A very merry un-birthday...

In the interest of keeping the peace in my household ten years into the future (James sees pictures of Lola's first birthday party, James wonders why he didn't get one, chaos, tears and deep emotional scarring ensue), we decided to throw James a little party exactly two months before he actually turns one.

 Because on June 14th, we'll be living in Seattle.

Far away from our family and friends.

And it ain't no party without our peeps.

We went with a fishy theme -- inspired by a Target sale on assorted goldfish crackers.

I'm so deep.

I decided to attempt my own baking this time around.

Usually I leave it to Costco or Target to do the work because there's no telling the kind of insanity that would result from me being left alone with a can of frosting.

But I summoned my courage, busted out my mom's old frosting tips and stayed up until 2 a.m. working on a "school of cupcakes." 

And though saran wrap nearly destroyed them all, I was surprisingly pleased with the result.

 

Just don't look too closely...

I wanted to make a little cake for James to attack, so I cut out a basic fishy, gave it a smile and gorged myself on the scraps while attempting to frost the thing.

 

The beautiful weather over the past few weeks fooled me into thinking I could have this shindig in the backyard, but less than a week before the big day the weather report broke my little heart by predicting rain -- and lots of it.

So we moved it to the church.

Something that depressed me to no end, until I realized how nice it would be to pen all the kids in one area. 

Since the guests of honor ranged in age from about 4 months to 5 years, we set up a few games to keep them entertained.

We created fishing pond, a coloring ocean, pin the fin on the fishy (Reece was crazy proud of this creation), bubbles and balloons.

We had to have a pinata, but I probably shouldn't have chosen one that resembled one beloved Nemo.

There were more than a few horrified children once we explained the concept...

 Happily, they all seemed to overcome the trauma the moment the candy hit the floor.

James was spoiled with some lovely gifts, and he had plenty of willing hands to help him open them.

 Then came time for the cake.

My boy has never met an edible substance he didn't love, so I knew it was going to be a hit.

My obsessive tendencies have most definitely been passed on to my son.

When we placed the cake in front of him, he spent the first five minutes picking at the purple polka dots -- one by one.

 What's cake without ice cream?

Our wonderful friends let us use their soft serve ice cream machine, so it was cones all around.

I've told Reece that once we have one of these glorious machines in our home, I'll know we've made it.

 James wasn't quite sure how he felt about it.

The cold hurt, but it hurt so good.

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In summary: we had a lovely time.

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We were lucky to celebrate our baby James with so many people we love.

It meant so very much to Reece and I.

Because as parents, there's nothing quite as meaningful as the realization that others, too, adore the little people you'd do just about anything for.