The Big ONE

People always say time flies as you get older, but I only think that is the case when you have children.  I'm pretty sure it was just a couple weeks ago that I was in labor with Nolan and he somehow turned one on us.  I think he is a sorcerer.    Although, my labor did feel like it was a year long so maybe that's just how these things turn out.

As the undeniable fact of him turning one approached, I knew that I wanted to make a cake for him.  I was planning to make his smash cake and the big cake, but as we got closer, I chickened out.  I decided about three days beforehand to just order the big cake from Hy-Vee.  I am very glad I did cause we were getting to about 11:00 PM the night before his birthday before I finished his little cake.

Here is his smash cake.  I think it turned out really well.  There was another little blue dot on the "1" that fell off in the transition overnight but that's alright, you get the point.  And, we tore that cake up anyways.  And yes I said we, as Nolan was a bit hesitant diving into it.  I don't think I have seen a more careful smash cake eating in my life.  He was picking up pieces of cake with his thumb and forefinger like they were tiny ants.  When he finally got his hands dirty, he looked at them and you could tell by the expression on his face he was thinking "What is all over my hands?"  It's not like he has ever eaten a cake before, so it was just funny to see how he was going to react to it.

An appetizer I was really excited to make were these olive penguins.  (I got the idea from here.) I saw them on Pinterest forever ago and knew I wanted to make them sometime, especially for Nolan's party as it was penguin themed.  They were a bit tedious to make and we were getting to crunch time the night before, so I only made about 20 of them.  I had one and it was pretty good!  Just a little cream cheese burst in your mouth with the saltiness of the olive and the crunch of the carrot.  I hate carrots too, as I think they taste like what poison might taste like but even so, the little wobbler was delicious.

I also decided to do a time capsule for Nolan to be opened on his 18th birthday.  I asked family who came to write something to him, about him, or bring something regarding the year he turned one.  We got a lot of letters and Scott and I went out and got a World Herald that we will put in there. We also put some of his smaller decorations from his party into it as well.  I think it will be a fun/cryfest thing to look back on when he is older.

I know that everyone wanted to hold Nolan during his party, but it was really important to me that I got to hold him for just a little bit.  Just to have him sit on my lap, look around at all the people who love him so much and take in the fact that he is already one year old.  Our little baby is already one.  As we watched the one-year video before everyone else, both Scott and I couldn't help but cry as we saw him grow up in an instant, the same amount of time if felt like in real life.  If I could just hold him on my lap and freeze time for only a minute, I knew that my baby boy would stay one.  We never realize the time we take for granted until it has already passed us.  We sometimes need to step back and hold on to those moments in your mind cause they are only one once.  Happy Birthday Baby Boy.