Pirate Party

Raleigh's 1st birthday was many moons ago, but I promised a blog post. And did you really think I'd forget. Nahhhhh. Not if it has anything to do with my favorite little guy. I seriously can NOT believe it's been one year. Countless memories have been made and thousands of pictures have been taken (rightly so, in a photo-freak family). Regardless, it truly has been an incredible experience along the way and nothing like I had ever imagined. I am the luckiest auntie in the world! 

The Birth Story: Raleigh John was due Thursday, April 21, 2011. He passed his due date with flying colors. The doctors agreed that Erin would go one week past the due date to begin induction. I had already planned with my co-workers that I was escaping from work the minute I found out Erin was going into labor. So, a plan was in place. But, like all plans--there is usually a glitch :) I ended up leaving work early the following Monday with the stomach flu. MIS-ER-A-BLE. I can promise you that I'd rather have been working all week. On the morning of Thursday, April 28th - Erin & Steve checked in at Overlake with the intentions of naturally delivering Raleigh. I was still feeling under the weather that whole day, but was really wanting to visit Erin & Steve at the hospital. I waited for Branden to get home, and around 5:00pm we went to Overlake to check on my sister. We were pleasantly surprised when the whole family arrived (Patty & John, Mike & Mo, and Scott & Chelsea!). Apparently, we were all gettin' a little antsy. Erin's doctor decided to do a c-section because baby R just wasn't ready to meet his over-energized family. I went to the hospital thinking that I was just checking on my sister and keeping her company...I left the hospital grinning from ear-to-ear because it was one of the greatest evenings of my life.

The Birthday Party: On Saturday, April 28th we celebrated Raleigh's exact birth date surrounded by family and friends. The Pirate Party was held at Erin & Steve's down in Kent, and soo many wonderful people came to show their love for this little birthday boy. As you can see from the pictures....he kinda just kept to himself. I think there was a lot going on that day--that he might have been a bit overwhelmed. There are also pictures of Raleigh's 2nd cousin Paul...who is soo stinkin' adorable. Right when he walked into the party, Paul plopped down next to the big bear in the playroom and started reading by himself. Such a whiz kid and incredibly friendly!

The weather was overcast but warm. We spent most of the day outside, running around with about 20 little munchkins. Skip the play time though, let's talk food. Please check out the absolutely spectacular dessert that my friend Jaslyn made. Pirate cake pops, cupcakes AND a cake. THIS cake was awesome. She used a molded pirate ship cake pan and (by hand) put frosting all over the cake in color coordination. This picture doesn't do it justice...it truly was an amazing addition to Raleigh's birthday and we are soo grateful she made it for him!

Speaking of cake - check out the photo montage of Raleigh's Cake Smash session. He starts off upset, then concerned, then a smile appears and so on.... His face appropriately shows his feelings on the pirate ship cake. I hated to see him actually demolish it after the HOURS and hours that Jaslyn spent baking and decorating. However she knew going into it, what would become of the cake :)

All in all, it was such a wonderful birthday party for Raleigh John. We continued the celebration with a family trip to Maui the next morning. The party just kept going......See previous blog post.

 

THANK YOU to all those that came out and celebrated our baber! We appreciate those family and friends who made the trek down to Kent. Raleigh is very grateful for his birthday fan club.