First Birthday Par-tay!!

It came and went, with much fanfare. The kids are officially one year old and have experienced their very first double birthday party. It was loads of fun to plan for, even if it did take on a life of its own. Here's how everything went down...  I wanted to keep it low key, but way fun. We were celebrating Caden and Addison's very first birthday after all, plus on the inside I was celebrating that Travis and I made it through this year in one piece!  The whole party was duck-themed... Because we love our little ducklings so much. Because the kids have become really attached to the twin stuffed ducks we keep moving around the house for them to find every day. And because one of their first words was "duck". Seriously, who cares that Addison calls squirrels "duck"? These kids are geniuses people!  Once I had the theme picked and the particulars mapped out, I knew there were several things I wanted to spend lots of time and effort on. That meant I had to go the easy route on other stuff. And all in all, it turned out perfect!  I strung up a clothesline of memories around the dining room, with little teeny outfits from their first weeks, their coming home outfits, their hospital bracelets, ultra sound pics, etc. I made DIY tissue poms to decorate the windows and stairway. Wait for it.... yes, I made duck cupcakes, complete with blue eyes just like our little ducklings. (Thanks Grammy, for that delightful cupcake book!) Also, I made some duck favor-bags, containing a one year old pic of the kids, double duck cookies, and a copy of the "First Year" DVD I made. Yep, that's right. Yours truly went techno and made a twenty minute photo and video montage, complete with captions and music. I have to say it was the most time consuming of my birthday projects, but by far my most favorite. (I'd post it so that the world could admire my babies too, but it's WAY too humongous.)  The kids came down from their morning nap in the party clothes, looking ever-so sweet. They had their bottles, then the rest of us ate a mostly store-bought lunch (one of the things I caved on). When we were done the kids had their solid food, which was capped off with their first cupcakes and the "Happy Birthday" song. They had a few tastes of it, but mostly it made for a delightful feeling between their fingers. Then it was on to the presents...

Really fun stuff. All of it. The kids have loved playing with everything today... but the thing that got them most excited during the party were the walking toys from Gramzy and Pop. I had to force them to stop walking in order to take their afternoon nap, at which point the rest of the party crowd had cupcakes and watched the DVD together. What a fun way to relive the last year and cap off a fantastic birthday celebration! So many wonderful memories made, so many new ones to look forward to in the next year. (And a long, long time before I have to execute another double birthday party!)