I can hardly believe that a whole year has passed and my precious baby boy is growing up! He already seems so much more like a toddler than a baby--walking around everyone, managing the stairs on his own, and even stringing together simple words. Now it's official though. He's one year old, he's made the leap to whole milk, he ate his first scrambled eggs, and he's practically ready to pack up and move out!! Where does the time go? My last baby is no longer a baby! (And, just for the record, this is the first time I have had a baby turn one without being pregnant again. Hallelujah!)
So, in honor of Mason's big day, we of course planned a dino-mite little prehistoric party. I made these adorable dinosaur invitations,
and Grandma Hoskins and Aunt Brenda sent us package after package of fabulous dinosaur decorations. Our house was completely decked out!
Then of course, I made the usual sacrifice and performed the obligatory task of making yet another crazy birthday cake. (I realized recently that I don't really enjoy making cakes that much; however, the kids enjoy it so much that I just can't seem to let it go.) This time the cake was a volcano cake. Actually, I got the idea for the cake on Emma's 2nd birthday when we ate at the Rain Forest Cafe. Ever since then I knew I had to try a cake with sparklers in the top rather than with only boring old candles.
This photo of the volcano in its dormant state doesn't quite do the project justice.
For our guest list, we decided to do something a bit out of the ordinary. Rather than inviting every child Mason's age in the ward, we decided to instead invite just two families we are very close to to come over and celebrate his special day with us. Consequently, we had quite an age range present at the party. As a result, we tried to plan activities to accommodate the many ages, setting the party up in stations rather than doing everything all together. The stations turned out to be a big hit. They were as follows: Station 1: Dinosaur Bowling. Somehow we failed to get a picture of the babies rolling the dinosaur eggs into the dino pins, but it was sure adorable to watch. Station Number 2: The Dinosaur Dig. Nick and the kids worked hard making all sorts of dinosaur bones out of clay. We baked them several days before the party, and then marked four of the bones with a red X. Then we brought in tons of sand from our sand box (a disaster in the house--I know) and had the kids dig for the bones. Those who found a marked bone won a dinosaur prize.
Station 3: Excavation Project. For this station , mainly oriented to the older kids, yet still enjoyed by all present, I purchased a dinosaur rock. For those of you who have never seen these, they are really quite amazing. They give you a chisel, brush, goggles, etc, and you actually chisel the bones out of the rock. The kids thought it was awesome. And isn't this picture of Mason hammering away adorable.
After quite a bit of work, here is a picture of the finished project.
Once everyone had a chance to rotate through all for the stations, we got all of the kids together for a dinosaur cakewalk--also a birthday party favorite.
And then we gathered at the table for our volcano cake "eruption." This picture also doesn't do the sparklers justice. They were going off everywhere, and the kids were memorized. FYI: For those looking to replicate this project, just be forewarned that sparklers indoors will most assuredly set off your smoke detectors, and likely leave burn marks in your kitchen table! Oh well, the burn marks will forever remind us of this special occasion!
While Mason was anxious to get his hands on the big cake, I decided to serve it at the party and made another little volcano for him to dig into. Here he is with a candle he could actually blow out.
And here he is just getting started on
his cake.
Following the cake, it was time to open presents. Since we have everything already, we usually request that guests disregard birthday gifts and we provide something to be opened at the party instead. This time, we gave Mason a few dinosaur books,
and then brought out the present from his grandparents. Actually, it was just a huge empty box with a picture of a two foot remote control dinosaur on the front. When the kids got it unwrapped, and opened the box up, the were shocked to find it empty. I gasped and told them the dinosaur must have gotten loose in the house. Then Nick walked "Spike" in from the other room. The kids squealed with a mixture of fear and delight. Especially the babies. It was hilarious.
All in all, the birthday party was a great success. Thanks so much for all of you who contributed to the party, and for those of you who were able to attend. We sure do love our happy little birthday boy, and this will be a day our whole family will remember for years to come.
Happy Birthday Mase! We all adore you baby boy!
