Carter's 1st Birthday Party

I really did try to narrow the pictures down for this post (& actually did!). It was such a momentous occasion and I have so many favorites. So...a story told by pictures...

My baby turned 1 on Monday (07.12.10). We had his polka dot birthday party at our house this past Sunday. We were surrounded by our loving families and very close friends.

As always, my SIL Beth ROCKED OUT the birthday cake. We (and when I say we, I really mean mostly Beth & a little bit of me) made the cutest 3-tiered birthday cake for my little man.



The birthday boy




My birthday babies - this is my GORGEOUS niece Elizabeth (ps I know you're not supposed to have favorites...so I guess I will leave some things unsaid). She and Carter share a birthday (she just turned FIFTEEN - yikes!). When I was pregnant she kept telling me that I was going to have Carter on her birthday. Of course I didn't want to because that meant I would be a week late. She was tickled pink at her birthday gift last year!

Carter was surrounded by his 5 1st cousins - Elizabeth, Gracie, Adam, Jeter & Olive.






I LOVE these shots of Landon with his Nannie & Papa.

The top layer of the cake was Carter's "smash cake". He wasn't very into smashing it. I gave him a few licks of icing to start with. He finally dug in after I cut it in chunks!






This next picture pretty much sums up the gift opening. I opened all of the gifts while Carter played with the ball that his big brother gave him & all of the men watched the World Cup final (by the way, there were actual pictures of just the soccer game on my camera!!!). He got many nice things - a John Deere ride-on (can you guess who gave him that?), beach toys, books, PJs, clothes, a baseball toy (of course from the best pitcher out there, Elizabeth), and lots of other fun stuff. My Papa made a stool for Carter that flips into a little chair - it is awesome!

Carter's BFF Laken came to his party...even after just getting in from a long drive back from NY and his mom & dad surviving on 2 hours of sleep. I love you guys for coming! Those boys are 2 peas in a pod. They are always side by side at daycare. I foresee trouble in our future!

The birthday boy & his balloon...