Happy Birthday to Louie!

"Hooray! It's my birthday!"

One year old! I can hardly believe it. I have such vivid memories of this time last year, it seems that it couldn't have possibly been twelve full months already. And oh, how much our little sweetheart has grown. He is not a baby anymore! I'm not yet ready to call him a little boy, but that's probably closer to the truth than I'm willing to admit. Pretty soon I'll have two boys chasing each other around and keeping me on my toes.

We had a nice, simple celebration for Lucian's birthday- my parents and John, Sara & Anna joined us for dinner, cake and presents. Louie has a major attachment to Baby Anna- I think one of his favorite parts of the evening was seeing her. (here's where I start quietly humming "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match...")

Big Brother Max was very helpful all evening, from blowing out the candle (and spitting on the cake...) to helping with the gift opening. He even got into the giving spirit, understanding that it wasn't his birthday- he gave Lucian a set of blocks and a book of nursery rhymes... I helped out with the choosing, buying and wrapping parts, but he signed the card and helped his brother open them!

It was a perfect low-key first birthday party for our sweet little introverted son. Just enough excitement to make him smile, but not enough to stress him out! Happy birthday to my big one-year-old boy!

Here are the highlights of the evening, in pictures.

The Cake!

Although a little tentative at first, Louie got the hang of it after awhile. We all cheered when he stuffed his face, and now (as Sara pointed out) we will expect him never to eat like that again! How unfair!

"Mmmm...sugar buzz..."

"Think I can fit the whole thing in my mouth?"

The Damage- not too bad!

The Presents!

Lucian started to figure out this whole unwrapping thing- with a little help from his brother!

"I knew birthdays were cool, but..."

"...This is AWESOME!!"

Snuggling with his Pillow Pet from Auntie Megan

And now, the season of birthdays is coming to a close. I wonder if my kids remember a time before this two-month celebration/present-opening/feasting bonanza? If not, they're about to be rudely awakened. Life is going back to normal! (At least for a little while...)