Liam John Flurry, age 1.
My little guy is one year old. He is not so little anymore. I can't believe it. His birthday seemed to come so quickly, but then again, I've been planning it since late this summer.
It was in July or August that our good friend Anita Evans (Liam's "Nina") sent me a link to a blog she thought I would like. She had been researching party themes for her grandson's 1st birthday and decided to share. The blog was about a boy's 1st birthday party and the theme was "Turning 1 in a Flash." For years, my friends and family have teased me about being photo-obsessed, so the theme couldn't be more perfect! The blog address is http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-year-old-in-flash-party-details.html in case you want to check out my inspiration.
So the planning began. When I was sick of grading papers, I would plan the party. When I was bored watching TV, I would plan the party. It was much more fun than either of those activities. Still, it seemed like a long ways away. Until January, post-holidays. Then it seemed right around the corner.
It started with the invitation. We manipulated one we found on Shutterfly (with the help of my good friend Amy Morgan) and included a card for a time capsule for Liam to open on his 18th birthday. We also asked guests to donate to charity in lieu of gifts.
I had several goals for the party. 1. To make the decorations myself 2. To make it both kid-friendly and adult-friendly, and 3. To have fun, and not stress, planning it.
Ryan had one goal for the party- that I would be able to enjoy it and not obsess.
Liam had one goal as well- smash and eat as much cake as possible.
I am happy to report that we met all of our goals :)
My student assistants, as well as students who had completed their work early and just had nothing else to do that day, helped with the decorations. They were enthusiastic and so proud of their work.
Some of them cut. Some of them painted. Some threaded garland on ribbon. They were fantastic help.
The computer classes even participated. Frequently, they work on projects (both personal and professional) for teachers. These young ladies made the photo props and water bottle stickers.
After the decorations were planned, it was time to pick out a cake. I really went back and forth about making the smash cake and guests' cupcakes myself, but I am no baker. My sisters in law have made fantastic cakes for the boys' birthday parties, but it just isn't my thing. So once I came to terms with that, we headed to Hy Vee. It was a very important day for Liam, and of course, was another opportunity to ride in a shopping cart which he loves so much.
The party was on Sunday, February 19th. But my goal for readiness was 4:00 on Saturday because my sister Amy and her husband Michael were arriving then and I wanted to be able to enjoy our visit. So I called in the troops...
Liam's Nina was in charge of helping me "style" the party, including the monthly timeline of pictures above the fireplace. Her keen eye for detail came in very handy.
Cousin Jenny helped with the ribbon on the baby food jar appetizers. They were eventually filled with hummus and veggie straws, and carrots and celery with ranch. * I'm thinking that these would make for a cute appetizer for her baby shower as well :)
Mimi worked on water bottles- taking off the original labels and adding ours.
Even the birthday boy tried to help decorate. Instead he just got all tangled up.
Finally, the day of the party had arrived! Ryan kicked it off with a lovely breakfast with Amy and Michael. Liam agreed to share some of his.
Anita made the hat for the little guy, while Amy helped me put the finishing touches on the decorations. We decorated his chair,
hung up the pennant banners,
Ryan encased the screened in porch with plastic so it wouldn't be too cold. It was actually in the 60's that day! We probably didn't even need the plastic after all, but it kept the wind out.
The birthday banner was hung, the time capsule was placed, the cupcakes were arranged.
Keeping with the theme, on each cupcake we put a photo of Liam in Ryan's snowboard boot from the day he came home from the hospital and on the flip side, one of the same boots on the week of his birthday. I see this snowboard boot photo becoming a fun tradition.
Menu was placed,
Appetizers and water were put out,
table decorations were set,
Anita even began dressing up with the props early, before the rest of the guests arrived.
Lastly, the outdoor decorations were completed. Thanks to Anita and Mimi for making the initial entrance so welcoming!
Still asleep at 11:30, Liam was fashionably late to his own party. But the guests began to arrive, and most didn't seem to notice he wasn't around yet... there was just a lot of coloring and mingling to be done first!
Janes' cousins posing for the obsessed photographer...
Benjamin took his role as oldest cousin very seriously, showing the younger ones how to create a tabletop masterpiece.
Jeremiah chose to just kick back, relax, and wait for the guest of honor to wake up.
He finally did wake up, put on his party sweater and joined the fun.
Rosemary got a special welcome. He loves her!
Jessica and Matthew took a moment to put an old cell phone in the Time Capsule. It was an awesome idea- who knows what cellular devices will look like in 17 more years. The time capsule was eventually filled with sealed letters (it is KILLING me not to sneak a peek, but I haven't), Bible passages, favorite quotes, stamps from this year, and lots more. It will be a very special day when he opens that in February of 2029!
Soon we put out the lunch buffet. Thank you to Grandma for all of her hard work helping get the food ready. Some ate in the kitchen, some in the living room, but the cousins' table on the porch is where the really party was.
The cupcakes were a huge hit with the boys. I think they were showing Liam how to devour cake- he learned well as his cake smashing pictures will show later on.
The sugar high kicked in and proved to be a great incentive for cute photos from the Margherio boys.
More cute photo opps came from the props around the party. Some people got more into it than others. It was a great opportunity for people to get a little silly.
Cousin Kristin REALLY loved them...
So did Jessica. First with her husband Matthew...
then with Anita.
Amy and Michael make a lovely newleywed couple, don't they?
Liam and I couldn't resist either.
