BIRTHDAY BOY!

It's hard to believe it's already been 1 year since I made these birth announcements for our family & friends introducing our newest addition to the fam...

On Friday, June 19TH, Cohen Phoenix Campbell
became a 1 year old!

We celebrated the occasion with mostly just family and our friends, Amanda, Teancum & Cumorah. I contemplated inviting more of our friends over to share in the fun and enjoy some yummy barbecue, but decided to keep things simple and easy by just sticking with family... sorry guys (I'm only 32 weeks pregnant but my body feels like it's been pregnant for 97 years; I do what I can, especially on holidays, but parties at our house are going to have to be DELAYED until after baby #4 is born).

When I said I wanted to keep the party "SIMPLE", I meant all I did was just put up a few balloons (thanks MACEYS), make a birthday banner (I actually used my Cricut Machine to cut out all the lettering), put down some cheapo tablecloths and spread out plastic plates and utensils, put the husband in charge of barbecuing good ol' hamburgers and hot dogs for the guests and left the cake decorating up to the bakery. I COMPLETELY skipped sending out invitations, making goody bags, buying a pinata and organizing games to keep the kids busy. The idea of ENTERTAINING exhausted me; I just wanted to spend the evening ENJOYING good food and good conversation with family- and that's what we did exactly!

Just a sneak peak at the birthday decor.
Since Cohen can ROAR like a lion
& it's been said more than once that he crawls like an elephant/monkey
I decided to make the theme of his party jungle/safari.

Just a shot of the meal spread...
Hamburgers & hot dogs, corn on the Cob, watermelon, potato salad & chips.
Banana splits for dessert (in lieu of cake).

HAPPY FATHERS DAY SPENCE!
I ordered this brand new grill for Spencer a couple of weeks ago...
I LOVE IT and I think it's fair to say that he does too.
I LOVE a good barbecue; now all we need is our own pool!
Spencer had 30 hamburgers and 20 hot dogs grilling all at once on this baby!

Party guests "dishing" on the goodies.

Without much else to do while everyone just sat around and ate,
the birthday boy, Cohen, served guests their beverages.

Some of the kids kept busy playing in the jumper,
while others played soccer or threw a football around on the grass.
(If you look close enough you can see that Noah is just about to pummel
his "new cousin"-as he refers to/friend Teancum. Those two have a love/hate relationship;
They LOVE to wrestle and push each other around but HATE to get along completely 100%.
I'll NEVER understand).

I had hoped that after a week of crummy, rainy weather,
Friday's weather would be a bit DRIER and a little WARMER;
however,
I was NOT prepared for the HEAT & SUN that debuted Friday.
Half the party guests stayed inside the house the WHOLE time trying to escape the HEAT!

Cohen's 1ST birthday cake.

Cousins gathered round Cohen to sing "Happy Birthday"...

Cohen surprised everyone by being "careful" digging into his cake.
He didn't leave us much of a mess to clean up afterward.

Half way into eating the cake,Cohen had to have a sip of milk.
The chocolate cake QUENCHED his thirst!

The cake was only for Cohen, along with anyone else who dared to salvage what they
could from what he already PAWED through.
The party guests ate BANANA SPLITS for dessert.
My sister Tricia dished the desserts since she's the official "Dairy Queen" in the family
(she worked there for 4 or 5 years while she was still in high school).



I looked over at one point during the party to see these two SHARING a banana split.

Eli topped his split with Animal Circus Cookies, gummy bears, peanut m&m's, Reeses Pieces, cherries
and whip cream...
the whole works!
Tori & Kirsten didn't hold back topping their splits either.

Spencer's older brother Aaron was in town visiting from Uruguay,
so his fam took a photo op. at the party; it's not often all the siblings are together with Les & Linda.

After cakes and "splits", we ATTEMPTED to have Cohen open presents...

but we didn't have any luck during the party because
he was distracted and determined to get these balloons
that were tied to one of his presents.

So...

...since it was LATE by the time all of our party guests had left our house,
we decided to WAIT until Saturday, the following day, to open Cohen's birthday gifts.

He was SUPER EXCITED about this ball that Grandma Campbell brought him!

The two older boys, shared a peaceful moment and a hug,
while they watched as Cohen opened his gifts.
It's a rare sight to see the two share "as of late";
usually they're playing the "BOoM BoOM" game.
It's a game they created in which they simulate boxing one another!

Spencer and I can emphasize to the two older boys a THOUSAND times
that these presents belonged to the baby,
but apparently what belongs to one of them, belongs to ALL THREE of them!

Eventually the older boys let Cohen play with his new walking toy.
He LOVED how the elephant banged his cymbals together making noise!

Meet "Wollie the Whale".
I found him online, on sale, through a company called Dayla Baby.
Originally I wanted their Ziggy the Giraffe rocker,
but they weren't expecting Ziggy in stock till the end of the month,
so I settled for "Wollie"- who's name alone DELIGHTS me.
He comes complete with non-skid rocker bottoms; a dancing clown fish, music
& he's adjustable in height for as the child grows.

Cohen slipped off "Wollie" the first time or two, or three, riding him...

... but caught on quickly and learned to hold on tight!
Perhaps someday he'll become a professional Whale Rider...
he'll have had previous riding experience!

Sticking with the jungle theme of his party,
Cohen also received THIS as a gift from his brothers...

...it's his fellow primate friend whom he happens to walk like!
The Zoobie orangutan is both a stuffed animal and a pillow that also has a blanket hidden away inside of it!

I have an idea that these two will bond closely during nap time.

I've decided since the party yesterday, sometimes "SIMPLE" is better... I put forth little effort to plan this party (far less than I'm used to) and I think it turned out to be such a SUCCESS! Our family had so much FUN getting together with everyone and celebrating this 1st year of Cohen's life! Though it hasn't been easy, and there have been a few unexpected bumps and turns, we're thankful for Cohen's health and more especially for his presence in our family! Thanks again to all the family who were able to make it and those who couldn't be with us, please know we missed you all dearly!