Thursday, November 5, 2009

1.

if you know me, you know I think birthdays are a big deal. combine that with the fact that I am ridiculously sentimental, and you come up with a birthday party I spent way too much time and energy on, considering my child won't even remember it. but, in the end, I'm glad we did it.
**be warned: this post is meant to be super detailed so family members who couldn't be here can get an idea of how it all went down. I won't be offended if you get bored.**
here is mr. macko's birthday week, starting with the actual day:

October 27th
first of all, I was in and out of tears all day long. how can my baby be one already? secondly, all day long, I kept telling DJ, "we were doing _____ right this minute last year." so, we decided to drive to the hospital and take a picture of mack in front of the hospital the exact minute he was born. here you go. welcome to your first year mack.







no actual celebration that day, but mack did have a little bite of pumpkin roll. he loved it. look at the kid, is anyone surprised?

October 28th

spent the day making these super easy, inexpensive tissue paper puffs for mack's party. cute, no?

October 29th

went over to a friend's place to help with these. a million thanks to elise who made the cake pops, and let me come over to help dip and decorate them. I think they turned out so, so cute. she found the idea, picked up all the ingredients, and prepared everything. they were a hit! thanks again, elise!!

October 30th

*photo taken by deej*
all dressed up for the ward trunk or treat. honestly, he is the cutest dalmation ever.


October 31st

the party...
after a slightly hectic morning (went five different places to find dry ice for homemade rootbeer, couldn't find it anywhere, ended up buying jones soda instead.) and no sleep the night before due to a cake catastrophe (completely ruined the first cake, and started over at 1am), the party was ready to go. a huge shout out to keri who came up with the concept for the whole party. I'm lucky to have super creative friends. :)
the invites (wrapped around a jones soda bottle like a label):


along with the cake pops and tissue paper puffs above, here are the other parts of the food table:

white "pumpkins" filled with candy


the above mentioned jones soda.


millions of spider cupcakes



the cake. don't judge. next year I'm ordering one from a bakery. I was not made to decorate cakes.

somehow I didn't get a picture of the whole table. so, I've included my 'pre-game' sketch to help you visualize where everything was. the giant pumpkin on the right side of the table had soup in it, and a wonderful friend made a yummy salad for the other side of the table.


the costumes:
I was Galinda from Wicked. two years ago I was Elphaba, and decided to carry on the wicked tradition. unfortunately, people thought I was either the fairy god mother or a beauty queen. I guess Galinda needs an unnaturally colored face to be recognizable.


DJ bought a pig nose and a thermometer and was going to be swine flu. I thought it was super creative. we couldn't find the thermometer, and after running errands for the party, he didn't have time to properly affix the pig nose, so instead he was a super attractive husband. that's better anyway. :)

the little animals:






how mack started to feel about half way through:


...until we brought out the cake. he went crazy.

notice the first three pictures: 1. testing. 2. yay! this stuff is good! 3. more, please! (the fist in the hand is his version of the sign for "more"). also, notice how he plunged his sippy cup into the cake. yum. the hat was made by carlee. check out the link. she sells lots of cool stuff.
how much did he eat, you ask? one third. that's 1/3 for those of you who need to see it in numbers. nearly half of a double layer cake. yup, I think he liked it. and, he took a nice long nap after, and slept really well that night. maybe I should give him his own giant cake more often.

all in all, I think it was a success. thanks to everyone who came, helped, and made mack's birthday special!

November 1st

a few pictures from mack's one year photo shoot:








dear mr. mackers,

happy birthday little guy.
I can't believe you've been mine for one entire year. you will never understand how you have made me better in every way (a little crazier too, but one has to take what they can get, you know). we love you more than you will ever understand until you have a child of your own. I hope you can put up with all of our idiosyncrasies and be proud to call us your parents.
I love watching you discover life every day. I love listening to and watching you figure out your words. every time a word escapes your little mouth or a sign comes from your little hands, my heart melts just a little bit. I love how proud you are of yourself when you realize what you've done. I'm proud of you too.
I love how excited you get to see daddy when he comes home, and I love how you still need me when you're sad or hurt. I hope that never changes, and you will always come to us when your sad or hurt and need a little comfort.
I love watching you scoot around the house. it's unconventional, inventive, and so smart. who wouldn't want to travel around on their bum all day? you have one-upped us all.
I love listening to you pound out your original compositions on the piano. I love that you love it--you have definitely inherited your mommy and daddy's love for all things musical. I know you won't believe it when you're older, but you already sing to us. you sing in the car, you sing in your crib, you match whatever tone comes out of our mouth. I think you're a musical genius; we have a progeny on our hands! oh, and by the way, if you end up hating all things musical, that's okay too. :)
I love that you have a little will of your own, and you quietly (or not so quietly sometimes) make it known. I hope you will always stand up for what you believe in... it would be all right if you don't scream it at everyone through the rest of your life though. just sayin'.
I love how you find humor in the simplest things. I love how you laugh at me when I'm crying. it makes the hard moments a little easier. you make me laugh every day.
I love how shy and cuddly you are. even though it can be taxing at times, I love that you want to cuddle up to me whenever you can.
I love how you remind me of the important things in life. you mean the world to me.
little man, I'm so proud to call myself your mommy. I love you to the moon and back.
happy birthday.
love, mommy

26 comments:

Brooklet said...

um. . .wow. . .um, you are amazing! You even have a sketch for your table layout- you are in a different league than the rest of us. It looks fantastic and i love that Mack at 1/3 of a cake! Awesome!

Katie said...

Happy Birthday Mack! He's such a sweet boy. Bil, you are my hero. I can't believe how creative and talented you are. Your photography is beautiful as is your family (and your spider cake.)

