Firecracker's First Birthday

Atticus turned a year old on the Fourth of July!

We started out with party for him in my grandma's backyard, and then later went to my sister Sarah's house for a barbecue and fireworks. By the time he was a year old, Atticus was almost walking, jabbering a little, saying "mama" and "dada," and saying "up" or "bup." Now, almost two months later, he is RUNNING, saying "mommy" and "daddy" and about ten other words, jabbering like he's having a conversation all the time, and getting into everything. He is very snuggly and loving, but also impatient, and he will not stand for trading--he knows what he wants. He and Netty are best friends and partners in crime.

Here are some birthday party highlights:

Atticus with his cousin LaMar. LaMar turned 8 on July 1st. They are the only two in the family with July birthdays.

Friends - My grandma (left) is 84, and Dolores, my aunt's mom, is 89. The two women have been friends for years. They are both losing their memories, and sometimes their conversations don't make a lot of sense, but I love watching them chat. After so many years, they are still such wonderful friends.

We opted out of lunch and stuck with just fruit and dip for the party. Notice our sad centerpiece--the balloon bouquet was adorable until the balloons leaked their air. By the time the party started, it looked pretty pathetic.

Because LaMar was baptized the same weekend, my parents were able to come out for Atti's birthday party as well. Ten of the twelve grandchildren were there too. My dad's shirt says, "12 reasons why I love being a PAPA," and then it has the names of all of the grandchildren on it.

Gotta love how kids crowd around when it's present time. No matter how many times you tell them to step back and sit down, they manage to creep up again.

I made an ice cream cake for Atticus. My mom decorated it because I ran out of time, but I think it turned out really well.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the inside of the completed cake. But here are the two cake layers in the oven, and then I had a layer of vanilla ice cream in the middle. It was adorable and delicious. Maybe I'll do the same thing next year so that I can get a picture!

Atti's little cake

We took the cover off of the high chair for cake time. this ended up being a really smart idea. His shirt still has stains in it from the red and blue frosting.

Unlike Netty when she turned a year old, Atti really dug into it with both hands.

And the sugar coma after....