I almost forgot to wish Elias a happy birthday yesterday morning since we did the bulk of the celebrating on Saturday. I didn't plan on Elias's pj's matching his party decorations (nor my own outfit, as you'll see below) but that's how things worked out.
In fact, Elias spent the entire morning in his festive sleepwear, taking a walk to the swings with Neal and his Grandma Joanne, in town for the big event. Their walk and the brief nap Elias took (more on that and other "milestones" later) gave me time to get the place cleaned up and ready for the party. I thought about having the party elsewhere, but with a small group and an inconsistently napping baby, we decided to stay home, and I'm glad we did. We don't have the best floor plan for entertaining - everyone huddling around the table in the middle of the kitchen, where all the food was...but that always happens, right? - but I think it worked out pretty well, especially since Elias's room is right off the kitchen and provided party guests young and not so young with some space to spread out.
Uncle Brian and family drove from Connecticut, with the cake, courtesy of the always delicious Sweet Maria's. I think they did a fantastic job matching the cake to the invite. Other than cake, we enjoyed a spread of chips and guacamole, salad, and sandwiches from Panera, which worked out pretty well. After everyone had arrived and been fed, we proceeded to the pinata portion of the party. Here I am with Elias, helping him with the pull strings.
Cousin Alejandro, coincidentally the oldest and biggest kid in attendance, pulled the lucky string that released quite a stash of candy.
Way more candy than necessary for a group of three children and two babies, resulting in way more candy left here for us to finish off.
After the candy had been sorted and distributed we moved on to presents. Here he is opening gifts - sort of - with Dad.
Elias got some fabulous new toys, a couple of puzzles, some clothes - including a swim outfit that I'm eager to try out - and a little spending money (I - I mean, Elias - has his eye on an umbrella stroller and some bib upgrades).
That's right, Elias, take it all in...But don't eat that Snickers bar.
After that we returned to the kitchen for Elias's first taste of cake and frosting.
Not surprisingly, I had to reassure him that this gooey blob of sweet goodness was in fact edible. He took to it pretty quickly after that, attempting to shove large chunks in his mouth. I was a little paranoid about how we might have to pay for this indulgence later, so I only let him eat about half of his birthday cupcake. He didn't nap that afternoon but otherwise seemed to tolerate it all pretty well.
Overall, it was a bit of a blur of activity and the 2+ hours flew by, but I felt like the afternoon was a success. More on what we've been up to in the past month in a separate post.
Easy, kid. Don't go growing up on me too quickly now.
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