Oliver's First Birthday

While the party is yet to come (this weekend is the first chance we'll have to celebrate with friends), Oliver's first birthday was a huge success. We started the day (with a little sleep still in the eyes) with a little retro gift from mom and dad:

I'd been looking for one of these classic towers for a while now and was thrilled to find it at a little shop just a week before his birthday. He got the hang of it right away:

And even played with it for a while BEFORE breakfast (he normally does NOTHING before breakfast, as this boy prioritizes meals...):

Later that day, he geared up in our "1" onesie (courtesy of Casey and Gabby!):

And continued to enjoy the new toy:

Just after lunch, we headed out to La Defense to visit dad for afternoon coffee:

But the metro took longer than expected and the little guy started to get a little sleepy:

No problem, once out of the stroller, he was good to go again. I tried to get some pictures with dad, but he wasn't too interested:

He wanted the coffee:

But decided he was content running around:

Then we tried for some pics with mom... Pretty much the same result:

Until a hug got his attention:

And finally one where he at least looked at the camera. Take what you can get, right?

Later that evening, it was time to sing Happy Birthday (in the kitchen with weird lighting, hence the black-and-white photos... my apologies):

We are waiting until the party to give him cake, so he got his candle in a piece of cheese. Hey, it worked, and he seemed to enjoy it:

He didn't quite get the idea of blowing out the candle:

But he was fascinated by the process:

And, most importantly, he enjoyed his birthday cheese:

We are SO thankful for our little one-year-old boy!!!