Come for the sparkling blue eyes and stay for the adorable two-toothed smile
Oh what a time we had over the weekend.
Rhett had his second of two birthday parties at our house on Saturday.
It was an all-day event.
I remember taking this newborn picture
His first party took place the night before, at his other grandparents' house. He was celebrated in grand style there, with a meal and presents and his own little cake.
Then a sleep, then his actual birthday: second verse, same as the first.
It was a hot, sunny day, perfect for swimming but not for being outside for much else.
We were prepared to party
I'd done most of my part of the cooking in advance.
Starting after supper on Friday, I made seven-layer salad, pineapple baked beans (just like the apple pie baked beans served forour Fourth of July party, but with pineapple tidbits), deviled eggs, and OopsieBread for those who wanted a low-carb burger bun option.
Ice-cold watermelon was on the menu
Everyone began arriving around noon. Our Stephanie could not come in person as she had other relatives visiting, although she did attend via FaceTime twice during the day.
We are still missing Andrew and Brittany and Ember in Oklahoma, although their time there is swiftly coming to a close. They've bought a house in East Tennessee and Brittany will be there for a few weeks in late August, setting up housekeeping.
I took the nine-month photo and his other grandmother took the ten-month
She and Ember will return to Oklahoma to be with Andrew then, but by Christmas they should all be back in our time zone and close enough for us to visit whenever we want.
Of course, thoughtful as ever, they had sent a gift for Rhett.
But first, before gifts, we had a feast.
Obligatory at southern repasts: deviled eggs
Erica had covered all of her bases and then some, when it came to decorating for her baby's first birthday.
She'd put together an adorable banner featuring a picture from each month of his life, plus a newborn shot.
There were balloons and cupcakes, a festive backdrop, and props of giant blocks spelling O-N-E.
At Chad's parents' house, during Rhett's first party. Photo courtesy Erica Porter.
Our meal consisted of burgers and brats done on the grill by TG and Chad, plus the aforementioned seven-layer salad and pineapple barbecue beans and deviled eggs. On the day, I made a small baked macaroni and cheese, and cut up watermelon into triangles.
Seven-layer salad is a favorite of TG's. That's bacon on top.
Erica brought more vegetables for a colorful tray, with Ranch dressing for dipping.
It was impressive.
The presents accumulated at the far end of the table
The birthday boy was so tired from the ongoing festivities that, upon arrival at the venue, he had to be put down for a nap in my room.
We ate then, enjoying every morsel and one another's company.
After the meal was cleared off, Rhett woke up and was seated in his special little chair for his own dinner.
That's what I like to see: lots of colors on the plate
He lustily consumed his private repast and, as usual, did an excellent impersonation of a bottomless pit. There was milk in his sippy cup.
I made coffee and we decided that it was time to dig into the little cake Erica had made, with matching cupcakes.
First, Rhett got his serving of cake. Having already proved himself a world-class chow hound, he picked it up in fistfuls and shoved it in as though he had not eaten in a week.
Rhett has joined the chat
I'm pretty sure we enjoyed watching him eat that cake as much as he relished putting it away.
And no doubt he would have eaten more, but after two pieces, his mother cut him off.
After cleanup of the guest of honor, we repaired downstairs to the TV room, for presents.
Rhett certainly gets the party up on its feet
Erica had carried all of Rhett's gift bags and boxes down there and arrayed them, along with a few he'd already opened on Friday night.
That's when I went into the front room and retrieved his main gift from TG and me: a Little Tikes ride-on pirate ship.
TG had put it together ahead of time.
His witty gentleman-themed cupcakes were on display
I'm not just saying this: Rhett registered pure delight over that toy, from the moment he saw it. His daddy put him in the driver's seat and although his feet don't yet touch the floor (they soon will), he grinned when he was pushed along and right away got into the spirit of the thing.
He thrilled to the toy pirate in the crow's nest and immediately tasted it.
There is a button to push, causing piratey sounds to emanate from above the Jolly Roger sail.
