Evan's 1st Birthday Party!

We couldn't believe it had been a whole year since that wonderful day we were blessed beyond measure with our little boy. And yet we had packed so much into that one year. Evan had truly surpassed our fondest dreams of what our child would be like. He was so beautiful, smart, healthy, funny, and just plain adorable! He brightened every day of our lives with his smiles and laughter. We had waited what seemed like a long time to get to celebrate our baby's first birthday. Mommy, of course, wanted to throw a truly unforgettable birthday celebration that our whole family could enjoy. She planned a fabulous "safari adventure" at the park! Everything progressed beautifully--the invitations were mailed out, the decorations arrived, the party favors were prepared, the cake was ordered, and a space at the park was reserved. The week preceding the grand celebration was promising with beautiful Spring weather. Thursday was Evan's birthday, and we celebrated with Evan's Nana and Papa, Uncle Paul, Aunt Jessica, and cousins Emma and Lanny. Mommy bought special birthday cupcakes for the kids, and Evan got to open a few special presents. He would have to wait for his party for the rest.

Here are some pictures of the day of Evan's birthday:


I know, he looks so threatening with this big club and his thumb in his mouth!





Daddy and his birthday boy. You will notice that Mommy is not in any pictures! She had to take all the pictures, but we will remedy this next year!



He couldn't wait to get his hands and mouth on this cupcake!





You gotta love how good this blue cupcake shows up on his face!





Looks like he ate a smurf!





Uncle Paul said he looked like a little cookie monster here...or maybe that he ate the cookie monster!
"Mmmm...more cookies!"





And it was good!





He was so cute when he finished this cupcake and started banging his messy hands on the tray and laughing hysterically!



I don't think there is any doubt that this boy loves cake! I would challenge anyone to find a 1 year old who enjoyed his/her cake more!



Cousin Emma loves to help everyone open their presents! Evan didn't mind too much this year!



Yeah, he really just liked the paper the best, but we hoped he would enjoy his presents later!




Let's Get This Party Started!

The party was scheduled for Saturday, and we learned the forecast called for cool, wet weather. We were nervous but just prayed for enough of a delay to allow us a few hours of outdoor pleasure. Saturday dawned dry but very cool. Mommy dressed Evan in his birthday suit, which was thankfully a long-all made of thicker cotton material because of it being a reversible outfit. Since it was cool, he would have to wear his jacket, but we were just happy that we could still have our party as planned. Daddy went on some last minute errands to pick up the cake and pizza while Mommy headed to the park to set up. She planned to blow up tons of balloons, but the windy conditions did not make this feasible. She managed to get the large mylar lion balloon blown up as well as a few colorful latex balloons for the kids. Sprinkles started to fall, but luckily, they were not followed with anything more. The sun even came out for a little while. The family arrived, and Daddy arrived with Evan and the cake. The cake was adorable and matched Evan's invitations and decorations perfectly! It was square and had a different safari animal on each side. There was even a special cupcake on top for Evan! It was also decorated in bright colored, soft whipped icing that made for a great birthday mess. What 1st birthday is complete without a messy cake face?

Enjoy the pictures of the birthday celebration:


Somebody's ready to party!





Evan's adorable cake!





Evan and his best friends and cousins, Emma and Lanny, are ready for cake! We don't know why Emma and Evan thought it was funny to point at each other, but it was too cute!





Such a happy birthday boy! You can see a little bit of his birthday outfit here!





He couldn't wait to get his hands into this cake!



Trust me, I had to be quick with the camera because it only took this guy seconds to get this cake to his mouth!




This cupcake was so big he had to roll it up his bib to his mouth!





He was laughing at us for not getting any!





A close up of the cake face!





Evan enjoyed swinging with his Grandma!





Lanny looks so cute here with his balloon!




Emma tries to dig in the sand while holding on to her balloon!





Lanny goes down the slide!




Nana and Evan are just hanging out after lunch!





Aunt Jessica really wanted Evan to take his first independent steps for her!





Evan actually enjoyed swinging! Until now, he had seemed to be a little scared of the swings!




To get the kids out of the cold, we went over to Uncle Paul and Aunt Jessica's to open presents!




Emma loves to help open presents!




Evan, Emma and Lanny check out his new firetruck from Nana and Papa!




Evan rests with his Papa after the exhausting day of celebrating!

Evan's 2nd Easter ~ 2008

I really believe Easter is my (Sherry's) favorite holiday. I love the Spring and all the pretty pastel colored eggs, the beautiful flowers, the candy, the pretty Easter clothes, and the soft, cuddly Easter bunnies. I have always loved bunnies and even collected them when I was younger. I have a pretty fantastic collection and am just waiting for a little girl to pass them on to. If I don't ever get one, I guess they will be passed on to my niece, Emma.

This Easter was the most exciting one we had ever experienced. I got to take Evan down to his Grandma's church for a fantastic day of egg dyeing and hunting. It was pretty amazing, but we were sad that Eddie could not be with us. He had to stay in Charlotte because he was on-call for fire dangers. Oh the price of being a forester! (sigh)

Evan was so cute carrying his Easter basket and picking up eggs that he found. He grasped the concept really well for a toddler of not quite one! In case you haven't realized, Evan's first year was a little unusual in that he had two Easters. When he was born at the end of March 2007, Easter was just a couple of weeks later, but in 2008, Easter fell very early in March on the Sunday before Evan's birthday. Pretty neat, huh?

Here are some pictures of Evan's 1st Easter egg hunt:


Grandma was so happy to see her boy for Easter! He thought he was so cool in his shades!



Evan's first marshmallow egg! Lots of firsts this year!



Grandma and Evan are ready to find some eggs!



A sweet picture of Evan with his Grandma!



Had to get one picture of me and Evan. Thanks, Aunt Naomi!



The weather in the South is so crazy! The Saturday before Easter was actually hot, but Easter Sunday was breezy and cool! We were actually hot here after hunting eggs!




Nope, we don't know who had more fun hunting for eggs...Evan or Grandma!



"I got one, Grandma!"



"Here's another one!"



"I think there's one in here somewhere!"



Aunt Naomi gave Evan an awesome Easter basket! It was running over with goodies!



Evan finally learns how to play with cars!



Evan finds his Great-Great-Great Grandfather's grave! I just thought this was a neat photo!



Yummy! His first Peep!


Easter Portrait Session

Eddie and I started a tradition of taking our own pictures with Evan for Easter. We wanted to choose a beautiful outdoor setting with some beautiful Spring colors. Since this Easter fell so early in the year, the Spring colors were still pretty scarce so we had to settle on a bright yellow ornamental bush at one of the many parks in Charlotte.

















"See Daddy, I can pick up my Easter basket. See how strong I am!"









So sweet touching Mommy's face! He looked like he loved her, didn't he?



Almost walking on his own! He just wouldn't let go of that finger!









So tired after a long day at church and taking pictures afterwards!



He woke up so happy! This is a better picture of his Easter outfit! Since his birthday and Easter were only a week apart, I decided to get two outfits in one! This is actually a reversible outfit...Bailey Boys is the best for special occasion and reversible outfits! I thought the Humpty Dumpty side went great with Easter...you know, since Humpty is an egg and all! The other side is solid light blue with an applique of a bunch of cute, cuddly animals in soft colors!