A Little Boy's First Birthday

Last year in early August, I was awoken at 1:15 AM by a popping sensation, a trickle, and my first real contraction that was as intense and as painful as the very last one that pushed my baby boy out 11 hours later.

On that very same day but one year later, it’s safe to say I was absolutely thrilled to be waking up to a day of pizza and party instead of giving birth, although I’d do it again in a heartbeat. 

Prior to being a mom, I never understood the hype of birthday parties, especially first birthday parties. Becoming a mother has grown a little bit more sentimentality in me, so the closer baby approached “1” the more I liked the idea of it and decided to plan one.

It began with designing the world’s cutest invitations, printing, and mailing them the old fashioned way a month in advance. “Picnic” was the theme. Low pressure, perfect for summer, and I could use a lot of what I already had on hand for decor. As much as I wanted to do “picnic food” like sandwiches or burgers and potato salad, I wanted my husband and I to be able to enjoy the day too and not have to worry about grilling or cooking. So I decided to keep it simple by ordering pizza and cutting up a watermelon. My mom and MIL brought side salads and I made desserts from scratch to give it a homemade touch.

I made sourdough s’mores cookies and sourdough oatmeal cookies a few weeks beforehand and stuck them in the freezer, so all I had to do week-of was make the caramel corn and chocolate cake. Oh, and baby’s cake, which was our banana bread recipe made without sugar and with fresh-milled flour instead of all-purpose. Whipped tallow and honey for the frosting. Personally I thought it was delicious and now I kind of want a banana cake for my birthday, ha!

Gingham napkins and tablecloths, tons of flowers picked from my garden, a giant quilt laid out in the yard for the babies to play, and all of our family to celebrate one year of our little boy made the day perfect.

At the end of the night, my sweet little boy was so overtired and his belly so full of watermelon and cake that his usual nursing to sleep wasn’t working. So I picked him up, let him melt into my arms, and swayed him to sleep in the very spot he was born.

Happy birthday to my best boy ❤️