Eli's Second 1st Birthday Party!

We did a little celebrating in the car on our drive to Wisconsin (on Eli's actual birthday), but his second 1st birthday party was with my family at my parent's house the day after Thanksgiving!

Growing up my mom always made me these fancy, elaborately frosted cakes for my birthday (I believe it was different Sesame Street characters for many years in a row). It always seemed like something beyond my capacity, but I was feeling creative and decided that with my mom's help I would give it a try! So here is Eli's 3D ducky birthday cake! I was actually pretty pleased with the way it turned out! My mom did the eyes and beak and I did the rest- which was actually so much easier than I expected! So cute!

Singing Happy Birthday

He didn't get nearly as messy eating cake this time around. He did, however, throw up all of his cake just minutes after eating it. Truth be told he was sick the whole day with some nasty little stomach bug (which lasted a few days after this). That day he had already vomited on Joe twice and me once. But interestingly enough he would seem perfectly fine after being sick and would go right back to happily playing. So in the beginning we thought maybe it was just a fluke and we didn't want to cancel his party- but it turns out it wasn't a fluke. Thankfully he still seemed to have a great time. So that would explain (in case you are wondering) why he is in three different outfits in these pictures! Poor baby.

This time around Eli was very interested in opening presents!

And after his big sister got him started he would happily rip away at the wrapping paper!

And was equally as thrilled with what was inside. The two gifts in these pictures were from my Grandma and Aunt Pam- and were little cars that spin around a giant spinning/racetrack/funnel thing. It's big and plastic and makes lots of noise (you know- not the kind of thing a parent would pick out for their own children)- but Eli LOVES it! He spins the cars in it, balls in it, various other toys and animals in it, and he even often tries to sit in it and spin himself (it doesn't work, but he keeps trying)! So, good job Grandma and Aunt Pam- he loves it and thus so do we!

Here's another toy he loved (from my parents)- a play tent/tunnel. Unfortunately he loved this one a little too much and after a week the tent poles were bent (Joe is currently trying to create new poles that will fit)!

The best part of this birthday party was having most of my mom's family there to celebrate it with us! Because Eli was so sick the only other time he was in Wisconsin (last spring) there were family members who just met Eli for the first time the day before on Thanksgiving! Thus it meant a lot to me that so many of them were able to be there with us to celebrate our little man's first birthday!