Liam is ONE!

Oh, my gosh! This year has flown by and I think I might be a little in denial about my baby being one year old.
I mean, I've always been one of those people who just can't seem to understand how her kids are this age and that age, but this has seriously been a fast year. And honestly, I'm not complaining because it means we are that much closer to our goals and things like that, I guess, but the entire year has felt like a blur. I feel like I'm always so busy and I don't document as much of our story(ies) as I used to. Maybe a goal for the next year?!

However this year has come about, the fact remains that my boy is ONE!
ONE year old!

We celebrated his actual birthday with some new to him things like trays of Cheerios, cow's milk in his sippy, and finally getting outside to swing in his (new to us) swing. I think he had a pretty great day.

The weekend after his actual birth date, we celebrated a little more by having a party with our families.
My original theme for the party was Cows and turning one however there weren't too many cow related things other than the framed photo, by Meg Duerksen, I propped on the table and the black and white colors.
I have to say though, that I really love how it all turned out. Everything was easy and uncomplicated.
That's my favorite these days, uncomplicated.

Being about to celebrate with our families had to be the best thing of all. The twins first birthday was our last one together when we lived here before so, it was long overdue.

My sister, Holly, and brother-in-law, Kyle, graciously opened their home to us for the party venue. We are so grateful to them for being so wonderful during this transitional phase in our lives. Their home was a lovely backdrop for our photos and party décor. Thank you both!

 

 

 

These two photos were my favorite from Liam opening his gifts because his brothers wanted in on the action. Liam loved that they were right there with him and I loved that they wanted to be apart of the whole process. They have grown so much and seeing their development has been a definite highlight from this year.

He was so serious about this cupcake, and the singing, and all the attention. Oh, my gosh...cute!

Night and day from the twins' first birthday. This boy loved his cupcake. I had no idea how fun this is to watch. Feeling thankful that I was able to experience this with him.

And just like that my baby is one. Happy Birthday, Liam Bennett! You are sunshine and goodness and I love you so.

A few details about his party décor and food.

I free hand cut the letters out of black paper for the "Liam is ONE" banner and strung them up on some grey yarn. The white half circle bunting was made by folding over coffee filters onto grey yarn. My sister and I taped the ends of the coffee filters so they wouldn't fall off. Both were quick and easy to make and I love what they added to the décor.

Table cloth is 2.5 yards of black and white checkered fabric.

Dinner:
Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, I used this recipe but changed the dressing part to water.
Homemade Mac & Cheese
My mom made the baked beans and homemade coleslaw (not pictured)
Bags of potato chips

Dessert:
Homemade vanilla, vanilla cupcakes. This is my go-to recipe for vanilla cake but my frosting is a little different. However, I can't seem to find a link to it so, if you're interested, I'll add it later.

We also had an ice cream sundae bar with sprinkles, homemade buttery caramel sauce (I've made it before here but can't seem to find a link to the recipe. I'll try to blog it soon because it's seriously so good), candy, gummy bears, whipped topping, and cherries.

If you have any questions about the party that I didn't cover, just leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them soon. Thanks for reading!

I want to remember...

Liam Edition.

I want to remember how you laughed and laughed tonight trying to catch Brett each time he walked past you in your Bumbo seat. Seeing how you love your brothers makes my heart ache with happiness. I pray you always see how awesome they are.

I want to remember how my heart broke when you didn't want me to rock you to sleep tonight. I'm chalking it up to how tired you were from only taking one nap in the early afternoon. Especially since you turned down your bottle as well. Please stay my baby a little longer. Mama loves rocking you to sleep.

I want to remember how you are starting to throw little tantrums when you aren't doing exactly whatever it is you want to do. You throw your head back and let out a scream/cry of discontent. It's hard not to laugh at you but I do my best to keep my composure.

I want to remember how you love to eat your vegetables. Peas are your favorite but so are sweet potatoes, carrots, and green beans. You are completely uninterested in fruit right now. I like to think you are happy that puffs come in sweet potato flavor. Also, I love watching you crunch them and then open your mouth to let me know you're ready for another. Meal times in your high chair are some of my favorite times of the day. You are so chatty and happy when you eat.

I want to remember how you were 8.5 months old when you started sitting up on your own without immediately falling over. How yesterday you picked yourself up twice after falling over. Everyday you work hard to get from your belly to sitting position and although you haven't yet accomplished this feat, you are close.

I want to remember how attached to your binky you are. I have been trying to keep it away from you during the day once I noticed how quiet you've become. Although you still babble with it in your mouth, it's not the same as when it's gone. And oh, how I love to hear you babble.

I want to remember the fact that you have 8 teeth already. It's kind of hard to believe that you already have that many but you are adorable all the same.

8.5 months old