ONE

My little man turned one today.

We woke this morning and snuggled in bed for a few minutes. It was a very special time for me, as I cuddled with him and remembered the day he was born.

Adrianne and Riley decorated the living room in his honor.

The majority of the day was business as usual, until Matt came home and that's when the party got started.

In between working on dinner, we let Max "open" his presents.

I had previously removed all the toys from their packaging so that way Max would be able to play with them as soon as he opened them, instead of having to wait for us to get it out of the box (and sometimes assemble parts). Removing the toys from the boxes ahead of time also ensured that there weren't any little anti-theft fasteners floating around the room. I was able to discard all that ahead of time.

I also broke from tradition by NOT wrapping them with wrapping paper, but rather just placing the items in a bag. I found this worked really well as he was able to easily reach in and grab the toy. In the past when I've wrapped things for a first birthday, the baby never understood that they were expected to unwrap the gift, which always necessitated someone else helping them. This way, Max was able to do it all on his own.

I also switched things up this year by only having one toy out at a time. I would let him play and explore it for a few minutes, then put it away and get out the next one. This worked really well so that he could concentrate on what was in front of him and not seem overwhelmed by too many things all at once.

It was so much fun to see how excited he got over his toys. He would screech/grunt in delight with each new one. He received so many great presents from all the people who love him so much. The girls all had fun playing with his presents too!

Fun new toys!

His sisters enjoyed the new play-things too!

Two of Max's favorite things: Balls and Trucks!

Even the bag was fun to play with!

Birthday Outfits

I made dinner and dessert. Since Max is too little to request a meal, I went with something he seemed to like previously: lasagna. And in lieu of cake, I made cookies and ice cream, hoping it would be a little easier for Max to feed himself. Both turned out to be a big hit, and he really like the ice cream!

Such a sweet boy! He'll even share his birthday cookie with you!

All in all, it turned out to be a great night which ended with a bath!

I can't believe my baby is one, but I sure am glad that I'm his mom!