Oh, the places he'll go...Reminiscing

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places! 

You're off and away!

Do you love Dr. Seuss as much as I do? This one is definitely my favourite.
 
Last week I posted the monthly photos I've been taking of my baby, lamenting how fast those 20 months have gone.  You can see some seriously cute pictures of the last 20 months here.

Not only does this mean he's growing up too quickly, but also that's it's time to get serious about planning his second birthday party.  Second! (And don't even get me started on how fast the others are growing up!)

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

Before I start planning a birthday party, I like to reminisce about that child's last party and, oh boy, did I love Rohan's first birthday party!

We seem to have inadvertently started a tradition of combining our sons' first birthdays with their naming ceremonies.  Rohan's first birthday happily coincided with our Christmas trip back "home" to Brisbane, so combining occasions worked in our favour once again.

Obviously, I chose the theme "Oh, the places you'll go!" from the incredible Dr. Seuss book and I just know this kid is going to move mountains!

We chose a beautiful spot in a park at Moffat Beach on Queensland's glorious Sunshine Coast and set up.

We kept the decorations simple - tissue pom poms and these beautiful map hearts that Mum & I made hanging over and around the table.

I punched some hearts out of old maps and Mum sewed them onto some ribbon.

I also love this sign my husband made which included some places that are very special to us and that we hope Rohan will visit someday.   

I decorated the table with ribbons and food labels, a sparkly number "1", a mini suitcase and globe and the most beautiful, pop-up version of the book.

The food was an International buffet of finger-foods - Skagenrora (Swedish prawn cocktails), Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Thai Fish Cakes, Thai Lemongrass Chicken Skewers, Greek Salad Skewers, American Hot Dogs, Indian Tandoori Chicken Kebabs and Laos Grilled Beef Skewers.

(Though, clearly I could not take any photos in which the tablecloths were free of spills!) 

Rohan was a huge fan of the Thai Fish Cakes... 

And Hamish found himself a comfy spot at the buffet and went to town on the Laos Grilled Beef Skewers...

It was such a glorious summer day, but it got rather hot out there in the sun...

We tried to keep our guests cool with a rainbow of cold drinks...

We had a quick little naming ceremony where we shared the wonderful story of 'Oh, the Places You'll Go!" and the significance of the names Rohan Aoraki...

We introduced everyone to Rohan's Godparents - my dear friend, Andrew and Matthew's cousin, Brooke - who made their promises to watch over and guide him throughout his life...

Then we drank a toast to our baby and wished him a long and happy life...

After lunch- dessert!  The bunting in the trees over the dessert table and that chalkboard might just be my favourite things of all...

The heat proved a little too much for my cake pops...

I kept the birthday cake simple and just made a couple of dozen, gluten-free vanilla cupcakes.  They were decorated with cake toppers featuring all the best quotes from the books and a few of the cute pictures I'd used on the invitations.

 Rohan enjoyed his first taste of cake...

 ...and Grandma managed to keep all her fingers..just!

You can bet Hamish found himself another prime position and enjoyed the desserts too...

It was such a great day- celebrating our baby...

being a family... 

 enjoying cuddles...

and introducing Rohan to his Godparents...

and being thoroughly adored by our whole family.  Here's Rohan getting some Nanny cuddles...

 Instead of gifts (though, a few sweet people couldn't resist), we asked our guests to bring a postcard or a photo of a place they thought Rohan should go and write a little message to explain why this place is so special and/or is special to them.  

We got some really touching, absolutely gorgeous messages and the fabric book of family travel photos with travel quotes my Mum made had me in tears.

After the festivities concluded, the family and friends that remained all hit the beach to cool off.  Our exhausted birthday boy fell asleep in my arms all snuggled under a beach towel.  

When he woke up, he was lucky enough to find cousin Emily willing to share more cake with him...

His brother's decided the empty drinks containers with their icy water were the perfect spot to keep cool...

Did I mention just how great a day this was?!?  So many special memories and such a wonderful way to celebrate our baby's first year.

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Modecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!