Noah turned one year old on January 9th! This was a Friday and we reserved the day to be family-oriented. I took the day off work and kept the boys home from daycare.
During my pregnancies, I had never contemplated the idea of taking off work on my children's birthdays. It was actually an idea I got from my boss. He takes off work for both of his daughters' birthdays each year. That is a day reserved for them to do whatever they'd like to do. I thought that was such a neat idea. Birthdays are special, and as long as I have the time accrued at work, I plan to take off on my children's birthdays. Fortunately, Michael was only 8 months old when I decided to make this a part of my parenting plan, so I hadn't missed a birthday.
My younger brother, Bryan, came over to our house around 9:00am. We loaded up the boys and took them to the hospital where my mom works. This is also the hospital where Noah was born. Since my mom was working a 12-hour shift, she wouldn't be able to see Noah on his actual birthday unless I brought him to see her. I wanted it to be a surprise visit, but I ended up asking her ahead of time if it was okay to swing by. Bryan and I took both boys up to the floor where my mom works. She introduced us to some of her coworkers who were around at the time. Michael was able to tell them that Noah was one year old, and that he was two years old. Sometimes, we say "Noah, Noah. Noah, Noah" in a sing-song voice and Noah will bob his head to the tune. He performed this little show to some of the nearby nurses and they melted in the cuteness overload. We couldn't stay long; Mom had to get back to work, and the boys needed their lunch on time, but it was nice to have a visit with my mom. Bryan enjoyed lunch with us at the house before I put the boys down for their naps.
The rest of the day was low-key. Noah took a good nap-- turning one is hard work after all. The boys and I enjoyed a peaceful afternoon as we waited for Aaron to get home from work. Noah had his very own plate of mashed potatoes for supper. He was quite distraught when we removed his plate from his high-chair tray, but he was quickly consoled as we set down a paper plate with two mini-cupcakes and whipped cream "frosting." Although I was anticipating a mess, none came. Noah is not a very messy eater. He really did enjoy his cupcakes and Michael enjoyed his serving, too. I chose to make mini-cupcakes so that Michael could have a couple with his dinner since a mini-cupcake is only about 6 grams of carb. And, Noah didn't care that he had mini-cupcakes. He's a baby after all, and mini-cupcakes are baby-sized.
I invited every grandparent who lives nearby to come enjoy a mini cupcake with Noah at his dinner time. Although no one was able to come at that exact time, my dad came to our house a little later on and Bryan came back with him. They enjoyed some mini-cupcakes while the boys played and got ready for bed.
All in all, it was a super day. Super relaxing. Super happy. A super way to ring in the new year for a sweet, smiley little boy.
Noah's party is planned for this upcoming Saturday. We wanted Aaron's brother to be in attendance, and he is planning to be in town this upcoming weekend. And, having it this upcoming weekend will enable my mom to attend since it won't be her weekend to work. I'm planning the party at the total last minute, but I'm oddly okay with it. The important thing is to celebrate Noah, and celebrate we will. Low key is okay. :)
Aaron will make a smash cake for Noah and he will also make a bigger cake to serve our party guests. We'll serve light snack foods since the party won't be at a meal time. The theme? Why, Noah's Ark, of course! Again, this is totally last minute. Don't be expecting Pinterest perfection. Not happening. But you can expect to see pictures of Petersen perfection-- just perfect for our little family. And by perfect I mean low-key on design, but high quality celebration full of fun and love. After all, it's about the little guy we're celebrating. Not about how cute a party favor or snack table can be.
I will post pictures!
Until Next Time,
Much Love.
Love, Reba
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