Love you guys!

Kimi said...

Wow Libby! You are amazing! I had heard how amazing your party was and now I have proof! One day I hope I can be half as amazing as you are... but I won't hold my breath! :) Mack is adorable, he must get his good looks from his mom. :)

NJ said...

Libby, what an adorable post! Mack really is cute beyond words!!

Keri said...

You know he will kill you for that naked picture in about 12 years right? :) Loved the post and all its details!

Colette said...

Yay for turning 1! Happy birthday to the little man. It sounds like the party was amazing! Mack is just SO so adorable. And I feel your cake decorating pain, except that your cake turned out super cute.

Elise said...

Libby you certainly know how to throw a party. Can I hire you for Oakley's? Everything looked amazing right down to the adorable Jones soda cans (I can't even believe that was a last minute compromise). The cake was awesome too, you have to give yourself credit there. And the rest was seriously out of a magazine- perfect!
Okay I love the naked picture of Mack, those chubby thighs are adorable!!

Rachel Swan said...

Hi. I stalk your blog. Is that okay? I sure hope so, it's fantastic, just so you know. Your Mack is adorable and is lucky to have such a loving, talented mama! Watching the littles grow is so wonderful, but incredibly heartbreaking as we look back and wonder how in the world they ever fit so snug in our bellies. I hope you are doing well and thanks for letting me peek in once in awhile :)
xoxo

kami said...

mack is so cute!! it looks like it was a fun birthday - i've never even thought of sketching out my table plans but now i can thank you for that awesome tip! your cake turned out totally cute too!

oh and i am making those tissue pom-poms to hang above the baby's crib...did you use a tutorial or anything for them? if so...direct me please :)

MJ said...

Oh the tears....I loved reading your letter. Thanks so much for sharing your talents as well as your sentiments. You two are such great parents. I love the "we think you're a musical prodigy but if you end up hating all things musical that's ok too." What a great momma and dadda he has.
Too bad the swine flu costume didn't work out...maybe it's not as funny anyway, seeing that you actually suffered from the sickness.
Wish I could have been there! Love you guys.

Michelle said...

LOVE everything. Grandma Jones is dying over mack.

Emily said...

Probably my favorite post of yours (and I'm not even particularly fond of children! ha!).
The party, well now, you've just outdone yourself there with (what look like) some incredibly talented friends. The costumes are adorable. And that's exactly what I want to do with a big cake!
Also, really beautiful and touching. I'm so excited for all the adventures you guys are going to have.

Gina said...

Oh Libby, you are such an awesome mom! I am totally drooling over Mack and I am so sad that I wasn't there to see the cake mess! I really want to squeeze him! When do I get to see that little man live-in person...this summer? Uh...drooling!

Amy said...

I have to agree with everything that was already said! Way to go! It turned out amazing, every detail covered. I LOVE 1 year old cake mess, it's the best. I could tell he was signing "more" even before I read the caption. What a cutie. Can't get over his eyes! I laughed at the naked pic, is he scratching his butt!? LOL!

PS Are you wearing your wedding gown?

Amy F said...

Oh so so so cute, sweet, sentimental, and... Libby. I love that you went all out for his birthday and I love that you are enjoying the little moments of having a one-year-old. He is precious... and I'm not at all a biased aunt!!

Abby says: Thank you to having a birthday, Mack!

Bekah: I love Mack! I like the pictures are fun!

Pitcherpost said...

oh....

my...

goodness!

There's going all out and then there's, going all out Libby style! i'm in awe! the party looked beautiful and adorable. and those cake pops, elise come teach me those! I can't get over mack's eyes and chunkiness, he weighs more then Aubrey!

I suffer from being the most unsentimental mother probably in the world. Is it horrible that I don't even remember the exact minute aubs was born (it was sometime between 6:30 - 6:40)? and that zach and I were out of town and she was with her grandma on her birthday? And that we finally celebrated a month later, with some balloons and that's it? hmmm...yeah, that's probably horrible. my poor kids

The Dorny Family said...

What good, devoted, and talented parents you are. I was just beginning to think that I wouldn't have to do anything for Anna's 1st birthday since she can't voice an opinion and won't remember it anyway, but now I'm thinking I should at least make the girl a cake. Maybe I should hire you and your team (I loved the invitations, Keri)to put on an amazing party. I love the Dalmation picture on the deck.

brittany said...

such a darling birthday party! you are seriously amazing!

BusyMama said...

Is he scratching his bum in that naked picture? Love it. He's a true boy. :)

kristen said...

CA-UTE! you're an all-star lib! the party looked super fun! and i especially love the twelve month pictures in a square at the end... genious!

Jill T said...

Great post. Fun party! Cute little (or not so little) Mack! It's so great that you are enjoying every moment with your babe!

Christian Jacob Frandsen said...

Libby your cake was awesome. Keep making them yourself. I know I'd go for a mom-made cake any day over anything storebought.

And as for Galinda? You just needed to dress Mack up as a munchkin (although I LOVED his dalmation costume) :-)

Love,
Christian

Dad (TMF) said...

Are you saving any cake for us?

Jana said...

You make me sick. You hear!!! I wish I had just a little speck of Libby in me. Sad to have all these kids and not know what to do with them. :) The party looked amazing. As do the pics of Mack. He is one cute thing!! And I love his chubs. Love them. Wuldn't it be nice if everyone loved chubs as much when we were older?

brittany said...

Thank you for referring me, and I would love to take pictures of your family...just let me know! And when you are in Utah, we should get together and do a photo walk thing...and talk theater while we are shooting!

Nicole said...

That Party looks like a hit! Looks great.