Luke's First Birthday Party

He doesn't actually turn 1 until the 18th, but we had Luke's first birthday party over the weekend. It was a splashing good time.


Luke, floatin'


We opted for partying early because his soon-to-be born cousin, Jake, is due the 25th,  just 4 days before he was due, and well, Luke was born the week before that, so we didn't want to take any chances with making any hard decisions about attending a party or a birth. I would have hated to call all his guests to tell them his party was postponed indefinitely because, well, a birth is a bit more inflexible than a party date.

He had a blast. He floated for a while, then decided he needed to jump in like the big kids. He would stand on the side and lift his foot like he was trying to take a step up, and that was my cue to "jump" him into the pool. The he laughed and turned back toward the side to do it again. I had to drag him away from this game so we could eat cake.

He just looked at us all like we were crazy while we stood there looking at him, waiting for him to dig into his cupcake. I know he must have been thinking, "This isn't the first time I've eaten cake, people. What is the big deal?"

Then he ate cake and passed out. He power napped through the end of his party, so we took the presents home and opened them later. Ella very generously offered to open them for him while he slept, but I declined.

Sportin' his Mickey ears during a power nap

He got lots of fun things.  A stuffed Mickey, a backpack, a couple of little car playsets, including Batman and Joker - which he promptly grabbed, put to his ear, and said "Hey" when I was trying to show him how to roll them on their track. Like his sister, he apparently knows how to make a cell phone out of anything - even his hand. He got clothes, a new book, "flashing" cards, and a bouncy horse that sings and gallops. He hasn't quite figured out how to get on and off of it by himself yet, but it's only a matter of time until that thing gets a run for it's money.

And now he has a car of his own. He jealously guarded it when Ella tried to take a turn, and I can't say I blamed him. The receipt of his car marked the end of her car's time out. It's been in time out for about two weeks because there was a tussle over it, resulting in a bitten baby finger. It was an ugly scene that I feel certain he will make up for by running her down just as soon as he figures out how to make his car go forward.

Since he already knows how to drive it in reverse, I know it won't be long before we are hosting a full-fledged demolition derby in our Big Room. 

Driving his car