Life Tossed Together: Lucas's Birthday Party

On Saturday, we threw a small party for Lucas's first birthday. I had an elaborate party all imagined with a Teddy Bear Picnic theme. I even had a Pinterest board all set up. But as usual, my imagination far exceeded both my motivation and my budget. So we just threw a few quilts on the back lawn and grilled some burgers and hot dogs instead. It was great!

A few of Lucas's little "friends" his age came with their parents, and we enjoyed chilling in the shade for a while watching the babies play with the toys I put out. Once the shade disappeared, we headed inside for cupcake time. Lucas didn't get as excited about the cupcake as you might expect, but he'd had a full lunch as well as bites of his Gram's lunch, so I think he just wasn't particularly hungry. He ate/smashed about half of it, more than enough to give him a pretty spectacular sugar rush for the rest of the afternoon.

He got pretty spoiled by his family in terms of presents, too. I was pretty proud of my gift -- a plastic wading pool filled with a variety of plastic cups, scoops, squirt bottles, and bowls to use as a makeshift "water table" this summer. He loves it! We've gone out every day since his birthday to splash around in the afternoon, I think we'll get a lot of use out of it. Brandon got him one of the giant stuffed dogs from Costco. Lucas is a bit wary of it but it is about three times his size. My parents got him a summer membership at Gymboree, as well as a dump truck, and he got a pile of sand toys from my sister that are a big hit even without the sand. Add to this a bunch of presents from Brandon's family and his extended family on my side and you get one very spoiled little one-year-old!

Lucas had a pretty good month prior to his birthday. He's started walking a few steps at a time, which is exciting and adorable. He gives kisses now, possibly the cutest thing ever, and can drink from a straw. We've started weaning slowly and he seems to be adjusting to it just fine - jury's still out on my adjustment, though. I'm not sure on his weight or height, his one-year appointment isn't until next week. I'm estimating that he's around 25.5 pounds, and maybe 32 inches tall? We'll see how accurate that guess is later.

Here are a few photos from the party and a few others from April/May.