Charlie's 1st Birthday Party

We had a small lunch party for Charlie on Saturday the 25th. Pat had put on a pork butt the night before, so the menu was BBQ, and we had help for all the sides. My Mom made broccoli slaw, my Dad made lemonade, my Aunt Carole brought potato salad (and an additional neutropenic potato salad for Pat), Rachel brought her famous corn souffle, Sarah brought pasta salads, my sister brought oat/jam bars, and I made cupcakes.

Checking out his new wagon from Aunt E

OH yeah, this is my party.  These people are all here for me.  Oh yeah.  Let me just kick back and enjoy it...

Cupcake time! "Smash Cake"

This was one of the first ever sweets he has had and definitely the largest serving.  (Since we switched Charlie to whole milk and were able to introduce dairy, he has since tried ice cream, delish.  Also has recently had some donut and E's birthday cake)

OK I think I'm getting a hang of this.  mmmmm

Time to get cleaned off after eating the whole thing (except for the parts on himself and his tray)

 

Showing off in his diaper for the crowd.

Here are those oat and jam bars that E made.  Recipe is from Pioneer Woman.  Tasty!

Playing cool in Matthew's shades.

Getting into his John Deere tractor from Tom and Shelley.

Rocking his Hawaiian shirt that his Great Aunt Carole and Great Uncle Robert brought him.

Getting to be nap time...better put me down.

2nd wind!

Here was his Winne the Pooh birthday sign. :o)  What a fun and perfect birthday party for our favorite 1 year old.

Greer's Visit and E's Birthday Dinner

Of course it wasn't just Greer who visited, we certainly enjoyed seeing Maura and Mike, but CQ was most interested in his 10 month old cousin.

Dealing with nap schedules of two little ones made getting out on adventures a little more difficult, but we did manage to go on some nice neighborhood walks.  And had lots of play time indoors.  And as we told them, there will be more visits over the years and we need to save some outings for then. :o)

Greer spent time with pets for the first time: our cat Winnie and E's dog Briley.

My parents hosted a birthday dinner for E on Wednesday.  It was amazing - beef tenderloin and all kinds of other yummy food!

And I picked up a Dessert Designs cake for E - sour cream pound cake, just like at our wedding.

Yummy!

We had a great time visiting and reminisced about memorable birthday gifts over the years. (oh, book on manners...)

That's Mark's Dad Jeff and his lady friend Pat on the left below.

Unfortunately the next day Greer got a little bit sick.  She even got to meet Charlie's pediatrician. 

Mike made us some killer grilled cheese sandwiches when we got back from the doctor.

Here she is feeling slightly better the next morning. Actually I think the flash on the camera wasn't helping.

What a cute little family! (plus cutie Charlie!) We are so very glad they came for a visit. 

Family Fun Birthday Wish

It's my sister's birthday!  Remember last year?

Well, it was a little harder to do this year...

Charlie is having a ball with his cousin Greer.  Maura, Mike and Greer arrived yesterday morning, in time to see Paul and Kate before they headed out.  Family time is fun!

I owe you a lot more posts and I do have pictures to share - someday.  :o)