Dane's First Birthday

 This was a picture I took on Dane's actual birthday.  James was sitting up on the bar stool eating popcorn and Dane was waiting underneath, grabbing all of the popcorn that fell down his way.  Look at that face!

 We celebrated Dane's birthday on Friday.  Al had the whole day off and was able to come to the zoo with us.  We let Avery stay home from school to participate in the festivities.  It was the perfect weather for the zoo and probably the least crowded I've ever seen our zoo...so that was nice.

 Dane, looking like a big 1 year old!

 Avery, looking very grown up- almost 7!  She is next up in our crazy month of birthdays.

  Not a great picture by any means, but this is Dane's first ride on a carousel.  He liked looking up at the top and watching the mechanics of it all.

  After the zoo we headed over to Costco for some pizza.  Here is Dane with a mouthful of crust.  We also had to pick up a cake...I had baked him a cake the day before and one of the layers got stuck in the pan and came out in pieces.  I was sad because I had decorated a cute cake for my other kids first birthdays, but it wasn't going to happen this time.

 Dane, after his nap, excited about the presents.

  And he actually tried to open the presents!  He ripped off paper without being prompted.  I don't know if he remembers because Christmas wasn't that long ago or what, but he was a champ.  And what he couldn't/didn't do James was more than happy to help with.

  Here he is opening his big gift from us.  He got the zoo talker train to go with his zoo and other animals.  He also got the zoo talker jeep and most of the rest of the animals he was missing.  They are the most adorable toys and Dane loves them.  So do Avery and James :)

  Getting ready for dinner.  We had some of Dane's favorites- Chicken noodle soup and strawberries

  Here is Dane's 'zoo' cake...or dinosaur cake :)  He loved the candle and being sung to.

  Dane is our first baby that didn't cry or show complete disinterest in the cake.  We didn't even have to force his hand into the cake.  He went for it with gusto and loved it. 

  And after a while he threw manners out the window and just put his whole face down on his piece of  cake.

It was a great first birthday.  We love our sweet Dane-y so much and were so glad we got to have a fun day celebrating him.