A First Birthday Party

I've been feeling down in the dumps for the past few days.  I've been feeling like every day is the same, cooking, cleaning, feed the baby; over and over and over I do the same monotonous tasks.  I think I let myself slip into not pushing myself to do new things or create.  So I sewed this morning, and am diving into a book next time I am thinking about checking facebook or watching TV. 

I need to remember that what I do is important, at least to a few very important people; serving them (by the monotonous tasks like cooking, laundry, & dishes as well as teaching my son about....everything) is a privilege and this season in life doesn't last long.  "Cherish every moment" says everyone.  Well fooey on you, I don't need to cherish it. But I can try my darndest to be thankful and cheerful in the season God has given me. 

Which brings us around to the topic of this blog post: Levi's Birthday.  (See what I did there?  You didn't even notice how this is a totally different topic).

We celebrated this birthday boy a few times.  On his actual birthday, we went to the zoo.  It was hot. None of the animals were moving.  So there was a lot of people watching and dancing to the carousel music.  It was a good time.

Can you spot the dancing?

The goats were the most interesting.

The next day, we had Dillon's family over for lunch and it was so nice to see all the great-grandmas and grandparents.  Levi had an epic piece of "cake".  His cake comes with quotation marks because it was pretty much bananas, coconut, applesauce, and raspberries.  I followed this recipe.  Since we haven't really given him any other super sweet stuff, this was a cake I was comfortable with.  It tasted like bland banana bread.  I'm a first time mom so I get to do these silly things like not giving him any processed foods.

It was a hit

Two weeks later, we went to my sister and brother-in-law's house and had a party up there with my family.  Once again, it was nice to see the great-grandmas and grandparents.  We ate pancakes with all the toppings.  Levi performed on demand with all his walking, talking, and finger-waving.  No cake this time; instead we served him a stack of mini pancakes. 

The best picture I got of his stack of pancakes, the wall decorations, and his crown. 

I made a few decorations I thought I'd share.  We had a loose theme of "Where the Wild Things Are". Forgive my not-so-great photos of them, I wasn't focused on taking blog pictures during this time. 

First, I made this little sign on a piece of fabric.  It's just painted on but I guess I fooled a couple of guests who thought I had stitched it on. 

Then I made this "Wild One" banner.  Get it?  ONE???  I feel so clever.  Once again, it's just painted on.

Finally, my favorite.  I sewed together this crown for the birthday boy.  I just stitched two pieces of felt together, leaving the ends open.  I stuck one of those stretchy headbands in and tied it together, so the "crown" doesn't go all the way around, but the elastic headband is exposed in the back.  This turned out so cute!  He didn't wear it for very long at the party at our house, but kept it on for a nice long time at the second party. 

Oh yes there were bubbles!

Our kiddo is a lucky one, he was showered with gifts and attention and love.  Bring on the second year!