This is how he looked for his first Christmas
It was a big hit and I thought, well now, that's a slam-dunk present for the first birthdayof a pirate grandkid.
But he had so many other precious gifts! Toys and books and clothes and so forth and so on. The whole enchilada. Such fun.
Erica read aloud each of Rhett's cards before opening the gift they came with.
We don't have a birthday party in this house without the banner and the flamingo
She came to the present from Audrey and Dagny, and tore open the enclosed envelope.
Audrey had showed me the card beforehand, telling me that she paid more for it than she normally would, because she loved it so much.
She indicated that the card with its sweet message had grabbed her by the heart and failed to let go in time for her to pick a cheaper one.
This was not a smash cake, but it was smashing nonetheless
Erica began to read. By the third line, she had choked up and her voice would not work anymore.
I looked over at Audrey, whose face had crumpled into tears.
Tears sprang to my eyes. Erica handed the card to Chad.
This little baby has come a long way
He picked up reading the sentiment aloud where his wife had left off, but within half a dozen words, his voice stopped working too.
I think the only dry eyes in the room were Dagny's (although I'm not entirely sure about that) and Rhett's -- oblivious to the surfeit of emotion on his account, he kept playing with his toys, crawling enthusiastically from one to each of the others, then circling back.
Erica says she may hang this up in Rhett's room
Eventually we composed ourselves and continued with the party. I guess we're all a bunch of suckers for commercial greeting cards but what are you going to do?
After every gift had been opened and discussed and admired and shown to Rhett, the many new duds were stowed away and everyone decided that it was pool time.
Rhett sensed the mounting excitement as he played with one of his balloons
Our weather has been sweltering, scorching, so humid that it truly approaches being a bona fide phenomenon. It's impossible to enjoy it except in abundant shade (and then only for a few minutes) or in the pool.
The water is nearly ninety degrees.
Chad and Erica and TG and Rhett got in. Dagny sat poolside, in shade, with a special apparatus on her casted leg that allowed her to put both feet into the water.
The cake was brought forward in preparation for being served
How we are looking forward to that Labor Day swim, when she can once again splash and snorkel!
Next Monday she will be outfitted with her walking cast. A step in the right direction.
Rhett has a new floatie that is supposed to resemble a stingray, but it really just looks like a super-cute baby in an inflatable indefinable creature, with a canopy over his head. He loves it.
Ah! So THIS is what all of the fuss has been about!
The tiny craft positions him forward, so that his legs trail behind him. He's learned to kick them and make himself go. I wish you could see that.
I sat outside on the swing for a while, drinking an ice-cold A&W Zero Sugar Root Beer, but soon enough I retreated inside to be cooler.
Rhett took to his pirate ship like he'd been waiting for it all day
Eventually our guests began to talk about going home. (I must admit that I was glad to see the party winding down; I needed to sit quietly someplace where it was very cool.)
Everyone helped Erica and Chad dismantle the decorations and pack up all of their things.
Their SUV storage area was stuffed to the top like for a camping trip, minus the tent and mosquitoes.
The greatest gift on any birthday is love
Rhett, in his new front-facing car seat, fell asleep on the ride home and went straight to his crib upon arrival, to continue an exhausted late-day nap.
While he was snoozing, Erica arranged all of his new toys in the living room so that he could play with them as soon as he woke up.
And he did wake up, and he did play -- and play and play and play and play -- with his new toys.
Rhett squeezed every last drop of fun out of his first birthday
Stoked from an excess of sugar and excitement, he didn't go to bed again until eleven thirty.
And so the first birthday of our youngest grandchild is in the books, and it was memorable, and we all have precious memories of the occasion.
I remarked at one point that, when our children had their first birthdays, we would go to the zoo as a family and, at lunchtime, put a candle in a Twinkie and sing to them. That was the extent of it.
It's hard to believe but he will only get cuter
Times have changed.
Our prodigious penchant for pirate parties being what it is, I don't see it ever changing back. We'll keep on celebrating life in as zealous a fashion as the occasion calls for.
As it should be.
And that is all for now.
=0=0=0=
Happy Monday
