Sam-I-Am is One (well almost)

Sam will be one this week.
On Tuesday to be exact.
I wanted to celebrate him and this past year.
Maybe add some fun to keep me from crying that my son is not a baby anymore.
I set out to throw him a completely irrational over-the-top one year old birthday.

It started with the Cat that Sam fell in love with...I had originally schemed up a super hero themed party for my little man.
I had intended to make all the guests dress up like their favorite super hero, and adorn all the children in home made capes.
Then I thought about how much Sam loves this cat.
How easy it would be to make a party around it.
So that is what we did.

A rhyme to invite our family to come for the invitations.
A welcome rhyme to welcome our guests on the door.
Add some Dr. Seuss themed decor
A collection of stuff usually adoring the walls and shelves of Sam's room made for some great party atmosphere.
Some "Sam says thanks" party favors.
I often see on blogs amazing personalized party decor.
But I am not a photoshop pro.
I do own scissors, glue, lots of Dr. Seuss books and a color copier.
I think my new plan for children's parties is to base them around a book they like.
It made the planning of everything from the menu, the invitations, the decorations, all so easy to come up with.
Hanging from the light are tags for each guest- a Dr. Seuss character that looks like them.
It made for a moment of interesting dinner conversation.
Add some food...
What was for dinner?
Green Eggs and Ham of course!
But I didn't want to just serve my guests eggs.
I made these tiny quiches and added some blended parsley.
That didn't make them green enough so they got a drop of food coloring.
They turned out delicious.
I did not attempt to dye the ham though.
Add some Cake of course....
That is suppose to be a cat-in-the-hat hat. But it also looks like a "1".
I made this cake last minute- very last minute.
I had made a beautiful five tier tall red and white cake to look like the hat, but it was a disaster.
First of all- it turns out that no matter how much red food coloring you add to frosting- it will only be dark pink.
I refused to serve my son a white and PINK cake.
I tried a few things to make it work, but it just because one huge, sticky pink, mess.
First I cried in frustration.
Then, I quickly made a new, simple cake.
Not so sure at first, Sam spent about five minute poking at it with one finger.
Don't you love the party hat?
He liked the cake for long enough for me to get this picture.
Add some presents...
I took Kate to the store to pick out a gift for her brother.
I wanted her to feel important too on his day, and not be jealous, so she helped me pick out all the decorations, make things, and chose this puppy for him.
When we picked it out together she said "and he's gonna love it" and he did.
A pretty sweet mitten dog from Aunt Amy will likely be loved to death.
Maybe it can inch out the Cat-in-the-Hat.
In love with his new car seat.
Now he will be able to see what is happening!
Add some family....
My parents, my siblings and Grandma Elaine and Tom joined us for the festivities.
It was a lot of people for really just being my immediate family.

Here is our little family attempting to get a family shot.



It made for one great party for a boy we dearly love!
We love you Sam. We really do!

There will be more concerning the 1 year anniversary of my son's birth to come after he is actually one.