Birthday Re-Cap

Over the weekend, we had Harmon’s first birthday party. We had our immediate family over and it was a good time. Kevin’s parents, sister and niece made the trip from Peoria and my parents and sisters (along with their boyfriends) drove to Ann Arbor for the big affair. All in all, 13 people in our house. It was a tight fit but I think it all worked out. We had lots of great food and cake (from the same bakery that made our wedding cake) and Harmon, surprise, got way too much stuff. Talk about spoiled. But, I can’t say I was surprised. He’s the first grandchild on my side and he’s the first boy and the first grandchild in 12 years on Kevin’s side. Here is an almost-complete breakdown (in alpha order) of his loot:

Argyle sweater vest

Bird's-eye sweater

Button mock neck sweater (in brown)

Doodle Hook and Loop Stage 3 shoes (in dark brown)

Hooded sherpa-lined toggle coat

Lamaze Bongo Beats Pounding Toy

Learning Town Happy Home

Little People Musical Birthday Party

Michigan football jersey

Playskool Wheel Pals Cabby & Roadie vehicles

Robeez Classic shoes (in brown)

Roll-a-Rounds: Drop & Roar Dinosaur

Sherpa-lined zip sweatshirt (in off white)

Side stripe pants (in off white)

Superyard XT

There still were many other things I didn't list above and, believe it or not, there still were things leftover from his wish list that he could get as Christmas gifts. And, in addition to all this, Kevin and I bought him a set of 11 beginner Dr. Seuss books and several other things. He has more than any one-year-old needs!

As for the cake, we tried on Saturday and then again on Sunday (we had a smaller cake made especially for him for his ACTUAL big day) but Harmon had NO INTEREST in it whatsoever. We put it in front of him and even tried to give him bites of it but he wanted nothing to do with it. In the long run, I was glad as I'm not one for letting one-year-olds make a big mess of their birthday cakes. If that makes me a bad Mom, so be it.

In the end, though, it was a great weekend and Harmon seemed to have a great time. He was very tired Sunday and Monday and finally seems to be getting back to normal after all the excitement (and all the people). We'll have his one-year appointment on Monday and will get an update on everything. Until then, he's working on a molar or two and getting used to drinking big-boy milk (we switched him to whole milk on Monday). Thanks so much to everyone who helped make his first birthday so wonderful!