The Big One!

One year ago, 10-09-10 at 9:05 Josiah Lucio Hayes came into the world with 8 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches to his name. Now, a year later, he is 22 pounds and 31 inches, almost walking and full of personality. He has turned out to be a super easy-going baby. He says a few obvious words (mama, dada, bird, ni-ni) gives kisses, and he loves being outside. For his first birthday we had friends and family over for dinner and just hung out and had a good time. Turns out it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be to get people to hang out with us, and we had at least 25 adults and around 10 kids!

The whole event really impressed two things upon me. 1. It is so beautiful to celebrate Josiah's God-Given life starting early. Someday he will look back and know that he was loved and celebrated, even at one year. 2. "It takes a village to raise a child"...it's cheesy, but having our friends and family there enjoying time together and helping out really impressed upon me how incredibly blessed we are to be surrounded by such amazing people.

The Big Day

Sunday 10-09-11

This is a close-up of the..."unique"... cake Aunty Andrea made especially for Josiah. It was practically the highlight of the meal for me! :) See the red-gel icing/words? She kindly wrote "birth-day," split between two of the cupcakes. However, only the first half, "birth," really showed up... She rocks!

Play Time

Josiah and...Josiah (same name) fighting over a sippy cup. Levi (#28) capitalized on the moment and snatched the offending cup out of Ryan's hand when he wasn't paying attention...winner!

I was so proud of the refrigerator box playhouse I made! I got the box from Idlers in town, painted it with extra house paint, and cut windows and a door in it. The kids all played in it, drew on it with sidewalk chalk, and Josiah kept going in and out of the door...fascinating, I know. It was so much fun to have a free idea be such a big hit! (Ryan pointed out that the stick-figure in the background looks like someone standing at an ironing board. I was horrified, especially given the fact that I hate ironing. Uuuugh! It's supposed to be a person sitting happily on a bench...drawing a chair was too much of a stretch for me.)

Gift Time

Gifts came next, we even had a ready-made crowd of eager 2-5 year olds who couldn't wait to..."help." I loved it ; )!

Cake Time

Last came the cake...Josiah was pretty tired by this time and I think all the attention was a little overwhelming. As you can see, he didn't eat much (sorry Aunty Andrea) and didn't put on much of a show as he suspiciously poked at the pile of sugar in front of him. However, Levi (#28), capitalized on the moment once again by doing a clever, walk-by-and-swipe-the-frosting-off-the-front move before his parents snatched him up...winner! Once again, I loved it! : )

...and Good Night!

Kisses to all and he was out like a light- what an exciting day!

The biggest thanks goes out to my family. Mom and Dad Lucio spent half a day Saturday cleaning up and doing hard work in our yard. For the party, Andrea made two cakes, Terra and Aunty Charlene made ice cream, mom and dad made a big cabbage salad, Granny-Carolyn made beans and another cake, and Lyndal brought drinks. Our friends, Matt and Shellie, and Leslie and Trago lent us tables, chairs, and a few other things that helped us out so much. Then, afterwards, my family cleaned up from the whole party, down to every last detail while I said goodbye to our friends. I felt so, so, so lucky when they left. They gave me a huge gift by doing all that, and I don't think that I can really express how much it meant to me.

Thank you, all of you!