Ryland's Very Hungry Caterpillar 1st Birthday Party

Ryland's first birthday party was this past Saturday, a few days before his actual birthday.  I had so much fun planning his party.  I was going to go with a safari theme but then decided that might be better for a later birthday.  Finally I found his 'very hungry caterpillar' theme online (pinterest and various blogs).  It was perfect for his 1st birthday!  I found some easy arts n crafts for the older kids and plenty of ideas for decor and food.  Not to mention the book is a menu itself with all the foods the caterpillar consumes.  :)  I was very excited with how it turned out and Ry loved the Caterpillar lantern mobile.  If you asked him where the caterpillar was, he'd look up for it, point to it and yell 'ga'!

Get ready to party caterpillar style!


I found a really cute hand made invitation online but decided I didn't have the time for that, so I used evite and uploaded a picture of the caterpillar and added a fun message.

Can you believe a year has passed?

Our little caterpillar is growing up fast!

Crawl on over for the birthday fun

Ryland Carter is turning ONE!

Cake and light refreshments will be served.

Following the party all are welcome to stay and hang out, relax and let the kids play!

For the entry way I had 3 tables set up.  One with a 'make your own caterpillar' station, another with handmade antenna's to wear and gift bags, and the last one for the gifts.  Each gift bag contained a slinky, caterpillar key chain, stickers, butterfly lollipop and crayons.  We made the antennas with brown headbands, black pipe cleaners and little styrofaom balls spray-painted black.

 

goodie bag - my favorite find was the caterpillar key chain

pom poms, laundry pins and glue sticks used to make a caterpillar

When you walked into the living room people were greeted by a coloring station, balloons and beach balls on the floor for the rug rats, and the caterpillar collage that displayed his pictures from newborn to 12 months. 

found the coloring sheet online

the balloons and beach balls were a hit

The collage was super easy to make - I used pipe cleaners and construction paper.

As you worked your way into the kitchen guests encountered the caterpillar cake, food table and caterpillar mobile.  The caterpillar head was the smash cake, and the body was cup-cakes for the guests.  All the foods on the table was inspired by the book.  I even found butterfly lollipops and caterpillar gummies!

1st birthday cake - made with love.

I found these green/white cupcake liners to make it look like legs.

caterpillar sandwich

apple caterpillar

Paper lanterns, construction paper and pipe cleaners were used to create this awesome caterpillar mobile.  Idea came from Pottery Barn

I found Ryland's birthday shirt on etsy. 

The guests started arriving around 3pm.  I had hoped Ry would nap from 1-3pm, but alas he refused, so he was a little cranky for his own party.  "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" right? 

The birthday boy

everyone likes to color

 

making caterpillars

Ry was not too happy when we brought out the cake

But then he tried the frosting

And he was a happy birthday boy!

and messy

I LOVE FROSTING!

Ryland crashed promptly after eating his cake.  That's OK, he made it through the important stuff and the party continued on.  The kids had a blast playing with the balloons and running around the backyard.  I think we had close to 30 people over for his party, the majority of the kids ranged from 6 months to 6 yrs old.  Later that evening, after everyone left, we opened his gifts.  The little stinker made out like a bandit!  He is one happy little dude. 

A big thank you to everyone who came over to celebrate Ryland's 1st birthday with us!


Very Hungry Caterpillar Shirt - etsy
Caterpillar key chains - Michael's
Stickers, crayons, slinky's - Wal-Mart
Gift bags, plates, napkins - Target
Table cloths, paper lanterns - Party City
Headbands, pipe cleaners, styrofoam balls, pom poms - Hobby Lobby
Awesome plush caterpillar toys (there were 3 of them) - borrowed from my friend Amanda :) 

12 Months



12 Months Young - 4/18/2012

Our little guy is a toddler now!  He's walking everywhere and is quite good at it now, crawls up and down the stairs with ease (can you say heartattack for mommy!), knows exactly what he wants (and will point to it) and says mama and dada.  At his 12 month appointment he weighed 20 lbs 13 oz (25th percentile), was 29 inches long (25th percentile) and has a head circumference of 48cm (95th percentile).  The Dr says he's doing great and tracking right on average, probably due for a growth spurt soon.  He also received 3 shots and had a finger prick for an anemia test.  The poor guy was not happy about that, but it was over quickly.  According to the Dr we are now officially done with formula and bottles!  It's a good thing he has no problem using a sippy cup and straw, heck I found out at daycare they pour his bottle into a cup, so he's been doing that for quite some time now.  Our transition should be painless (knock on wood). 

