Soren's First Birthday Party

It was a big birthday for Soren, so I arranged for all his favorite things on his day. He got his 2.5 teeth cleaned, was held by strangers (hey, they did sing Happy Birthday to him) and then topped the day off by getting a bath. The next day he had his 12-month wellness check-up, which included four immunizations, a flu shot and a blood draw.  And his mom and dad didn't even get him a birthday gift.  Oy vey!

One thing I've learned when it comes to first birthdays is that babies don't really care.  The day, and especially the party, are totally about the parents.  Since Soren's birthday fell on Thursday, the day was pretty much business as usual, including the dentist appointment.  Oliver and I greeted Soren in the morning by singing him Happy Birthday and then I purposefully went into work a little late just to get some extra time with Soren before his morning nap. 

So that was his actual birthday, but on Saturday, we were finally able to celebrate Soren's birthday properly.  Daddy took him to the Children's Museum in the morning and then Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Andy and Papa Danielle came over for dinner.  The adage about kids enjoying the box more than the gift inside rang true when we presented Soren with a huge box my dad and stepmother shipped and instead of trying to open it, he gleefully climbed on top of the box.  We convinced him that his grandparents had not just mailed him a jungle gym and we showed him how to rip the wrapping paper off and he thought that was neat.  Eventually our small living room floor was covered in new toys and I doubted that he missed a gift from mom and dad.  Chris's parents were thoughtful enough to give Soren some bath toys and wrote in his birthday card, "We just want you to be happy."  Oliver loved all of Soren's new toys too and wanted to cut the party short so he could get a bath and play with the new tugboat Soren received.

After opening gifts, we enjoyed dinner and birthday cake.  We were wise this time around and held Soren far away from the cake and the flames of the candles.  Soren was barely into dinner, so I didn't think he'd even bother with the cake.  And given how's recently started throwing food on the floor, I was prepared for him to do that with his birthday cake without even tasting it!  Instead, he just stared at the cake and then stared at us.  Eventually he decided to try one of the strawberries and finally picked up a piece of cake and took a big bite.