This weekend we partied better than we did in 1999, and we rang in his second year in Very Hungry Caterpillar style. When it comes to a caterpillar, I think Eric Carle told his story best - one we have loved, loved, loved since this book was gifted to Jake on his first birthday by someone I completely adore (I passed by her on the street one day and complimented her on her tan. She told me she was getting married soon. A year or more later, we started working together, and she reminded me..."Yeah, you walked by me and..." That was you?! That WAS you. We've been friends ever since.). Our first copy bears his teethmarks. It traveled in his backpack everywhere we went, and he still asks me to "Read about the caterpillar, Mommy!", and he butts in when he begins to eat through one apple, two pears, three plums....... And now Parker has his own copy with an inside cover full of blue ink from the Sharpie marker we all used to sign it with "I love you's" and first birthday wishes. I hope he loves it as much as Brother.
Party details as I go - I like it like that.
The door hanger was created using an unfinished wooden number one painted in green and "aged" in brown. I drilled two holes in the top (one in each corner) and threaded wire used to make jewelry with through each side, made two bows out of two different ribbon, tied them on with a pipe cleaner and voila.
The lanterns. I ended up only using four of them. After spending a half hour on an eight foot ladder and breaking a sweat, I cursed the other three and decided I liked this better anyway. I could not for the life of me get them to stay via fishing line and blue painter's tape (the weight of the lanterns and slick, textureless fishing line maybe?). I quickly raided my storage container full of ribbon, tied a red strand to each one, reused the painter's tape, stepped back, and never felt more proud.
The tent cards I used here were purchased on Etsy and the roll of white yarn from Wal-mart.
The ceiling of our dining room converted party room was covered in balloons, our dining room table covered in food (almost all fourteen of them).
His grandma made his cake, and I love her for that.
To make the pennant banner I used two wooden dowels (Thank you, J!), scraps of fabric in patterns from the book and yarn. I cut three triangles using pinking sheers and two small slits in the top two corners of each one, threaded the yarn through and tied each end to a dowel.
Number 1 candle: Publix.
Cupcake liners and paper straws: Hey Yo Yo.
Glassware: Wal-mart.
The love on Sunday....we definitely passed it around.
Almost five and a little over one is still hard to breathe in.
I swear I love their birthdays more than they do. It's as much for me as it is them, I know this.
My one goal is to make them feel half as special as they made me feel the day I brought them into this world.
If they only knew.
Baby was pretty much all over his birthday cake, yet he kept it clean (Jim pulled back the rug just in case).
I made his bib from the same collection of fabric that I used to make the birthday cake pennant banner, and I made the fabric banner that's hanging above his high chair from three of the four fabrics used throughout (free-handed paper triangle that I used as my pattern, thread, and sewing machine).
As for the gifts, he knew exactly what to do, and he loved them all. (A ride-on toy, blocks, and a Busy Ball Popper courtesy of Mommy, Daddy, and Brother...a hooded towel set, books, and a savings bond courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa...and a V Tech twirling, chasing, talking, musical kitty courtesy of Aunt Cathy, Uncle Dean, and Cousin Emily).
On the outside, our bushes were full of caterpillars made from egg cartons (I got two from each one by cutting them in half then used paint and pipe cleaners to decorate with.) and fruit made out of wood to throw bean bags through.
At the end of it all, we pulled the balloons from the ceiling and each let one go in honor of his age...
even the birthday boy.
Happy Birthday to You...Happy Birthday to You...Happy Birthday...Dear, Parker...Happy Birthday to You! And I can't wait to sing many, many more birthday songs just for you.
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