Improvising

We forgot to bring the baby pool to the cottage during a super hot week, so I decided to improvise by using the baby bathtub on the deck.  Cohen was happily splashing and playing in the tub when Lauren decided to join in on the fun.  I was surprised that she was able to squeeze herself into the tub, but they both had a great time cooling off.

It's All in the Details

I had so much fun planning Cohen's party and I'll admit that I maybe went a bit overboard on a few things, but it was a great party and was worth all the effort.  Here are a few pictures of the details.


I was really pleased with the brownie pops, they turned out well and were a big hit.

My big splurge was the hat and bib, which were super cute on Cohen and worth every penny :)

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing and spice cupcakes with cream cheese icing (both were delicious, if I do say so myself).

I got a lot of flack for Cohen's cake.  It was a carrot cake, made with mostly organic ingredients and only a small amount of sugar, healthy enough to eat for breakfast.  Apparently a good mom is supposed to serve chocolate cake for a first birthday.  I assumed that using a sugary icing would be enough indulgence for a one-year-old.  I guess I was proved wrong when Cohen refused to eat his cake.  For the record, I found the carrot cake to be very tasty.

Scavenger Hunt

We had a scavenger hunt in the backyard for the big kids.  They had to find 9 different items and collect them in their buckets.  The game was a big hit.

Mike is checking their buckets to make sure they got all the items so they could collect their prizes.

Ayla joined in the fun by running around the backyard with her bucket.  She didn't know what the other kids were doing, but she was just happy to be out there with them.

Decorating Cupcakes

The big kids decorated their own cupcakes.

More Party Pics

Happy First Birthday Cohen!

We had a great time celebrating Cohen's first birthday on Saturday with our family.  Thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate and for spoiling Cohen with such generous gifts.  He's a lucky boy to have such an amazing family.


Here's the birthday boy!

Waiting for his cake.

Not sure what to think of the cake.

He had a little taste, but didn't want to eat it (after Mommy went to all the trouble to make a special cake just for him....I'll remember this for next year's party!).

His big cousins helped him open his presents

The new toys were okay, but the wrapping paper was awesome!