Brody's Birthday Party

It's been what feels like a constant birthday celebration over here in the Brewer household, with Brody turning 1 on the first, his birthday party with family on the 3rd, my birthday on the 9th and our family celebration on the 12th. I definitely want to hit on Brody's birthday first before it all becomes foggy!

Autumn helped me pick out some decorations at the Dollar Store (our new one is the bomb - I was so impressed with the party stuff selection) and we decorated together. A fancy table cloth and some fancy dinnerware is about as festive as I get for a one year old. Autumn's 4th birthday will be another story...

We celebrated as a family on a Saturday afternoon. Nana, Grandpa, Jodi and the boys were our honored guests. I made my usual go-to dish for large groups - pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, beans, the works. Brody was so excited to see everyone and milked being the center of attention. He's such a little flirt! 

It was a really fun night with the family. Brody had already gotten a slew of presents the weeks leading up to his birthday. My mom passed on her philosophy of "they don't know the difference" that young to me, so we both gave Brody things as we bought them. So, at his party it was just a few gifts and he was perfectly happy. If anything, he loved the walk around the cul-de-sac following the party with the kids. It's one of his favorite activities before his bath - we just walk him around and around and he's perfectly content.

It was a great day, although it did make me sad that Brody is no longer a little baby. He's at the best age though - he's walking, is always smiling and laughing and is my reward for those long, hard days with a toddler!

Though she doesn't always get around to blog readin', I totally used Monique's DIY gift as my cupcake holder!!

This may or may not still be hanging in the kitchen, two weeks later...

Brody loves his baked beans! Must be all the sugar I add. 

Yum! This is one of my favorite meals. 

My sweet boy! 

While making cupcakes I made Brody a little mini-cake using one of my Pyrex bowls. I thought I was being so crafty. Once I saw the results - not so much.

He got closer to blowing it out by himself than Autumn did, but in the end he had some awesome cousins give him a hand.

Now he's got the idea!

Adam and I took a picture just like this with Autumn, so I wanted to make sure we made it a tradition by doing it again with Brody. Brody looks so much like Adam here. If they didn't come out of me, I'd wonder if they were my children at all. 

My smart boy knew exactly what to do with the paper!

And, a video for good measure.