The First Birthday Week

Just so you know, this post took FOREVER to do...many much pictures to edit and upload. But I want to share and I know that you all want to see. All I'm sayin is you'd better enjoy! ;-)

What a busy week we had last week! My parents and little sister were able to come for the week of Judah's first birthday. First, here are some random picturse throughout the week...

Heavy Duty...

We tried to get some pics of his first birthday outfit (that I've had my eye on for a while!). He was much too active at the time to get a still shot, though. It's SO adorable on him! Blue/orange/white plaid button down with orange sweater vest and khakis. Mmm, he's a looker!

People pics...

The gorgeous spring time hills around here...

One GORGEOUS day, we took the time to do the 17 Mile Drive. We did the Drive when Matt's family was here, but it was foggy then. So it's nice to have seen the coast in both its seasons. Esparza fam, enjoy the pics -- I so wish you could have seen the coast in all it's glory! Matt didn't go with us this time because of class. :-( Take a look at God's creation...

It was Judah's first birthday party...and our first time to be the parents to throw the kid's party. We kept it simple -- some finger foods and punch, cupcake cones, and presents at a local park/playground. Cupcake cones? Yep! Back of the Betty Crocker box. I've wanted to try them for months, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity. ALL you do is make regular cupcakes -- make the batter, put the liners in the muffin pan, fill each 2/3 full, then invert a cone on top of the batter, bake as directed. Peel off the paper once cool and ice! So basically it's just one EASY extra step to have cupcake cones rather than regular cupcakes. I made them the night before, and the cones softened over night which we all agree was tastier than a crunchy cone. Some of them, as you can see, got a little too soft. :-P Now the cone is so soft I just eat the cake out of it. And, you'll note the improper spelling. When you have two cupcakes in a row with a Y on them, be careful not to put a Y on the third! I did fix it and it looked totally fine...we just forgot to take a pic of the real finished product! Sorry, Judah! And he loves balloons! Especially when someone flies him like a superhero through the air to dive bomb them. :-)

The turn out was great, more than we thought. Key families from Hollister that have meant alot to us in our journey with Judah, two neighbor families from our apartment building, and two college buddies all came. The weather was gorgeous despite some gusty wind. Judah, however, was battling allergies. Poor little guy! (We took him to the doctor on Friday because we feared impending ear infection, but it turns out he's showing signs of allergies. No surprise there -- he just keeps following his Momma's footsteps.) He seemed pretty laid back and quiet for almost the whole time with red, watery eyes and a runny nose...but when he opened his presents, the Judah we know started reappearing. He got some really adorable clothes, stuffed animals (including a Sneetch!), a book, and some musical instruments. He LOVES the instruments, especially the alligator xylophone.

Did he get to blow out a birthday candle? Nope. We couldn't even get the lighter to stay lit because of the wind. No amount of people barrier would block it either. So oh well. He'll have plenty more candles to blow out in the years to come!

After the party, my dad treated us and our two college buddies to dinner at Chevy's...there was no way my mom and I were gonna cook after doing the party. :-) So Judah Gabriel Esparza's first birthday dinner was at a Mexican restaurant. I guess that's kind of appropriate. ;-) Not that he tasted anything except the tortilla...he had roast beef and veggies from home.

It's so odd to say "our little 1 year old" now! AND...he now gets to face forward in his brand new carseat from us! Woo hoo! We can not thank God enough for the joy that Judah is!