One of the many highlights of the day for me was when my friend Stacey Lukas and her daughter Vivienne (see previous post) arrived. Vivienne had a very serious injury to her finger just days before which resulted in a near amputation of her finger. But you wouldn't know anything was wrong the way that she gulped down the mac n' cheese and goofed around with the photo opps. It wouldn't have been the same without the Lukas ladies there.
Many guests didn't need props to look fantastic.
Finally, it was time for cake smashing. I have been looking forward to this for a year- really. Amy volunteered to be the photographer and did an outstanding job. Believe it or not, there were over 100 cake photos. Here are some of my favorites where you can see the progression from timid, one-finger-poking cake tasting, to full on smashing and gobbling!
Blowing kisses with cake mouth makes for loads of fun and mess.
I'm gonna get you with my dirty cake hands.
Even Jeremiah got into it!
Daddy was in charge of clean up. More like "hosing off."
The boys took the nice weather as an opportunity to head outside to the tree house. Apparently sticks are the toy of choice these days.
When the guests began to leave and things settled down, the bakery opened. Dominic and Benjamin began selling cupcakes from the "store" window. It was adorable.
Liam got a few birthday hugs from Jenny when he woke up from his nap. Can you tell how much he loves her?
When the guests had left and the party was all cleaned up, Ryan celebrated on his own.
That was Sunday. Monday was President's Day and we were able to spend it with family, just relaxing and having a good time. That evening we celebrated Papa's birthday. I remember last year being so excited that Liam might arrive on Daddy Don's birthday. He missed it by only 20 minutes. But now each one has their own special day.
Liam's REAL birthday was Wednesday and it was another gorgeous day out. Jenny, Liam and I were able to go to SM South for lunch with Daddy. Liam was sporting his birthday shirt for the occasion.
Lunch was great, but it was a working one. Liam had to help Daddy with the Master Schedule and his secretary Jan with writing hall passes for students. It's all in a day's work.
After the visit to SM South, we came back to West where my 7th block had a birthday party for him. I would love to think he was the real reason, but honestly, they just love any excuse to have a party.
He hung out with the ladies on the sofa that I call the "Spuds" (because they are "couch potatoes"). What a flirt.
Then, Marina Sarkisova, worked on walking with him. He impressed her by walking with her all the way across the carpet. Then he sat back down on his butt and laughed.
The official 1st Birthday block 7 Party Photo.
After work, Grandma and I took Liam to the park to meet Shannon and the boys. We practiced Liam's walking. I think maybe his gut is getting in the way of success- how can he possible see his feet?
The first time down the slide with Aunt Shannon and Dominic's help. He wasn't a fan.
The first time down the slide with Aunt Shannon and Dominic's help. He wasn't a fan.
He prefers the swings with Dominic by his side. By the way, the reason that Benjamin is not pictured is that he was on the merry-go-round for the entire time they were there! Made for blurry photos.
When we asked him how big he was, he put his hands up in the air as if to answer, "Soooo big!"
After the park it was time for our 12th Grandparents' Dinner to thank them for all of the wonderful things they have done for Liam in his first year of life. The list is too long to finish, but begins with...
- Kisses, hugs and squeezes daily
- Rocking miles and miles in the Lazy Boy
- Giving more bottles than we can count
- Cleaning more bottles than we can count
- Rolling around on the floor looking for lost binkies
- Stretching as far as they can to get runaway binkies from under the crib
- Saying "no, no, no" 80 times a day
- Last minute coverage for much needed date nights
- Reading books
- Singing songs
- Playing with toys
- Simply loving him
We had a lovely dinner on the deck (yes, on February 22nd) that included scalloped potatoes, asparagus and pork chops on the grill. Liam's favorite was the asparagus. The kid loves his vegetables.
When we asked him how big he was, he put his hands up in the air as if to answer, "Soooo big!"
We came inside to open presents and realized that the photo props from the party were still out. Notice who is not pictured with any props in this blog? Ryan is too cool for props I guess :)
The 12th Grandparents' Dinner photo is my favorite- perhaps my favorite photo of the entire birthday celebration. What a lucky guy to have such fun grandparents!
The evening ended with opening a few presents, including a fun toy that takes pounding, a very cool John Deere play tractor from Grandma that he has not stopped playing with since, and several books. Two of the books were recorded with Mimi and Papa's voice reading them. I bawled like a baby. What a special gift.
The tired birthday boy went to bed, we all had a cupcake and some more wine, and toasted a year of health, love and laughter. But there was one more thing we had to do.
That weekend, we took Liam to Portrait Innovations for the traditional "John Deere" photo shirt. For those that don't know, every one of the boys have taken a photo with a John Deere theme for their first birthday. That would be special enough, but there's more. Benjamin Dolph Margherio was born just one month after Grandpa Dolph died.
On Benjamin's first birthday, Uncle Richard Flurry gave him a shirt that he and Aunt Judy had made from one of Dolph's work shirts. It is a little button up blue shirt and is very special to all of us. Benjamin took his 1st birthday photo wearing it, and so a tradition began.
With his new John Deere boots on (until he took them off of course), Liam sat proudly on the tractor and smiled. And it was then, in the middle of the busy studio, that I realized that every molecule of his body, every ounce of blood in his veins, is filled with the extraordinary presence of Dolph. And Pops. And everyone in our family that has come before and is here now in his life. Watching over him and keeping him safe. And so I smiled, comforted in the knowledge that he will always be loved.
Now the decorations have been taken down, the blog is completed and now all I have left is thank you notes. That, and planning for next year's party. And yes, I already have a theme in mind. After all, it's fun turning one (in a flash). Lesson well learned.
