I warned Nate going into this whole parenting thing that everything I mother turns out to be a little quirky

Exhibit A: Ike.

Exhibit B: Our baby's favorite "toy" is an old Bob's Big Boy Burger bank. Out of all of the toys in his nursery, his favorite thing to look at/play with is Big Boy. "Big Boy" was even one of his first set of words. He only said it in a whisper which made it even more hilarious.

The birthday party theme was an easy one. Big Boys. Burgers. Cake. Done!

I whipped up an invite in Illustrator and popped it into the mail for family.

We set the time early to make sure we had plenty of time to get the festivities in before the ever-glorious time known as nap time. We didn't want the adorable teething baby to turn into an adorable yet tired, teething monster. It sort of worked.

We kept the set up simple with a few million balloons, lanterns and a picnic tablecloth. No need to go all out. I mean, he's only one.

(This is one of those "let's make bloggers relatable" photos were they are shown busy at work. I clearly nailed it with my poor posture. Actually my brother was kind enough to snap most of these photos for us which allowed Nate and I to enjoy the party but still have the memories. Thanks, brother!)

I wanted a million balloons. Nothing screams first birthday like balloons. Turns out Clark hated the balloons. Mark that down for a Mom win. And probably a therapy bill in the future. (It's always the mother's fault.)

Nate and my brother set up this "balloon wall" the morning of the party. They tied up balloons on some red and white Baker's twine. It was a little breezy that day and we were going to anchor them using a string across the bottom of the posts but we ended up being too worried about little feet tripping.

We hung paper lanterns from our previously hung outdoor lights. Festive!

It turned out so charming. *pats self on back*

The table centerpiece was easy. An old outdoor lantern from IKEA, zinnias cut from the front yard, Big Boy and red & white checkered table cloth. We had one Big Boy. I wanted two. Do you know how many ebay bids I lost on stinking Big Boys? Like who are these other people buying Big Boys? Why are they paying more than $20 for them?

We kept the food simple. We had burgers with fixings, chips, potato salad, fruit, cupcakes, cookies and homemade ice cream.

I topped them with maraschino cherries (drained and rinsed) and red/white paper straws cut in half. I baked them in red polka dot liners. (Use two to keep the outside liner looking fresh!)
Easy yet fancy!

I made the cupcakes (recipe here).

When you're strolling the party aisle at Target and they have a burger pinata and you're throwing a burger themed party, you buy the pinata.

The cousins had lots of fun with this one.

It was Clark's strength that finally busted that pinata. He was VERY excited to see what was inside.

Next it was time for cake. My favorite party of any party.

The scene was set. A jumbo "One" balloon was tied to the back of an antique high chair. (Did I mention my kid ended up hating the balloons?)

I really wanted a burger smash cake for Clark. My cake decorating skills are weak. Cake decorating and roller skating are skills I will probably never have. Thankfully my brother's girlfriend came to my rescue.

Funny story on the "One" balloon. We brought it inside after the party. One week later our security alarm went off in the middle of the night. Long story short, we were quite sure we were being robbed. We grabbed the baby, locked ourselves in our room, called 911, the cops showed up. It ended up being the stupid balloon bobbing back and forth in front of the alarm sensor. Horribly embarrassing. Stupid balloon. Clark was onto something with that balloon. Smart kid. But hey, our alarm system works!

Back to the party.

We stripped Clark down and he got his first taste of sugar. Thankfully he's still eating fruits and veggies now.