Let The Others Eat Cake

     Last week's birthday bash for our first grandson was purposefully low-key. With his parents currently undergoing a house renovation that has seen them moving out of their house and decamping to not one, not two, but three different locations, they opted for a "just family" outdoor party in a neighborhood park. The Daughter kept things really simple, and it was a good call. She served mini cupcakes from The Cupcake Collection, mini ice cream sandwiches and little bottles of ice water. There were picnic tables, a few helium balloons for decoration, a frisbee, some nerf rockets, lots of shade trees, and a good old fashioned playground nearby.
    The weather was amazing. When the daughter sent out her Paperless Paperless Post invites, and I realized the party was going to be outside, I worked up a sweat just thinking about it. Four o'clock in the afternoon in August in Nashville can be absolutely brutal. Last year the heat index for the very same day was 106. Yikes. The boy may have a few "hot" birthday parties in his future, but this first one was not one of them. The temperature was only 84 degrees, the humidity was low, and I never even broke a sweat!
    The Birthday Boy was a champ! He loved the attention, loved his toys, and had a great time. But he did not like his cupcake much. It was pretty funny!

Uh oh. Something's up.

Everybody has gathered around me, and they are singing some silly song.

 Oh wow. Take a look at that thing. Is that candle for me?

 I'm thinking about it...

 Not so sure about that blue stuff...

 I think it's growing on me...

 Good one of the family, except that I forgot to look at the camera!

 Let's skip the cake part...I'm just gonna concentrate on the icing...

 GiGi comes over to help me along....

 Now it's time to open presents. Yippee!

I love Thomas the Train!

 My cousins and sister are only too happy to help me out with the presents

Aunt Kelly and my cousin Mia are a big help!

Sister is trying to explain the instructions to me. I'm not too interested.

Momma decides that I need to try on my new shoes...

What are shoes anyway? I like my bare feet just fine.

Momma, I'm telling you it's not gonna happen!
Take these things off NOW!

 This is my Pappy, my cousin and my sister. We are adding another cousin
in a week or two. There's already room in Pappy's lap for him!

 That's my Uncle Bear and my Aunt Betta

 That's my Momma with my great-granddaddy, Pa Poag

 Here's Uncky, Nannie, and my cousin (Little Two). 

 That's my Uncle Jacob and my Aunt Kelly

 This is my cousin Tatum, my grandmother Gigi, and Ken.

 This is another shot of Uncle Bear and my cousin (Little Two)

Tatum and I are chillin' out with Pa Poag, our great-grandfather

My party sure was a lot of fun. I want to do it again next year.

And can you guess why Nonna told me that this is her very favorite picture from that day???

A One-der-ful Year in the Life of A Boy

   He is officially "one" tomorrow, this first grandson of ours. He is a charmer from his head to his toes. I wondered when he made his debut if I would love him as much as I had my first two grandchildren. But of course, God does that marvelous thing in our hearts when the love is shared...it divides and multiplies and runs over until the cup of love is filled to the brim!
 

Welcome to the world, little boy! 

Here I am chilling out under the warming lights, and I am not even one hour old!

That's my Dad there with a good grip on me. I already love that man.

Here is my Momma getting me ready for my first bath!

Ahh...I love it when she talks to me like that

Worn out and ready for my nap!

My Daddy rocks my world! 

Here I am meeting all of my Nonna's friends and being introduced to some

very important people at my Sip-n-See

Too bad I slept through the entire thing...

Now that I am waking up to life, I can tell you that I have fallen in love with my Big Sister. 

 Mom thinks it's possible that I might have a future as a comedian.

Check out my facial expressions

Here I am all decked out for Christmas! I love playing with Dad. 

He does fun stuff like throwing me up in the air.

Nonna has to look the other way.

Did I mention that I love my Momma?! 

Mom and Dad left me with Nonna and Pappy when they went out of town for a little vacation.

Don't tell anybody, but things happen at Nonna's house.

 Like getting licked all over by Wilson, the dog.

And now for a random fact:

Did you know that the paper at the pediatrician's office tastes good?

Sissy and I like to ham it up for the camera and for our amazing photographer, Katherine Holly.

Here I am getting worried that they might leave me up here all alone...

with that ratty ole bear

 It's amazing all of the changes a year can bring.

I can already crawl like greased lightning and stand on my own.

 I am starting to talk and can call a few folks by name.

I finally got some teeth (I am up to four).

I love to laugh, am ticklish, and like to make funny faces.

 Oh, and occasionally I like to rock a natural mohawk!

See what I mean?

My special day is off to a great start. Hope yours is too!

Numero Uno for Baby O

   I finally got to meet this great-nephew of mine when we traveled to the family wedding celebration. This adorable little hunk of a man is cuter than sliced bread, I am tellin' you. Baby O is laid-back, easy going, and smiles like there's no tomorrow. Happy should be his middle name. Take a look at the rockin' first birthday party that Baby O's momma and daddy put together for him. It looked utterly delightful, and I wish I could have been there. Thanks to the marvel of DropBox, I was able to join in the fun!

Party favors for everyone to take home!

With room for everyone to roam, this public park pavilion is just the place to throw down some fun!

Check out this adorable Baby O on parade

The eats were great and guests were invited to build their own fruit kabobs!

 Wanna juice cooler anyone?

Let's have some fun!

 

 A cake to share

And one to spare
that's just for Baby O!

But first, let's have some fun in the sun!

Then we'll share the love with everyone!

 

Check out the grandmothers who had shirts made especially for this occasion

 More grandparent love!

 I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for some cake

How about a "V" for victory!

 Baby O came, he saw, he conquered!

Whoa, I am ready for a nap now!

Just kidding! It's rally time!

Thanks Mommy and Daddy for a great birthday party

Hope you had as much fun as I did!
Can we do it again next year?!