Superbowl I

Since Ethan was born on super bowl Sunday last year, I thought it was only fitting to have his first birthday party be held in conjunction with the super bowl. I was thrilled to find out that my hometown Seattle Seahawks would be playing in it that year as well.

"Super Bowl I" was under way.

Once I had my theme, I wanted to take a cute photo of Ethan for the invitation. I gathered all of the football clothes I could find and then sat him on top of our artificial grass that is used for our putting green. The photo concept turned out perfect. Then I found this adorable invitation on Etsy that I had customized to look just like a ticket you would get if you were going to the super bowl. Pretty creative I think. :)

 

I loved how the invitation turned out and my initial thoughts of how dreadful it is planning a birthday party instantly morphed into excitement. My small little gathering instantly turned into a lot bigger party than I had planned. Thankfully, it's easy to find decorations, games, and food ideas for a super bowl party. Two of the items that I made for his special day were a goal post made out of PVC pipe and a "look at me grow" hanging display with all of Ethan's bear pictures.

 

I used our ping pong table for the main display and also created a kid area called the Hawks Nest, which is what they call an area of seating at the Seahawk games. The little kids ate grilled cheese sandwiches and grapes while the adults had "football food" like meatballs, wings, chips and veggies. Target made Ethan's adorable football smash cake and Erik's family all helped out with the food and other desserts.
 
The Hawks Nest kept the kids busy for a while. They played "get the football in the goal post", did a small super bowl coloring activity, and practiced their fine motor skills by stringing lace around a cardboard football. By the end of the night, the Hawks Nest was a total disaster, but it was to be expected.
 

 

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves during the game. The kids played, the adults chatted and ate, and I relished in the fact that the game was a total blowout by Seattle. (They ended up winning the game 43-8.)

 

At halftime, we paused the football game (that was recorded on our DVR) to do cake and presents. Ethan looked adorable in his birthday hat.

 

 
Claire was so excited to give the cake to Ethan. He immediately stuck his little fingers into the frosting and loved what he tasted. Before long, he had devoured most of the cake. No forcing the baby to eat their birthday cake at this one year old's party.


Next, it was time to open presents. Of course, he had no idea what was going on and didn't even care too much about the unwrapping part. He got lots of fun toys (trains, books, stacking blocks, etc.). Our family gave him an animal puzzle, a football colors book, and his very own abc's book that I made just like I had done with Claire when she was his age. 

Ethan's first birthday turned out to be a great success. The only disappointment in my eyes was that since the party had to be inside (because it's too cold in February) and at night, all of the pictures with people in them turned out ugly and gross. Pictures just don't look good inside. Oh well.

We love Ethan so much and look forward to celebrating many, many more birthdays with our loveable little monster.