The Walker Family: Eve's First Birthday

I can't believe that my baby is 1! I probably say that all the time, but time is just flying by so quickly! I think time really does speed up :) Let me rewind a little bit to our flight on the 20th.

We had to fly out of BWI (Baltimore) which is my least favorite just because it is so far away. But, the tickets were significantly cheaper, so we did it. We could not find a non-stop flight, so we got a flight that had a stop but we did not have to change planes. I thought it was going to be easy. Well, it was not.

We had a bit of delay leaving Baltimore, then when we stopped, it seemed like we were stopped forever. The kids would not fall asleep - Eve had slept on the way to Baltimore, but Reed was just being stubborn.

On our second leg of the trip - the much longer portion - the fasten seat belt sign was on almost the entire flight! Yeah, that is great when you have 2 wrestless kids who need to wiggle and move. I guess we kind of disobeyed rules because Reed and I both used the bathroom when the fasten seat belt sign was on, but really, it was an emergency. You do not tell a boy being potty-trained that he has to hold it when he requests the potty (and hasn't gone for 3 hours or so). The made an announcement right after I went in to the bathroom, but I really didn't care at that point.

After what seemed an eternity, we landed! Yahoo, home free, right? No, we had to sit on the tarmack for another 40 minutes waiting for our specific gate to open up. Thankfully, Reed had fallen asleep near the end of the flight and slept through that bit. But, we did arrive in Las Vegas - hungry, grumpy, tired, but we arrived.

Well, we did lots of playing from the 20th until Eve's birthday. Reed loved playing with his Walker cousins and absolutely loved Grandma's singing Santa Claus (in an up-and-coming video - next post)! The boys - Reed, Vance, and Carter - played together really well! They just laughed and ran around like crazy kids.

So, now onto Eve's actual birthday. All the Walker cousins (Natalie, Kylie, Mackenzi, Vance, and Carter) came and even the Rowberry cousins that lived in town (Mary, Evyn, and Isla). We all ate some lunch and then came the dessert - cake decorating!

I made mini cakes for the kids (and adults) and they got to frost them, put other bits of candies on them, and then eat them. I seriously love this! It takes less time, the little kids enjoy it, they don't eat a huge piece of cake, and it is less preparation than making the cake with all the frosting and decorations! I may be doing this for many more birthdays :) Here is how it went:

Who wants this type of cake (there were a few shapes to choose from)? Hands shot into the air!

Putting on frosting and finding some other good stuff to put on it.

Decorating really is serious business.

Reed really loved it!

Some kids just kept putting on candy :)

Vance - so proud of his Christmas tree

Finishing touches - now I can eat it.

Carter enjoyed his cake!

Eve is not quite sure what to think of Aunt Krystal's camera.

Do you want some cake?

No? Ok, I will take it back ...

and eat it!

Mmmmmm! Delicious!!

After cake was done, the bouncy house was next on the list! All the kids (except Eve) really enjoyed it! Eve got a bit overwhelmed with all the jumping kids. I also think the noise was a bit much. She did end up going in for a few minutes at a time with Tyson or myself. If Tyson was standing, she was ok. I tried to get her to bounce - that was a mistake. Ah well :)

The best toy ever!

Reed may have inherited his father's jumping skills.

Eve was happiest when holding a ball.

Eve showing me the ball.

Let's bounce!

Guess not. Time to get out.

Next was presents! It started with the kids in a circle, kind of far away. Progressively, everyone got closer and closer, until they were right on top of Eve and me! Reed was by far the most excited out of everyone! He loved watching (and trying to help) Eve open her presents. He would get really excited and scream, "What is it??!! What is it??!!" with his hands up in sort of a 'W' shape. It was absolutely hilarious! She ended up getting clothes, books, boots, a singing dog, a drum, bracelets, and a necklace.