First Birthday Celebration!

 It's been a hectic and emotional couple of weeks for the Wirth household. We had a relaxing Thanksgiving in Portland, then immediately went into beast mode for birthday party preparation when we returned to Spokane. Jeff and I both had to work on Everett's actual birthday, so we really wanted to make his party weekend special.

To start off the weekend, Everett got his first haircut. I had no idea how emotional this experience was going to be, and I realize now that I did not give myself enough time to process the action before I brought Everett to the salon. As a result, I could not sleep for two nights after we cut off his baby hair, I cried way too many times, and I hated myself for jumping the gun on this very important milestone - which does not seem so important for those who are not parents.

A baby becomes less of a baby once that fine hair is cut off. It will never grow back quite as soft, and it will never be quite the same hue. People kept commenting on how long his hair was getting, so I felt a little pressured to have him looking clean-cut for his birthday party. If we had our way, and if society did not put pressures and expectations on us, we would not have cut Everett''s hair until it turned into a mullet. That being said, I do not think our decision was wrong...or right. Having stepped back and taken the time to process it all, I finally see a handsome little boy when I look at my son. He is still my baby, and I still love him just as much, but it is more physically obvious how much he is growing up. And the real bonus? He is no longer brushing hair out of his eyes when it is windy outside.

Before

After. She took off that little bit, but I still cried.

And now we shall talk about the BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

First, we had to determine how to integrate birthday decor into the already existing Christmas decor. We did end up moving a few winter decorations to storage during the party, which gave us a couple stations that were specifically dedicated to birthday madness.

To make life easier on ourselves, we served Costco polish sausages (warmed on high in a crock pot for 2 hours) with a variety of topping options, chips, crock pot vegetarian chili, fruit salad, and pesto pasta salad.

We made funfetti cupcakes for our guests, then frosted them using this recipe. Dip the cupcakes into a bowl of sprinkles and you get a yummy treat!

I made Everett's smash cake by filling 3 ramekins with batter and baking them with the cupcakes. Next, cut off two of the raised tops and stack the pieces, using frosting to hold the layers together. Cover the whole thing with frosting, throw on some sprinkles, and you've got it! So. Easy.

This was Everett's first experience with cake. Let's just say he wasn't the biggest fan.

The singing wasn't all that bad. He kinda loved it. 

But then he knocked over the cake. That spooked him a little.

 He decided to be brave and try it anyway...

 Not having it, so I decided to help...big mistake.

He was already mad, so might as well smash his hands into the cake...

Aaaand we've just about had enough...

Meltdown.

But everything went back to normal after we got him cleaned up. 

He then got to open some wonderful gifts from his family and friends.

 

Everett may not remember his first birthday party, but getting through the first year of parenting is definitely something to celebrate. So, celebrate we did.

 Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us! 

And now it's time to decorate the house for Christmas...now I know why birthdays close to the holidays often get forgotten.