasbord, similar to the S'mores Smorgasbord I did for Justin's 30th birthday. I created different themed hot dogs with matching toppings, my favorite being the Californian. I also used a lot of light/sky blue, yellow and red. A sort of picnic-esque look, you could say.

 

The "outtakes." Because of the small crowd and limited time (caramelized onions...what was I thinking?), we cut out a few choices. 

   

Some of the goodies, plus a few of Rolin's baby books for people to peruse. 

The hot dog bar.

Because we're still managing Rolin's cow's milk protein allergy, I made him a watermelon cake. It's a cake made of...wait for it...watermelon. Thank you, Pinterest! The coconut cream I chilled and whipped worked pretty well for the frosting.

Mom also made cupcakes, which we arranged in the shape of a number one. I made a last-minute mini happy birthday banner to stick in the cupcakes to add a little decor to their presentation.

Watermelon cake!

I've thought about his birthday since he was born, of course, but with all the last minute changes to the party plans (not to mention our lives) most of this was done on the fly. I think we did pretty well and it all came together nicely, thanks to everyone pitching in to help.

Yay! We survived one year as a family of three! 

As you can tell by the smirk on his face in the following pic, Rolin had no problem being the center of attention.

Birthday lovin' from Uncle Joe and Aunt Brianna.

 Time for presents!

A little croquet with Uncle Joe & Aunt Brianna.

Playing ladder golf with Grandparents Thompson.

The next day we headed back to Spokane, but not before stopping for brunch with everyone in Tri-Cities. And also not before finding a cowboy hat to complete Rolin's awesome cowboy ensemble. 

YeeHaw!

Brunch with the fam-bam.