So much has happened since Thomas’s first birthday, it feels like so, so long ago. Because of everything going on, I decided to give myself a month to get all his birthday stuff posted. And I’m giving myself until David’s birthday to write about Mary Virginia‘s birthday. And then until Christmas to write about David’s. Christmas 2020.

My month deadline expires in five days, which means I have some work to do. HERE WE GO!

Just a few weeks before Thomas’s birthday, we bought our new house. The first thing I did was figure out whether we’d move before or after Thomas’s birthday, because for some reason it really meant a lot to me to have Thomas’s birthday at the house he came home to. (Interestingly, that urge dissolves once you get to the fourth birthday.)

We had his party after his baptism, with just our immediate families.

I have vivid, vivid memories of the weather in mid-May 2015, and it was HOT. Really, really, really hot. And not just because I was 41 weeks pregnant.

This year, it was cold.

So cold that, every time the wind blew all the children started crying, and by the end of the party we were all huddled in the one corner of the yard that wasn’t shady.

Besides that, it was a great time.

Thomas’s first cake was my first gluten-free cake! I wanted to do make the number one with sprinkles like this one, but sprinkles have gluten in them. It was a decent switch because morsels are actually more delicious (and masculine!) than sprinkles. And Berkley Grace agrees.

Thomas’s birthday was just a week or so after my sister-in-law graduated with a Master’s degree in education.

To congratulate her on this accomplishment, I forced her to blow bubbles with a 2016-graduate cap bubble wand while I messed with my shutter speed.

She did a great job. (We love you Abby!)

Oh hey! I suppose this post should have a few pictures of the birthday boy.

I love these pictures of Thomas with the balloon because I have pictures of David doing the exact same thing (wearing the same overalls) at his birthday party.

Unfortunately, Thomas hated his birthday party.

I timed it dangerously close to nap time, but Thomas is third-baby chill and he can usually hang, so I was surprised when he grumped through the whole thing.

See, he hated it.

We gave him cake and he refused to even try it.

Someone commented on one of my Instagram photos that at their birthday their second kid was like, “Cupcakes? Again?”

Yes. That nailed it. Thomas had his first cake three months ago.

Since he wouldn’t eat it, Tom put some in his mouth.

And he spit it out.

So Tom tried again.

And Thomas realized that he was in some sort of hostage situation and we wouldn’t let him down until he smeared some icing in his hair for the photo op.

Ok, you can get down now.

We went inside to open presents because IT WAS SO COLD.

So much chaos in the living room.

This is both of our immediate families, six kids ages five and under. My sister’s family lives far away, so they couldn’t make it. But if they had? There’s no blessing quite like the ruckus of a big family on a gluten-free sugar-high, crowded into a small room.

Thomas had a lot of help opening gifts, meaning I have a bunch of pictures just like this — a freshly opened gift and the birthday boy is no where to be found.

Oh there he is, in his new swim trunks.

Oh there he is! On his new Thomas the Train toy that his sister never lets him play with!

Happy birthday, baby Thomas. I promise, PROMISE, you’ll love your birthday party next year.