Is it really possible that my baby is ONE? Could a whole entire YEAR really have gone by that FAST? In some ways it feels like forever ago that we were bringing him home from the hospital, but mostly, it feels like just yesterday. Looking back on this year, all I can think about is how GOOD God is. He heard our prayers for a baby long ago and waited for the PERFECT time to give Parker to us...He took care of me and P during the pregnancy, brought Parker here healthy and easily, and He has continued to bless us over and over again during this journey into parenthood. He has provided Tyson with a great job which enables me to stay at home with Parker, and as parents who desperately love their baby, He has given us a true picture of the LOVE our Father has for his children.
We had to celebrate this very special day with a birthday party, of course! (We did, after all, keep a baby alive for a whole year! And we stayed sane while doing so!) Since Parker's first true love was his "Eyes and Nose, Fingers and Toes" Sesame Street book, we decided to go for a Sesame Street theme. It started off as a small idea, but all it took was one picture that my sister sent from Pinterest and it pretty much exploded from there! We are so blessed to have so many GREAT friends, but unfortunately, we just didn't have enough room to invite everyone so we tried to keep it smaller by inviting our families and closest friends (and Parker's too) over for a day of celebrating. We had such fun remembering this past YEAR in the life of Parker James!
**A super big THANK YOU to my incredible life-long friend who lives in England, and I know would've been here if she could, Samantha, for thinking of precious Parker and sending a present all the way to Texas for his first birthday! We were touched beyond words! And she also gave me the idea for the title of this blog post!!**
Since our son is obsessed with balls, we decided that giving him a ball pit would be the perfect birthday present...and it WAS! He LOVES it! We, of course, cheated and gave it to him early!
He had to be looking his BEST for his one year bash, and since Aunt Kelly wasn't handy, I took him to Fantastic Sam's for his first salon cut!
SUCH a handsome boy! And such a good baby! He didn't make a sound while she was cutting his hair and she said he was the best baby she'd ever cut! :)
Also, as a way to commemorate turning ONE, I gave him his first PB&J for lunch! He, as expected, LOVED it!
His daddy requested a spikey hair style instead of his "dork" parted one....
This was seriously the best idea in the world for his present!
PawPaw and Gigi bought Parker a GREAT fort for his birthday and had it shipped to our house so he could have it for the party...it came in two HUGE boxes and Tyson and I put it together one night...it took us 3 hours and we finished just shy of midnight! Oh, the things we do for our kids!
PawPaw and Gigi drove in a couple of days early since they were staying with us for the weekend...and we let Parker see his present from them when they got there.
He was IN LOVE!!! Like SO excited he couldn't even stand it!
The windows were his favorite part!
After a good night's sleep...it was time to party! Sure, mommy might have been up until 2am the night before making cupcakes and cookies...but it was SO worth it!!! Like I said, I blame Kelly and Pinterest.
Taa-daa!! The tablescape! I must say, I think it turned out pretty precious! :)
The idea that started it all....Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes! Yes, I made these! Totally from scratch!
I got the idea for his Sesame Street smash cake from the very talented lady at ChefMommy. I made my own Marshmallow Fondant for the sesame street sign and minus some cracks, I was shocked at how cute it turned out!
Since his party was "Brought to you by the Letter 'P' and Number '1'", I decided to make sugar cookie P's and 1's!
Me and my super BIG, super CUTE, birthday boy!
What an amazing year it's been! Oh, how we LOVE you, Sweet Parker James.
My sweet girlfriends! Couldn't have made it through my first year as a mommy without them!
Aunt Katie, Uncle Keith and Aunt Kelly! (Definitely could NOT have made it through my first year as a mommy without Kelly!! She is the BEST sister and friend in the world!)
Uncle Robert (Smokemaster Rob) was kind enough to smoke a brisket and cut it up for us!! It was, of course, delish!
Nathan and Heather have been wonderful friends to us and are always full of so much encouragement! Plus, they're just about a 10 minute walk away and live right across from the park so they're our "go-to"friends for last-minute playdates when either Parker or I just need to get out of the house!
Papa saved the day when our first inflatable jumper that we borrowed from some friends had holes in it! He went to Toys R Us and bought this new amazing one for all of the grandkids to share for years to come! Thanks Papa!!!
The kiddos were SUPER happy and agreed that Papa saved the day!
Sweet P was loving the goldfish!
Parker wanted some alone time on the jumper while the other kids were eating...he LOVED it!!
We had a quick wardrobe change for the eating of the cake...we couldn't have icing all over his super cute new shirt!
I actually bought this birthday boy shirt for Trent when he turned one....and we got it back as a hand-me-down!
When we all started sining "Happy Birthday", this boy LIT up!!! He was SO happy!!! I think he thought we were all crazy, but it made him smile SO big!
He took a small bite at first....
...but after a few bites, he just went for it and dug right in! Just like his mommy would!
He was walking all over the place! Maybe on a sugar high after all that cake?!
Sweet Tess Marie
I had lots of help, encouragement and support from my fellow friends and mommies this past year....but I most certainly couldn't have done it without the LOVE, encouragement and support I get from this guy. My BEST friend who keeps me sane, helps like no other, and always makes me feel like I am GREAT at my job, even when I don't think I am. I couldn't be more proud to have him as a husband or a daddy to our sweet boy!
Look at Parker's cheeks! He was so hot but having so much fun that he didn't want to stop playing!
We gave him his present from Nona and Papa after most people left...a batman power wheel! He loved it!
Papa taught him how to work it....
...and then he was off! Literally! He found the button and was riding it by himself!
We couldn't believe he was doing it alone!
He then decided he wanted it in the grass and gave up on riding and decided it was time for pushing instead!
Too cute!
After a GREAT nap, we got him all cleaned up for a nice dinner out! And his passport came in the mail today too-thank you for the birthday present, US Government!
We opened a few presents before heading to dinner...
PawPaw and Gigi took us to Taste of Texas (our FAVORITE restaurant!) for a ridiculously good meal! It was JUST what mommy and daddy needed after working so hard for the party! Thank you, PawPaw and Gigi for one of the MANY ways you continue to spoil us! We love you!
After a very exciting, and thrilling day...it was time to relax with Gigi and some milk before bed!
A little playtime with daddy too, and then it was off to bed for a great night's sleep!
Since Sunday (the 29th) was his REAL birthday, we thought he should have a cookie to celebrate!
Just wanted to say what a wonderful party this was and that you and Tyson are great parents to Parker. As I stated Saturday, you and your family should seriously start a catering business for things like this because it was great. I'm booking ya'll for Elijah's 4 year old party this fall!
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