Happy Birthday, SamSam

My baby turned one year old this week, and in lieu of a big party, we opted for two smaller family parties. The first one we celebrated on his actual birthday; the second one we did this weekend with our extended family.

I dressed Samuel as a fireman for his birthday because I thought it was very manly and because I like this shirt! :)

Here's the back of his shirt...too cute, right? It looks like suspenders. Precious!!

After dinner, SamSam got to open his presents. He needed a little assistance, but once they were out of the bag, he was real excited to look at them.

Just doing a little light reading...

True to form with most one year olds, SamSam liked his presents, but he equally liked the gift bags and wrapping paper. So funny!!

The family party was wonderful,too! Here are some highlights:

• We ate dinner at a Mexican food restaurant the night before the cake. The strolling mariachi band came to our table and sang a "Happy Birthday" song to SamSam. He was mesmerized, and I had tears of joy. So fun!!

• We ate at Chick-fil-A right before the cake, and they had a face painter and a balloon artist there. The girls left with some beautiful detailing and two crazy big balloon things. It really was like a party!

• We sang "Happy Birthday" to SamSam right before the cake, and he just beamed the whole time. He knew exactly what the cupcake was and was eager to pounce on it. So cute!!

Now for the pictures!!

I know there are times when you only have a few minutes to look at a blog, so I have the skinny version of Samuel eating his first cupcake right below. For those with a few extra minutes, feel free to read on to the detailed version.

The skinny version...

BEFORE...

AFTER...

The detailed version...

We sang "Happy Birthday" to SamSam, and he loved it. He looked around at each face and kept smiling and smiling. I was holding the cupcake close enough so he could see but not close enough so he could touch. I will confess that concept only came to me seconds after I lit the candle. Previously I was thinking of putting the lit candle on the tray. (Bad idea, right?)

First BITE! Chomp...Squish!!

I have affectionately dubbed this one "cupcake beard." Love him!

He really loved his first cake! All that remained is what you see here. He more or less ate it all. But he didn't cry at the end (Elizabeth did.), and afterwards he took a pretty good nap, even with a sugar rush!

Some of the partygoers...

Can you see that the girls' faces are painted?

My heart is so full of joy when I think about the past year and the events of this week. We really love Samuel and pray for him to become a godly man, whose life is used as an arrow for the LORD. We love him and are so thankful for him.

Can't believe it's been a year...