parties and gardens

well, he did it. jack turned one. i'm still in a bit of shock that we are no longer the ones with the tiny baby anymore, but with the 22lb toddler. he had a great party yesterday, attended by around 30 family members and friends. it was a HOT, 95 degree day, but we still made it happen at the park down the street. i went a few hours early to decorate the shelter up with streamers, balloons, tablecloths, and birthday banners. it was a cute space, and perfect for the size of our shindig. jack seemed to be confused a lot of the time, with all the commotion and people and heat. but he enjoyed the cake and the gift opening, with which he was aided by the other young kids at the party. we got most of these important events on our video camera (about the 4th time we've used it since we bought it back in april), but our camera was acting up and we only got a few shots of the cake. i'm hoping to nab photos from friends and family who were shooting them right and left, and if i get some good ones, i'll post an update. until then, here's what we've got:

I made Jack his own #1 cake, but the adults got to enjoy a Cosco, chocolate mousse filled sheet cake


I made Jack a crown, but he wasn't a fan...






He made us very aware that getting cleaned up is a drag.


all in all, it was a fantastic first birthday, with great food and great company. thanks to all who came and celebrated with us! (and jon, if our scanner wasn't broken, i would TOTALLY be showing everyone your homemade card, which was by far the best he received ;)

today we tried to recover from overeating and partying too long in the heat yesterday. our 1 year and 1-day-old baby had fun playing with his new toys. we decided to take a little family trip up to ames to eat at hickory park and visit the ISU-reiman flower and butterfly gardens. my family always went up to hickory park to celebrate family birthdays. this place is a legend in ames for having great and affordable food, and it usually packed with several hundred people. there were probably 75-100 waiting when we arrived, but our wait time for a table was only 8 minutes. they have a huge sundae menu, and come to sing and offer a free sundae to birthday patrons. so jack got initiated:





After our seriously filling lunch, we headed out to Reiman Gardens next to ISU's football stadium, and went in to see their buttefly garden and the train exhibit at the children's garden. Jack knows the word flower now, and likes to wave at them when he identifies them. We thought that throwing in a few butteflies would make it that much sweeter!

Of course, one landed on his head soon after this photo, but I was not quick enough with the camera to catch it. Drat!











as you can see, good times were had by all. i'm thinking i've posted MORE than enough photos, so even if i get better ones from the party, i'll save you from having to see more :) it was a fast, exhausting, sweaty, exhilarating weekend, and i can hardly believe it's over.