first birthday party!

yesterday was cole's first birthday party- it was pretty small, just nate, andy and us. which was ok... cole was a little confused, i think, and he wasn't feeling the best. he started out the day feeling fine, he was happy and more content than he's been in awhile, but by the afternoon, his nose was a little drippy and by supper, he was getting cranky. so- mommy gave him motrin and he perked right up!

the cake, courtesy of walmart

too bad this one turned out kinda blurry, because his face is hilarious! that's tomato sauce on his face- he had cheese ravioli, peas, and applesauce, his favorites. the 'big kids' had ravioli, salad and garlic bread.

mommy made sure the birthday boy got his supper while daddy 'played' with the rest of the 'big kids'... lol.

oooooh... pretty! of course, the first thing that caught cole's eye was the flame on his candle. we avoided burns, though, and mommy helped him blow it out.

digging in- he was so hesitant and delicate about it! it was funny- he started gently scraping the frosting with one finger, then two fingers, then kind of poked at it, but never went in at it with both hands. oh well- it made the cleanup easier!

cole with mommy and daddy... one year later and mommy is still wearing maternity clothes.

i can't tell who's having more fun- daddy or cole!

see, the mess was pretty minimal...

... and cole got his very own piece to destroy as he pleased. little stinker- for not having had sugar until now, he sure knew what to do with his cake!

i though i'd share this one, just because the shutter went at just the right moment... he looks like he's entering a sugar-induced coma.

opening presents- mommy and daddy did most of it, since he thought it was more fun to bang on the boxes than it was to rip them open!

cole's present from daddy- it's a cop car that has lights and sirens... once he saw how it worked, he was hooked, and all he was interested in was making it work and pushing it around. i say, he's 100% boy- give him a car, especially one with lights and noise, and he's off in his own little world for quite some time!

but, we were finally able to distract him so that he could "open" the present mommy picked out for him... a tree that plays music when the balls are pushed through the top. he had fun with it for a little while and then he was back to the cop car!

poor kid- between not feeling very well and not really knowing what was going on, we didn't get many pictures of him smiling... he was pretty sober, trying to figure everything out! but- he had cake and got some toys, and that's what birthdays are all about! i wish i could have posted all the pics we took, but it would take forever and a day... not that there's a TON of them, it just takes a long time to download. beside, they're eventually going into his scrapbook, so we have to save SOME of them for that! cole would like to say thank you to everyone that wished him a happy birthday, and to his grandma k, auntie sarah and auntie elissa for telling him on the phone! auntie elissa sang happy birthday to him, which he thought was pretty neat... happy birthday again, my one-year-old little man!