the party

Well, here he is....our baby.....who's now ONE!

Thanks Megan for the inspiration for the shirt! That may be a tradition at our house now for birthday parties! It was so easy to make!

Here are the cakes....

This was the first time I've ever used tips. Thanks to my friend Mallory who let me borrow her cake mold and tips! She gave me some helpful tips on how to make the little cake too....I just cut the shape out of a paper pattern.

There was a moment in the day I thought I was going to LOSE IT. Dave walked into the kitchen/dining room where the cake was finished and sitting on the table. I heard him GASP loudly. I just KNEW it was the cake.....and the culprit was either the little 2 year old running around in the house, or the dog. It was hard to tell...we think it was the dog. Luckily it was just the corner...and JUST the frosting (wait, now that I say that, that sounds more like a 2 year old's doings!)....we patched it up and no one could even tell.

We had lots of food and lots of guests! 14 adults and 5 kiddos. Our house was quite packed and crazy!

Here's the birthday boy with his sister and cousins!


Onto presents!
Actually, due to a 30 minute nap (go figure on a day like this, he'd choose to do this to us!)...he was a little more reserved than his usual self. Daddy had to hold him for a little bit before he was ready to go at it himself.



And of course there is ALWAYS lots of help opening presents!


And now, for the highlight of the night...


A few days before, I said "I doubt he'll touch his cake much at all...he's been so weird about touching his foods, I don't see him wanting to dig into a cake."




I was OBVIOUSLY wrong....


Way to entertain little man!

He kept going and going and going. He ate the entire little cake...probably equal to 2-3 adult servings.

Needless to say, he went straight to the bathtub....in which he did NOT want to get out of!

It was such a fun night! Thanks to everyone who came....Nana and Papa, Mima and Papa Dippel, Aunt Stef, Tyler, Jaden and Paige (Uncle Steve thought the KSU bball game was more important than a one year old bday party!), Aunt Rebekah and Uncle Steve who came from Texas, Great Aunt Barb and Uncle Jim, Cousin Terry, and our good friends Dwayne and Ginny who are kind of like another set of grandparents! Thank you for ALL the wonderful gifts...Mason was very much spoiled...or shall we say, VERY MUCH LOVED!

Here's the video we showed at the party...since I didn't have a scrapbook for him, I figured I should have SOMETHING of his first year in pictures. It was fun making a video...maybe this will be another new tradition! (make sure to go to the very bottom of my blog and pause my playlist so you can hear the songs on the video)

It ends with a verse that has been a huge part of the last month around here...a verse that will forever have a special meaning to us.





Happy Birthday Little Guy...you have been such a blessing to us this past year. Your smile and laugh melts our hearts every day. We love your shy little look as you bury your face when you're happy to see one of us. We love that you are showing us what it's like to have a boy. You love to throw your arms back and forth across your tray, making food fly everywhere. You love to bang your sippy cup as loud as you can on the table. You like to feed the dog, and you are getting very sneaky about it. You love balls and cars. You love to run the other way when you're trying escape with a cell phone or remote...and you don't really care how many times you're told no. We've found multiple items in the toilet, some of which can never be used again. You love to open cabinets...all of them. We will soon be putting locks on EVERYTHING...for the first time. You are adventursome and tough. You discovered there is a backyard beyond the deck right away...it took your sister MONTHS! Your chubby legs and chubby cheeks are PERFECT! We love you more than we can ever explain to you. We have learned this last month how to be a better mommy and daddy....after your sweet little friend, Cora, went to be with Jesus, we were reminded that you belong to God. And we are thankful he has entrusted us to raise you. We pray that you will grow to know him, love him and serve him. We love you Mason! Happy FIRST Birthday!