Alex's First Birthday Party

Back on April 28, 2012, we had a birthday party for Alex.  I really didn't know what kind of birthday party to have.  He was 1.  Not really "into" anything at this point, he didn't have a love for Elmo or anything like that.  Chad was going to Kmart for a few things, so I asked him to see if they had any cute birthday party invitations.  He sent me a text of a couple invitations.  We went with a pirate theme since Alex like to growl a bit at this age.  (maybe it would have made more sense to go with a lion theme then?)  Warning...lots of pictures to come!

So here is the pirate cake I made.  Pirate people courtesy of Little People.  Swedish fish swimming in the water, Swiss cake roll cannons, Whoopers for cannon balls, Werthers for gold, and Hershey's Treasures for the treasure chests.

 My sister Tricia feeding Alex his banana and avocado.

Alex doing his arm extended, tense face/shoulders, eye brow raise attention seeking behavior.  Sure to produce giggles from those around him.

Some of the cousins around the table eating some lunch.

Cousin Logan

 The Birthday Boy!!

Opening gifts

This puzzle was fun to push around and then once we opened it, he enjoyed banging the wooden pieces together

Chad's brother Alan and wife Tisha with a bunch of cousins.  Andrew, Leah, Anna, Carson, Maddie and Emma

Alex wanted to dive into the cake.  I think he just wanted to touch and play with everything.

The boys and I

Feeling a little shy during the Happy Birthday song.

 Another delema I had about this birthday party was what to do for the cake.  Most traditional birthday cakes Alex and I wouldn't have been able to eat.  Since it was Alex's birthday and  I was the one preparing the cake and neither of us could eat a traditional birthday cake...I almost didn't make one.  But I thought that might be disappointing for our guests, especially Alex's two older brothers!  I asked a friend of mine who's son has multiple allergies if she had any suggestions.  She certainly did!  So helpful.  These Ernie and Bert fruit snacks were pretty cute and creative.  And this watermelon cake was pretty cool looking.  But in the end I decided to try this allergen free cake.  I did have to alter the recipe a little bit, I omitted the cocoa and vanilla.  It turned out pretty good.  It was more like a quick bread than a cake and since I used rice flour it was a bit dry and rice flour is kind of gritty.

Alex wasn't sure what to do with this.  He hadn't had anything even close to this before.

Carson decided to help him out a little bit. :)

 Alex liked it, had fun eating it and was a crummy mess by the end.  Exactly how first birthdays should be, minus the frosting.