Grand Slam B-Day

Ashton your first party was a Grand Slam! I think we hit it out of the park as everyone had a good time.

Your original party was postponed due to Kaden’s surgery. So, two weeks later everyone gathered at our home for a 12:30 party:
GG, Papa Rardin, Ama and Papa Glover, Ama and Grandpa Church, Papa Blackburn, Grandpa and Grandma Rardin, Uncle Jake, Auntie Larissa and Bee, Tata, Aunt Jana, Uncle C, Brad, Mac and Cale, Lala, Boo, Zon and Baby Gray and Dawa. Dave stopped in for a bit, too!

We had a fun time decorating for the baseball theme. After all you only ‘Hit The BIG O-N-E’ once! All the kids had goodie boxes as if they were at the ball park: tattoos, Cracker Jacks, baseball pencils reading: Ashton hit the BIG one, MVP ribbons that can be used as book marks and baseball balloons. All were put into popcorn serving boxes.

We hung a banner above your chair.

I of course had a tshirt made that read: Hitting the BIG One! Ashton’s Number One Fan. And YES, I do plan to wear it to future tball and baseball events!

We served hotdogs and chips- just like the ball park. There were peanuts to be shelled and sodas to drink. The cake was delish. It was marble with custard and whipped cream frosting.

We sang to you your "Hoppy Hoppy" (as Kade calls it), which you really liked. You wanted to get after that cake, but Daddy kept pulling it away from you!

You made an absolute mess. Papa Rardin had a good majority on him as he picked you up for tub soaking. Cake really isn’t your thing. You prefer ice cream to any other sweet treat.

You received many wonderful gifts. Please forgive me I accidentally tossed the list into the recycle once the thank you cards were sent. However, I will note that Papa Blackburn made you your own rocking chair.

You wanted to crawl all over it. You sat in it. You stood in it. You just wanted to touch it. His work is continues to amaze. I cherish every piece in our home. Now, you, KK and I all have rockers from Papa! In my book that is pretty neat!

You sat through the entire gift opening. You didn’t dive into open, but you were engaged once you saw the gift. I am still in disbelief how well Mr. Cannot Sit Still did for the opening of everything at one time. Good job, birthday boy!

I applaud you, for you didn’t get cranky even without an afternoon nap. You were bright eyed and full of fun for your party. You loved the attention and the busyness of the people. You were free to play and go. It was definitely a good day.

We have not hosted a birthday party at home until yours. I think it is the best way to host a little person’s special day. It made it much more enjoyable for Daddy and I, but most importantly you could roam around all you wanted. Since you are a walker we didn’t worry about concrete stumbles. This was gift all its own!

I cannot believe your first birthday is now behind us. It doesn’t seem possible a year has passed. We say it all of the time, but your first year REALLY did go by super-fast. I often wish for a few more ‘first’ days with you because it was gone in a blink of an eye. As life moves ahead I have to look forward. I may not be able to go back to those ‘first’ days, but there are many-many more first days ahead. My Sprite-Guy, this is the beauty of life. Fill your cup and always know you can have your cake too!