Liam turns ONE!

I know I already did a birthday post for Liam, but I never got around to saying what we did on his actual birthday, and how we celebrated in the NL, so here it goes . . .

I really wanted to make Liam pancakes for his birthday, so I found an Alton Brown recipe for homemade pancake mix (it is delish by the way), and got busy preparing that the day before. I made him a blueberry pancake and a chocolate chip pancake, in the shape of a "1" and an "L" (though it's kind of hard to tell!). He absolutely LOVED them!

Happy Birthday Liam!!

And because it was such a nice, hot day in the Netherlands, I thought it would be fun to go to the beach! Our friends had just been the weekend before and enjoyed it, so we hopped in a car with Lindsey and Jackson and drove a little over an hour to the Haag to relax on the beach!

Liam's very first sandwich--ham and cheese made by Lindsey!

First we ate lunch on the boardwalk, then set out a blanket and let the boys play in the sand. But it wasn't long before they wanted to get in the water, so in we went to the COLD Atlantic ocean. Luckily it was really hot that day, so the water felt kind of refreshing, for how frigid it was. The boys played for a good hour and a half, by which point it was time to push our strollers through the deep, soft sand back to the boardwalk. Lindsey and I decided to get some frites and a slushee as our snack for the day before heading to the car . . . but the cobblestone path knocked the fries right off the stroller and all of the sudden we were surrounded by birds -- like, no joke, it looked like an Alfred Hitchcock movie the way they swarmed the ground and all around us! What made it really funny is that Lindsey is terrified of birds and couldn't get out of there fast enough! The sad part is that this happened near the bike path and a biker seriously hit one of the birds and killed it. No joke. It was crazy!

We were deliriously exhausted by the time we made it to the car and drove home with two happy boys snoozing in the back. I love that the beach is close and that Liam's birthday was a nice enough day to enjoy there with friends. : )

That weekend we threw another little party for Liam at home. This one was MUCH smaller than his Georgia party, but just as nice to celebrate with new friends.

A special bunting I made for Liam that has a picture from each month of his first year 

The kids painting their own airplane gliders 

My friend Meredith made an AMAZING cake for Liam's birthday and everyone could not stop talking about how perfect it was. Not only did it look amazing, but it tasted amazing as well! One layer was vanilla cake with strawberries and cream layered in, and the other layer was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache in the layers. Everyone at the party had a slice of each, and luckily there was still some left over for us to enjoy later! I seriously can't say enough about it! If you live in the NL and need a cake, she's your girl! You can check out her blog here. Thanks Meredith!

That propeller REALLY SPINS! 

Could that BE any cuter??

Oh, Dad!

He was loving it!

He ate the ENTIRE cupcake!

Liam had a great time opening gifts and spending time with friends, and we had the chance to enjoy a very low-key party after such a big bash in Georgia. Liam loved ALL his gifts and had fun showing them off to his Grandma on Skype. :)

All in all, Liam's birthMONTH was fantastic and I really can't believe I am the mother of a toddler! If you are still reading this post, thanks for sticking with me! :)

Happy Birthday (again!), sweet boy!

~Jessi