Super Samuel Turns 1

I am WAY behind on posting, but I've been trying to keep up with Samuel's Caringbridge page which puts this on the back-burner.  Anyways, I want to document Samuel's 1st birthday party because it was such a HUGE milestone for him.

We rented out an amazing pavilion right next to a little park to accommodate all of his visitors.  With his party scheduled for April 4th, we were hoping for some nice spring weather.  Unfortunately, winter decided to say "hello" again, so it was rather chilly.  We had fun anyways.  My absolute favorite thing was introducing Samuel to family and friends that had never met him, but had prayed for him.  I will remember the looks on their faces forever - a mix of joy, tears, and elation.  

While the kids played, the adults stayed in the sunny spots for warmth.  We just had music playing and food for all to enjoy, so it was really low-key.  There was one spot everyone stopped by that had the mold of Samuel's little hand when he was 1 month old.  They were able to get a since for just how small he was.  They also signed his "Happy Birthday" book by Dr. Seuss!  Matthew has one too, so it'll be a good keepsake for both boys.  

After about an hour, we got Samuel in his highchair so we could sing to him and do the whole "blowing out of the candle" even though we knew he couldn't.  Of course, we didn't even think about him being on O2 and there should not be any open flame near him - duh!  Thankfully, there were enough medical folks on hand who helped us make sure we didn't blow things up (geez!).  To my surprise, Samuel did bang on the cake a little bit.  Since he can't eat solids yet, it wasn't the typical cake smash, but he still got a few good wacks in and frosting on his hands.

After that, it was taking pictures, feeding Samuel, and making sure Matthew wasn't getting an upset tummy due to eating too many sweets.  It was a huge success and I'm so thankful to all that came to help celebrate our little miracle.  He really is Super Sam!!!  Here are some pics from his party...enjoy!

 these two could eat their weight in Oreos :-)