HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY JAMES!

Happy Birthday to our sweet, joyful, social, energetic little boy!!  We are so blessed to be your parents!!

Every month I have taken James' photo in this rocker that used to belong to my Grams.  I love seeing how much he grows each month.  Here is James at 1 month and 1 year...what a difference!! He has blossomed into such an amazing little boy!

 

I wanted to have some simple traditions for birthdays to make the day special for him, but not break the bank!  We started off the morning with Mama singing Happy Birthday to wake him up!!  Then in order to get out of his room he had to break through the streamers.  This year could be pretty, but next year and for years to come I'm sure the crepe paper is going to get much more intense and crazy looking!  He was much more excited about the balloons and only walked through the streamers to get one of the balloons that had popped!

James' birthday fell on a Tuesday this year so Mama and Daddy had to work.  James took cupcakes to all his friends at daycare!  They let him do a smash cupcake...since Mama wasn't at all interested in cleaning up the mess and they insisted it had to be done!  On Monday daycare had a "Last Blast" celebration to end the summer...which I'm going to pretend was a birthday party with all his friends!!!!


Once we got home it was time to CELEBRATE!!!!  Grandma and Grandpa Toole came over with dinner!!  Praise God for my mother-in-law!!  She is a Godsend!!  This is when they gave James his present (we asked for no gifts at his upcoming birthday party so they came early).  James LOVES his wagon!  Every time he sees it he points to it and wants to go for a ride! 

 

At 6:12pm James was officially 1 year old and got his birthday spankings!!!

After dinner we went for ice cream at a local coffee house!  James got to sample all of our ice cream choices as he made his rounds!  He mostly like playing in Grandma's cup!

We opted not to get James a gift for his first birthday, but instead spend it together!  To be honest I haven't bought him a single gift since he was born...I may have bought little things as he needed them, but we're letting all his amazing grandparents, aunts and uncles do the spoiling for now! 

We did make a special purchase in honor of his first birthday!  This birthday plate will become a tradition in our family for many years to come! I am obsessed with plates and birthdays so this was really kinda for Mama!

 

All in all I would have to say it was a GREAT 1st Birthday for Jamers!!  We made the day special for him without making it all about gifts and money.  We want to instill in him that people are far more important than anything we can buy...I know this will one day be a battle, but it's one that's worth picking.

Thank you all for your love and support to our little family for James' first year!  We love you all!