James' Birthday Weekend Recap Part 2

I'm a week late.  I know.  It's been over a week since we celebrated James' first birthday and I'm just now getting the recap online.  There really are no excuses...but here are a few.  First off, we all had such a blast over the birthday weekend that we needed ample time to recover.  And when I say ample time to recover I mean time to get the photos out of the camera, edited in PhotoShop and cataloged in my library.  Add a snow day and another bout of pink eye (both James and Ed this time) and I was left with no time to sit down and write.  But alas, the moment has come to share with you James' first birthday party.  Welcome!

The weekend began on Friday with a family party for the little man as covered in part one of the weekend recap. Day two was James' official birthday party ~ and boy did we party!

The morning was calm - a lot calmer than I thought it would be.  Our team of helpers were forced came over bright and early to help with the party set-up.  Because our itty bitty townhouse is itty bitty, we decided to host the event at the Little Rocky Run Recreation Center #1 (aka the room by the pool).  We left James in the hands of the Grandma's (THANK YOU!) and grabbed everyone else on hand to haul all the party gear over and commence Operation: Party Set-up (Sue, Joe, Adriana, John, Rob, Heather - THANK YOU!!).  Within an hour, we were able to make the simple room where ballet classes are held into a "Whale-R-Riffic party space"!

Because I'm a crazy type-A person AND and event planner on top of that, I spent more time than I'd like to admit planning this birthday party and with the help of some Etsy vendors and Party City, I was able to go whale crazy for the big day.  From whale plates and bubble gum whale centerpieces to whale cupcake toppers and a candy favor bar, there was no question as to what the party theme was.

I have to say that my favorite area of the room was the dessert table.  The smash cake (made by yours truly) turned out SOOOOOO cute as did the whale-themed cupcakes.  I am so lucky that I found both Ciaobambino and SweetTouchDecor on Esty.  Without their help, you would be looking at some boring, white cupcakes. :)

James was in awe when we finally brought him over to the room (or at least I'd like to think he was in awe!).  

He took the time to make the rounds and thank everyone for coming.  In between all the thank you's, he found some time to play with the kids in the "kids corner" and grab a bite to eat.  Surprisingly, he kept his party hat on for most of the event.  We thought for sure he'd rip it off his head and toss it to the floor, but not so much.  I guess he wanted everyone to know he was the birthday boy!

I think one of the cutest pictures of the day is this one.  It totally looks like Conner and James are taking part in some sort of drug deal and we caught the hand off as it was in progress.  In actuality, Conner is handing James a Pez candy (which we promptly stole away from him).  Such a giver!

We decided to do something special for James to commemorate his first year. Prior to the party, we asked everyone to bring something to put in a time capsule that we would give to James on his 18th birthday.  Something fun or sentimental to help him remember his first year and 2012.  He got some great stuff - an Obama button, a Best Buy circular, a photo of our house ~ and this: 

I think 18 year old James is going to be a fan of that.  It looks like 1 year old James is actually interested!   

The best part of the day was the presentation of the ceremonial first birthday smash cake.  Yes - this is the always popular tradition where baby is presented with a cake of his very own to dive in and make a big 'ole mess.  James had a trial run with a cupcake the night before, but this cake was a lot bigger which meant he could get a lot messier.  Here is a progression of before, during and after.  Adorable - but messy!!

And a BIG thank you to friend and neighbor Liz for sharing this video of James in action.  Her little Noelle is not too far away from a smash cake of her own!

After an extensive clean up, we moved the party back to the house where James ripped into his gifts and played with his toys the paper and tissue.  He got all kinds of great stuff from clothes and a shark towel to cars and a Spiderman Sprinkler.  No joke.  We also took the opportunity to present James' First Year video to the family.  It was a big hit! James even managed to pay attention - from an upside down position. :)

So there you have it. Our precious baby boy's first birthday party full of food, family, friends, fun, whales, cupcakes, chaos, and laughing til we cried. Thank you to everyone who came.  You truly made the day so special for our little man!