Week 53

Mar 10-16

I decided to break up this post into 2 posts due to the ridiculous amount of pictures. Jack didn't just have a birthday party, but a birthday week of fun. I guess it is all part of being the 1st kid. My grandma always told me when I was little, "first is the best!" because she was the oldest of 4 kids and so was I.

The party week started with Crystal coming down to visit. It was quite the treat because I hadn't seen her since last May when we did the March of Dimes walk together with Jack. It was awesome of her to come all the way down from Palm Coast, FL.

She came bearing gifts for Jack's birthday so he fell in love with her. Here are some cute pictures I got of the two of them together. After they played for a bit, Crystal and I got the opportunity to go out for a rare "adult" lunch together. I took her out to this really great Thai food restaurant down on A1A in Indian Harbour Beach. We had a great time catching up and eating delicious food. :)

The next day was Wednesday and I had to work since I was taking off the weekend. Luckily, Ed had taken a couple of days off so he was able to pick up his mom (Grandma) from the airport. It was strange working a Wednesday, but I didn't mind because I knew when the day was over it was time to have fun!

Thursday Uncle Ryan (Ed's brother) and Auntie Amanda (his wife) were driving down from Lexington, SC and then Friday Aunt Caroline (my sister) and her friend Haley (Pictionary champion) were driving down from Columbia, SC. Little Jack is quite the popular guy. He is lucky to have such loving family members who take the time out to drive down for his little birthday party. :)

Thursday March 11th was Jack's actual birthday and Ed insisted we have a "party" for him. We thought it was a good idea to let him practice his cake smashing skills and then he could open presents from family in a more intimate setting. I made him a mini-cake that was absolutely pathetic and we had our nice little party. Jack loves cake! I'm really not surprised at all.

The next day was Friday. Thank goodness I had the help of all of these people! We got everything ready...baked, cooked, peeled (eggs/potatoes), chopped, frosted, etc. It was quite the whirlwind of activity in the kitchen. Everyone took turns entertaining Jack the king.

He was quite happy because he had some new toys to play with. Ed made potato salad and deviled eggs. I baked the cuppie cakes and Jack's cake, made frosting with my trusty mixer (thank goodness for that thing!!), and made Jack's smash cake with the help of my MIL, Amanda, Caroline, and Hailey!

The next day would be Saturday...the PARTY! I will leave that to my next post...