Well, we survived the first birthday party!! What a day it was! Ty was on his best "big boy" behaviour and loved having a houseful of people all there to celebrate him!  He basked in all the attention of having 25+ pairs of eyes watching his every move.  We chatted, played, laughed, and talked all about the birthday boy for the first hour.  

And then it was time for the cake.

I am pretty particular about the food I feed my baby.  I try to make everything myself, though I sometimes have to rely on a can of organic something-or-other.  Ty hasn't had anything too sweet or sugary and I was definitely leery about what so much sugar would do for him... but in the end, we didn't want to deprive our baby of the fun that's involved in eating his first piece of cake.  

And so out came the (organic and egg-free) chocolate cake topped with (non-organic, pure sugar, and delicious) chocolate icing.  The guests gathered around, we sang, and the cake was brought out.  We didn't bother with a bib.  Not sure whose brilliant idea that was!

I don't think I've ever seen anyone love anything quite as much as this:

After about 15 minutes of smearing cake and icing all over his face, we decided that Ty's cake time was done.  He didn't seem to mind - I think he was on a pretty big sugar high by that point!

We capped the afternoon off by opening the amazing presents given by friends and family - thanks again everyone! What a lucky little boy Ty is to get so spoiled!

And that was it... I now am the mom of a 1 year old.  A toddler.  It seems so unbelievable to say that...

And I'm sure I still won't be able to believe it next year when he turns 2!!

Four days?

Did I make a few extra flips of the calendar somewhere down the line? Because there is no way that Ty's first birthday can be in four days. Can there?

I knew there were changes happening... the nighttime sleeps got longer, the babbling expanded to include nearly-recognizable words, and his mobility began to rival the speed of the cat's, but seriously, how did this happen so fast? Where did helpless baby Ty disappear to?

The birthday party is nearly finalized for Saturday. Friends and family will gather to celebrate our little guy and just how much he has enriched all of our lives. I can't wait to see his face light up when he sees all his favourite people all gathered together in one place at the same time!