Joseph's Birthday

Our baby turned one year old! What? You missed it? I know some parents enjoy going all out for the first birthday but we decided not to rent the zoo and invite every person we've ever known. Sorry bout that...it was nothing personal. Todd was still recovering from surgery to fix his deviated septum and my parents were out of town on vacation, so we decided to have a nice quiet birthday celebration at home.

We did invite a few of the cousins, aunts, and uncles. Actually we invited them all {at least all the local ones} because our family is tight like that. But just a few were able to make it and we're so glad they joined us. We did some of Joseph's favorite things like dancing...

And eating...

And playing with garbage. Okay, perhaps Joseph's the only one who decided to do that. Cue the typical "kids enjoy the packaging more than the toys" comment.

Each person wrote down something they like about Joseph or a special memory from this year, and the younger cousins drew him pictures. I have these in an envelope for him {maybe I'll decorate it someday} as a special keepsake from his first birthday.

• Uncle Scott likes the way you laugh and smile when Daddy bounces you on his knee {horsey, horsey, on my way...}
• Aunt Debbie says, "One thing I remember about Joseph's first year was how proud his dad was showing new pictures of him to all his coworkers - a new picture every month. I think the fave was the 'yoda' picture using the force. The other memory is how much he drooled! :) Love you Jo Jo and all your nicknames..." Jo-Jo, Jo-vis and Jo-fish {compliments of Gracie}, Ninjo, Jo-di {like Jedi night}, Joda {like Yoda}, Yoseph {Nana's Jewish rendition of your name}, bubbas, J-dizzle turned J-drizzle, and J-dog.
• Tate likes your mind trick face, when you dance, and when you eat cake. {Tate likes your dancing so much he listed it twice!}
• Camille says, "I Love You" and drew you a picture.
• Gracie drew you a picture and spelled Gap and cat.
• Tyler drew you a picture.
• Maddi likes the way you roll your R's like a "Mexican baby."

 So there you have it. Yep, that's it. No fancy decorations {just a couple pom poms and balloons}, no creative invitations {we just picked up the ol' telephone and called family}, no smothering of gifts {just practical things like sippy cups and cheerios}, and no designer cake that cost us a small fortune {we're saving for college}. Is everyone in the blogosphere gasping yet? Joseph looks completely dumbfounded.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-party and I love looking at all the fun party themes and ideas out there. In fact, sometimes I see all those creative parties and feel guilty for not having the time and energy to tackle something like that. But then I remember that my time and energy was and is being spent on my family, which will outlast any party favor I could ever muster making. The lack of an elaborate production in no way diminishes the way we feel about our bundle of joy that arrived a year ago. We are so blessed to have Joseph in our family. His sweet spirit radiates pure joy throughout our home, and somehow he unites our family and strengthens our bonds of love for each other.

So how do you like to celebrate birthdays? Do you like to keep it simple or go all out with theme parties or do a little of both depending on the year? Any birthday traditions out there?