Layton's 1st Birthday Party

On Saturday we celebrated our baby boy's 1st birthday! And I'm happy to report that everything went smoothly and turned out really cute and fun! Even the birthday boy (who didn't really know what was going on) seemed to enjoy himself. =) Other than a boycott of his morning nap, everything went off without a hitch. Yay!!

The theme for Layton's party took a while to come to me. I really wanted something 1st birthday appropriate (which I know is up to each individual's interpretation... so 1st birthday appropriate to me) and I really wanted something that stood out as "the one". We actually thought we had settled on a theme until I came across a "Frogs, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails" cake totally by accident. And as soon as I saw that cake this theme tugged at my heart and I knew this was going to be the one. It was meant to be! I mean what little boys are made of lives here! And totally fits 1st birthday appropriateness to a T for me. I was thrilled. =)This theme wasn't the easiest but it was pretty perfect for our 3rd baby boy and his very 1st birthday. I loved it start to finish.

My awesome friend and go-to, personal graphic designer designed the invitation for us again. We were just in LOVE! I absolutely treasure all 3 of my babies' 1st birthday invites with the 3 little pictures of sweetness oozing right off of them. Thanks again Megan!!!

Family picture before the party! 

Our colors were blue, brown, and green (like the invite), but unfortunately we found out Saturday morning our balloon order wouldn't contain any brown. Boo. I know that would've been super cute, but the blue and lime green combo didn't disappoint so everything turned out A-okay. The foyer table held the matte of Layton's monkey pictures, his baby book, and his framed invitation.

Dining room table and centerpiece... which I ordered from Etsy and loved a lot. =)

The kitchen table centerpiece was something my parents had done for all 3 boys at Buggy Days. It's a special name keepsake of the root, meaning, origin, and personality traits of that particular name.   

My baby in his overalls plus a puppy dog. =)

The cakes! So adorable and soo yummy! 

We fed everyone sandwiches, chicken nuggets from CFA, fruit and dip, and chips and dip to kick off the party. Layton was super tired due to refusing his nap that morning but thankfully AnAn was able to keep him happy at the table until we were ready to open presents. And by happy at the table I mean constantly giving him more and more food. He ate and ate and ate until it was time for presents. He just doesn't seem to ever get full!

Presents time!

He did really good with participating in the present opening process in the beginning. He smiled, tore some wrapping paper, looked at his cards...but after a while he kind of lost interest and crawled away and big brothers had to step in and take over. =) After everything was opened though he was pretty smitten over all the fun toys he got. Yay!

We went straight from opening presents to getting ready for cake. (It should be noted the highchair Layton is sitting in was mine as a baby. That would make it 31 years old and still going strong. Ha.) Layton wasn't too impressed with everyone singing to him. Haha! Thankfully he never burst into tears even though I think he wanted to at one point. He went from overwhelmed and intimidated to dazed and confused. Poor baby was so tired by this point he just didn't know what to think about a crowd of 19 family members singing to him. =)

Baby boy might not have been impressed with everybody singing Happy Birthday but he was most definitely impressed with his cake! He sampled it right away without needing any prompting or encouragement at all. He licked his fingers and enjoyed lots and lots of icing right from the start. =)

Eventually, we helped him "smash" into it, but for the most part he consumed what he wanted all on his own and loved every bite. 

He finally got a little tired of his hands being covered in icing and just tired in general so we got him some of his water juice and wrapped up the smash cake fun. Meanwhile his big brothers helped themselves... notice all the missing dots... 

Layton's 1st birthday was lots of fun and memorable for all of us. Especially our party of 5! We loved celebrating with our littlest member and watching him enjoy all the fun that came with his 1st birthday! Our big boys were very involved and just the sweetest big brothers during the party.

We are SO thankful for Granna and Papa hosting Layton's party at their house and for our amazing families being there to help us celebrate. First birthdays are most special for the birthday kid's family and we have the best ever! Thanks for loving and celebrating our babies the way you do!!

Happy 1st Birthday again to our sweet Layton Thomas!! We love you more than you know!