The Big ONE

We had a ONEderful weekend celebrating little Miller's one year of life. It's still hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that our baby is one. We kicked off the weekend hosting a BBQ at our house for our family. Landon's sister Lisa and her four children, Nicole, Morgan, Annalisa and Ryan drove all the way down from Indiana to celebrate with us. Aunt Laurel and Uncle Chad, Omi and Grandpa, and Grandmama joined us as well. Landon and I have been waiting to meet Miller's newest cousin Annalisa for several months so we were thrilled when we found out that they were making the trip. Omi and Grandpa couldn't get over the fact that they had all 5 grand kids together under one roof. WOW....did Miller love being around so many cousins!

After a delicious Saturday breakfast of Chiliquitas ,compliments of Chef Landon, it was off to the park to decorate for Miller's party. We chose a baseball theme for our little rookie. Grandmama and I had so much fun planning the party together and seeing our decorations come together. All of our friends and Miller's little friends arrived at noon ready to eat and party. We felt so loved and blessed to have all the people around that have meant so much throughout the years and especially through Miller's first year of life. Amidst some sprinkles, we felt nice and cozy under the pavilion. The babies played and interacted together in a playpen while the adults chatted and dined on hot dogs, peanuts and cracker jacks.

Then it was SMASH cake time, a right of passage into one year oldum . When we sang "Happy Birthday" to Miller, he just stared intently wondering why everyone was looking at him. After song, Miller dug his fingers into the baseball shaped smash cake right away. It was so much fun to see him plow into this sweet treat and make such a big mess all over the place. Red and white frosting covered his cheeks and mouth, found its way up his sleeves and even into his hair. Miller was a sticky mess, but that's all part of the fun of it right? He didn't hold back. His induction into the first birthday frosting face Hall of Fame is official. I was surprised he was so patient with me as I adjusted his birthday hat over and over to keep it from covering his eyes. He could only put up with it on his head for so long. A thorough cleaning of hands, face and hair was in order. Then Miller was ready for more fun. After cake time, it was off to the playground to play. The little ones enjoyed all that the play scape had to offer.

Miller returned home to an action packed house, but it was time for this one year old to nap. He snoozed the afternoon away until 4:30. Upon waking, all of his goodies from the party were ready for him to open. He had the most fun climbing and discovering all the bags, boxes, ribbons and tissue paper so we just let him explore away for a little bit. It was almost like Christmas morning...you want to savor the moment, so we took our time. He was able to open some of the bags and we helped him with a few boxes before he became distracted with the new toys. That's about all he could take before he was "partied out"!

Thanks for making Miller's Big ONE so special. We loved celebrating with family and friends like you!!

Click on Miller's "The Big ONE" album for more pictures from his birthday