  

I think they're up to something...

Screaming is fun!

I work out!

Ryland now has 7 teeth - 4 up top, 3 on the bottom. It's like a sharks mouth in there!  We've been trying to brush his teeth now for a couple months.  He'll let us get one good swipe and then he steals the toothbrush away from us.  I did try toothpaste once but he was NOT fond of the taste.  Every morning we'll hold him while we brush our teeth so he can see what we do.  He tries to immitate us, but ends up just using it as a chew toy. 

With all those teeth you can imagine how much he likes to eats.  He wants everything that mommy and daddy have, including our drinks!  He's become quite efficient at drinking out of my water cup (no lid/straw) and really enjoys my water bottles.  After every sip he smiles and says 'ahhhhhh'.  :)  His favorite food is still cheese, however he does try all kinds of foods.  When he's finished eating he'll let you know it too - by swiping all the food off his tray and onto the floor.  Mom & Dad are NOT thrilled by this development but the dogs LOVE it.

Smiling for the camera, look at all those teeth! - 4/1/2012

Ry has started taking notice of the camera.  He'll now skrink up his eyes and smile, after the flash goes off!  Now we just have to get him to do that before the flash!  We have learned to trick him with my camera by prepping the ready light first, once he sees that he smiles and we quickly snap the picture.  ;)

Morning fun 4/2/2012

It's a Mohawk kinda day 4/2/2012

Ryland is all about mommy these days.  The separation anxiety started a couple months ago and he's realized he does not want me to be out of his sight.  I can't even walk out of the room without him sounding the alarm and coming after me.  He mainly only wants mommy to hold him, and if I put him down the whining begins.  He'll even throw a fit when I hand him off to daddy.  Now dont get me wrong, I LOVE being his go to person, but it's nice to get a break in there every once in a while.  Luckily daddy is good with distraction and I can usually sneak off to another room for a few mins.  :P  Or we take Ry outside.  He loves the outdoors and exploring and forgets he was ever crying over me. 



swinging good time 3/24/2012



Enjoying his very own table 4/8/2012

Easter morning fun w/ daddy 4/8/2012



mommy and me 4/8/2012

Ry w/ cousins Charlotte and Margaret 4/8/2012

We discovered the other day that Ryland plays peek-a-boo.  I had no idea he could do this!  They must have taught him at day care.  There's been countless times I've hidden and then jumped out and said peek-a-boo and all he'd do was laugh uncontroablly.  But then just last week when I was playing peek-a-boo with him, he covered both his eyes with this hands, then dropped them and smiled.  It was the cutest thing ever (so far)!



Playing peek-a-boo 4/14/2012

 

I see you! 4/14/2012



Ryland is finally starting to give kisses.  I noticed a couple weeks ago that when Daddy kissed me goodbye, Ry would immediately go in for a kiss as well.  Most of the time he refuses to kiss daddy until mommy gets a kiss first.  It's funny to watch and oh so adorable.  He also likes to kiss the dogs.  :/  He'll actually follow them around until they sit down, then he'll go in all open mouthed for a kiss, and they'll lick him!  He thinks it's the greatest thing.  ewwwwww

Ry loves Sarah 4/15/2012

One year ago today (4/18) our son Ryland entered the world and our lives. He's an inquisitive, loving, adventurous, rambunctious, sweet little boy and we love you so very much. Happy 1st Birthday Ryland! 

We threw him a 'very hungry caterpillar' themed birthday party the weekend before his birthday, which I'll blog about next.  ;)  Below are some pictures we took on his actual birthday.  I still can't believe how quickly a year has gone by!  My handsome boy is now headed into year 2.  :) 



Happy Birthday Ryland - 4/18/2012

Singing Happy Birthday 4/18/2012

That was yummy!  I'm a frosting kinda guy.

Ry's new ride - Every Texan should own a truck!



Tailgating  ;)