Parker's Birthday Party

Yesterday was Parker's First Birthday Party. We had more people at our home during the party than we have had since Parker was born. Twelve. It was a very special day for all of us.

It was going to be a Backyardigans party so we had all the Backyardigans decorations out along with his Pablo cake. We figured that if we could get Parker down for his nap at noon then he would be up for when people started to arrive at two. However, Parker did not understand that if he went to bed later he would miss a good chunk of his own party. It was half past one when Parker decided he was finally going to fall asleep. Every time we put him down his eyes would fill up with tears, he would stand in the corner of his crib with two thirds of his head above the top bar crying "Mama, Mamaaa..." Parker did not want to go to sleep. He was very sad. So, as I tried to get ready for the party down stairs, my wife dealt with our sad son. She eventually put his favourite blankie on her shoulder and lay his head on that which calmed him enough that he fell asleep.

Eventually people started arriving at around twenty to two and by quarter after every one was there and Parker was sound asleep in his crib. It did give us some time to socialise with our family and friends, something that we have not done in a long time in our home. We all ate the food that we put out and sat around talking, as most of us had not been in a room together in a long time. I on the other hand did a lot of running back and forth to the computer to see if Pittsburgh was beating Philadelphia. They did win and as a result I have moved on to the next weekend. Grand-dad also made it through this weekend and will be joining me with 26 others as we try to be the only one left out of the 8 that began.

Finally, at three-thirty Parker woke and mommy went up stairs to put him birthday clothes on. Parker was still quite tired and did cry as she attempted to dress him. The poor little guy was so tired from crying earlier on. With that, he was up for a very big surprise when he got downstairs. There were alot of people there who had come to see him. When he did arrive on the main floor he could not take his eyes off the mass of people who had accumulated in the living and dining room. They clapped, and then he clapped, they clapped some more and they clapped some more. Parker was quite happy to have so many visitors. He wanted to show everyone what he could do. First he went on his truck and drove around the main floor rather quickly, then he ran up the stairs to show everyone how strong he was and then he hopped on his Winnie the Pooh scooter as Uncle Mikey and Cousin Kyle pulled him around the main floor. Each one trying to out do the other. In the end, it was Parker that was the show off as he took whatever each had thrown at him. Sometimes with one hand on the handlebars, sometimes two. There was nothing they could do to knock him off. See, Parker is the "Winnie the Pooh Master".

Parker showed his Auntie Christini that he knew what a circle was when we asked him to find the circle. He stopped what he was doing, looked around the room, located the object and darted towards it. When he got there, he picked it up and raised it in front of him as everyone clapped. We are currently working on getting Parker to recognise the word square and being able to differentiate it from the circle. Give him a few more days, and he will have that figured out.

After watching a little bit of The Backyardigans, Mission to Mars so that everyone knew who Pablo was we began opening Parker's gifts. Parker absolutely loved his gifts and the paper and boxes that it came with. In only a few weeks since the last time he had to open gifts (Christmas) he has actually gotten better at the process.

Eventually it was time to get to the cake, so I put Parker's birthday bib on, picked him up and placed him in his high chair. I removed Pablo's hat, which was just a cup cake and placed it on a Backyardigan's plate along with a piece of Pablo's head. Then I put the candle on his cake, lit it and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Parker. He kept trying to grab the cake as we sang but with the lit candle on it I held it back just out of his reach. When the song was over, Daddy helped Parker blow out his candle. Then I removed the candle and placed the plate in front of him.

Very slowly, Parker started putting his hands into the cake. Squeezing it slowly as the frosting slowly emerged from between his fingers. Parker had not tasted the cake so I decided to take his hand with some blue frosting and bring it to his mouth. He opened his mouth and ate the thick blue frosting that was covering his hands. Eventually he started feeding himself as the mess in front of him and on his hands grew dramatically. Parker definitely enjoyed his first Birthday Cake.

With the party winding down we said good bye to our family and friends and Mommy took the blue Cake Monster upstairs for a bath. He returned downstairs with his hands and arms a light tint of blue and ready to explore the gifts that he gotten a few hours earlier.

We are so thankful for everyone who was able to be a part of Parker's birthday party in person or in spirit. It was definitely a very enjoyable day. Tomorrow is Parker's actual first birthday so check back tomorrow for some very early images of the little monkey.