Samuel's First Birthday

First birthdays are a big deal. Not just because it's the first birthday the kid has ever had but it's a celebration of having survived a whole year with a newborn/baby. We had to make a pretty big deal of Sam's first birthday because it was a pretty big deal that he was even a part of our family. So we invited everyone over and had a Teddy Bear themed party (because of course) celebrating our Samuel Teddy. 

This was before he got his cake. So nice and clean.

While he's enjoying his yummy Aunt Candice made large cupcake. Oh those blue eyes are the best.

He even rubbed some into his hair.

Before and a mild after. It got much worse after this but I was trying to control the mess and enjoy his smiles instead of taking pictures.

Then he sat with Grandma Brown to open his few presents. 
 

It was a Teddy Bear theme and we lucked out and found these great decorations on Amazon. We did it at brunch time and served sausage fondue, fruit, muffins, and doughnuts. We had a bear candy table for goodie bags with gummy bears, cinnabears, bit-o-honey, and teddy grahams. The kids all loved it. And by adding cashews to chocolate cupcakes we made bear claws. Ben and I just loved the way they turned out. All in all , it was a great day celebrating Samuel's first birthday.

This is the picture we displayed on the candy table. When we did his one year picture, we grabbed every stuffed bear we could find and tried to sit him down in between them. Well that didn't work out like I had planned but some of the pictures we did get are now priceless to me. I sure do love my little bear. Happy Birthday Sam!