Charlie's 1st Birthday Whobilation!

On Christmas morning around 3:00am I woke up out of the blue and was completely unable to fall back to sleep. After admitting defeat, I decided to relocate to our living room and lay on our couch beneath the glow of our Christmas tree. It was the same thing I did exactly a year before when my water broke at 2:00am Christmas day and I excitedly waited for my contractions to pick up.

I laid there, in a quiet house and just reminisced about the year prior. Although I would have never picked a Christmas birthday for my baby, it somehow wound up making sense. I have always been a big believer in Christmas magic, so it seemed only fitting that this little boy who was destined to steal my heart would be born on the most magical day of the year.

I could go on and on with all kinds of Mommy mush about how thankful I am for this little bugger and how it feels like he was always meant to be a part of our family, but I'll save that for another day. To commemorate our sweet boy's first trip around the sun, we threw a Grinch-themed Whobilation in his honor! Prepare yourself for a massive photo dump:

Charlie's birthday menu consisted of:

"Roast Beast" sandwiches (A Kroger deli platter)

Whoville Hummus and Veggie Wraps (Spinach wraps filled with hummus and finely chopped bell peppers, spinach and cucumbers)

Grinch Kebobs (Mini marshmallows, strawberries and grapes on a toothpick- made to look like the Grinch in his Santa hat)

Who Pudding (aka: Worms in Dirt- Green vanilla pudding, Oreo crumbs, and red/green gummy bears)

Mt Crumpit Carrot Cake (I used this Baby's First Birthday Carrot Cake recipe for the cake and this Cream Cheese Frosting recipe)

I got all of our festive, Grinch-themed shirts on Etsy:

Charlie's "The Baby Who Stole Christmas" onesie

My "Fahoo Fores" jersey shirt

Chuck's "Max" t-shirt

My Mom and sister can't resist a good theme.

Charlie's cousins are 8, 5, 2 and 10 months, so I tried to think of an activity that they could all enjoy. I spent $20 on ball pit balls from the Oriental Trading Company and threw them into a baby pool. Best $20 I've ever spent- the kiddos loved it!

Despite the fact that I know Charlie will never remember his first birthday, I will, and it was a beautiful day. I know it's so easy for a child's birthday to be overshadowed by the holiday season, but I've made a promise to myself that I will always make Charlie's birthday as unique and special as he is. 

Happy Birthday, Charlie Davis! 

You've made my heart grow three sizes.

All photo credit goes to my amazing sister-in-law!