Look Who Is 1!

I can’t believe that it has been a full year. And what a fun year it has been.  Who knew that such a small package could make you feel like you are the first grandma in the world, that no one else could possibly feel like this, that surely there is no greater love?  I have been so blessed to be able to keep Matthew this year while Megan worked. Now….I know that my blog has not had as many posts, that my tpt sales have almost stopped, that I am behind in getting new presentations done, that I haven’t been able to be in Megan’s room each week, but I can honestly say I wouldn’t have it any other way. As I sit at the kitchen table typing this post I can hear his tiny snores sleeping close by on the sofa.  I love the way his face lights up when I see him first thing in the morning. I love how he pats my back when he hugs me. I love the smell of him right after his bath. I love when he laughs so big that you can see his tiny teeth.  I love playing “little people” (boy have them come a long way since Megan and Tyler were little). 
So this past Saturday we celebrated his first birthday! Oh my word…what fun to plan and even more fun to celebrate with our friends and families.  Here are some photos from all the fun….

We had a sign and balloons by the road to welcome all of our guests. Megan made a photo display  that we hung on the pool pump house to show how he changed each month. Her friend, Jillian, had given her these cute onesies for each month. Megan took pictures each month and then mounted them on scrapbooking paper and tied them together with ribbon.

Since the party had a baseball them we had a hot dog bar. It had a sign above it like the concessions sign that said “Hot Dog Bar”. Megan cut the letters using a cutting machine and we glued them to a banner we picked up at Target. We added baseball ribbon between the letters.   The hotdog bar was a huge hit, with people trying all the different types of hotdogs. Megan found the recipes on the internet, I made the signs, then she made the frames using dollar store frames that she painted and added a fabric bow. We made signs to label each of the items at the concession stand. We got most of the plastic bowls from the Dollar Tree and picked up a few items at Hobby Lobby. I had the chips covered when I took the pictures and we still had to add the crock pot of cheese for the nachos. We used cheap dollar store table cloths and added a fabric runner. Andy build the dowel stands to hold the banners. 

While we asked everyone to wear a baseball shirt for their favorite team, Megan ordered us girls all matching shirts. Left to right: my sister Jenni, my daughter in law Ginny, Megan and me.  And yes, Ginny is having a baby! Can you believe it? In just a few weeks Matthew will have a cousin! So excited that we will have two little boys to run around Gam and Pop’s house!

The games were a hit! We made a sign for each of the areas and placed the items needed for each of the games inside red buckets. We had water balloon batting practice and everyone got a little wet. My son in law, Nick, actually lined off a mini ball field. The kids absolutely loved it! They played tball for nearly an hour!

We made a baseball putt putt using pool noodles and wooden dowels that we hammered into the ground. The big guys loved playing baseball cornhole. I just drew off a large baseball and we taped them to the board leaving a space for the beanbags to land.

The highlight of any first birthday is the smash cake. I can’t believe how stinking cute his birthday cake was. A parent at Megan’s school made it and we were thrilled.

We had this set up as you entered the backyard. The bat turned out so cute with all of the “autographs” and will be something he can have in his bedroom for many years.  Megan also had a basket of plastic bats and balls with a cute tag on each that said “I had a ball!” as party favors that were sitting beside the table.

When I said that I wanted to get Matthew a swing for the backyard for his birthday I never dreamed that I would end up with this! I found a swing set at a local toy store and was showing my son Tyler to see if he could put it together for me. He said, “Oh I can make one way better than that for a lot less money!”  And he did. (Well a LOT better, not so sure about the cheaper part. haha) With help from Megan and Nick and his good friend Aaron, this play scape went up in a little over a week….from the trip to home depot to get the lumber, to the drive to the other side of  Atlanta to pick up the “kit”, to the cutting and assembling, and finally to the adding of the timbers and the shoveling of the safety mulch. They even added a picnic table under the fort. The big empty spot is for the “adult swing” to be added soon. Tyler already has plans to extend to the two trees close by with a swing bridge and a tree fort.  Hmmmmm  I am so glad that Andy spent so much time with Tyler when he was younger teaching him how to do things. I can’t wait to watch “my grandboys” learn from their dads….and from their Pops!
Hope you enjoyed reading about our special little boy and his special day...I’m off to plan my day in Megan’s room. Can’t wait to get in there on Monday! Stay tuned for pictures of our day together!