Junior's 1st Birthday

I can’t believe Junior is a year old.. like I know it’s cliche, but I seriously don’t understand where the time went. I can’t believe my baby is technically now a toddler and when I blink he’s going to be a teenager. The reality is, this first year has been the weirdest year ever, so it was nice to have a day where everyone could put their full focus on Junior, especially those who haven’t got to see him that often because of the coronavirus regulations originally.

Here in Nova Scotia, our Covid-19 cases are quite low (you can count them on one hand), so we’re fortunate enough to have more lenient restrictions now. This means we were able to throw Junior a birthday party, which we originally weren’t sure if we’d be allowed to do. Needless to say, everyone is still taking all the necessary precautions to avoid the spread of Covid-19, so we figured it would be best if we kept it small and outdoors.

Junior’s grandparents have the cutest little backyard with tons of seating, so naturally they offered to host (thankful for this is an understatement). This was such a relief for me because I knew it was going to take forever to get Junior up and going on his birthday and wasn’t sure how I’d be able to do it all - insert saint grandma.

I usually have it all together. I’m a hardcore list-making note-taker and have an obsession with making things as close to perfect as possible. Well, since I’ve become a mom, I’m convinced half of my brain has shut off. Not only did I buy him a dress suit that did not come close to fitting on his birthday, but I forgot the decorations at home the day of! By the time we got there, all I could do was laugh at myself (I only had to bring the baby, the cake and the decorations, you’d think I could remember all 3). Regardless, I knew it would still be a good time and it didn’t matter I forgot some balloons. We were just so excited to see some friends and family we hadn’t seen in a while!

I couldn’t believe the emotions I was feeling that day. Not only was I celebrating Junior, but celebrating my first year of motherhood. It’s nuts.. one day, you have this person inside you that you have no idea what they look like, and then this little human comes out and you’re now responsible for their life. I’m not going to sugar coat it - this year has been hard. Junior developed severe separation anxiety, and genuinely has a hard time being in a room with more than 5 people - he consistently cries. This has made it especially tough on Marcus and I, as we have now passed a year without Junior having a single sleepover anywhere because of his anxiety. There were multiple days where I didn’t think I could do it. I especially remember the first 6 months being some of the lowest of my life. I had gained a ridiculous amount of weight during pregnancy and assumed it was just going to fall off almost instantly (I’m sure if you’re a mom, you’ve heard this from other moms too). “You’re breastfeeding? oh, don’t worry - the weight will fall right off” was literally burned in my brain, but this wasn’t the case. I also loved breastfeeding, but didn’t realize until we were done how much autonomy it had taken from me during those months and how free I instantly felt when it was over. I had no idea who I was anymore. If you’re a new-ish or soon-to-be mom reading this - I promise by 7 months you WILL start to feel like yourself again.

The one decoration I didn’t forget was this beautiful string on monthly photos! It was honestly beautiful and just enough without the planned garland. It came in a pack with a cake topper and streamer that said “One”, was my goodness they were beautiful! Now that the party’s over, we're going to remove the string and stick them on the wall of Junior’s room to keep the memories! I found it on amazon for under $15, so I’ll link it here if you want to check it out!

The balloon garland was also something I was impressed with. When it came in the mail, I blew up a few different colour balloons and added one of the palm leaves to see how the colour would look. We were doing a “Wild One” jungle/safari theme and this package was going to be perfect! It came with 24 palm leaves and something like 100 balloons, plus stuff to put it all together! While I didn’t get to use the decorations at the party, I still recommend these if you’re thinking about having a jungle or safari themed party for your little one! It’s also under $30, so you can’t go wrong. I’ll link it here!

We ordered Junior the cutest, yummiest smash cake from Neha (@cakes_by_neh). She makes all of our cakes (her red velvet is the best I’ve ever had), so I knew she’d be the one to make Junior’s, which had largely reduced sugar for the babies and kids! I couldn’t get over how beautiful it was, but more importantly - tasty (this was my first time trying a flavour that wasn’t red velvet). I highly recommend checking her out if you’re looking for a cake / cupcakes that look as good as they taste!

Shop This Look

I can’t stop laughing at this terrible photo, but it’s the only one where you can really see this outfit. My dress was an amazon find that I was so happy to come across! I’m wearing a size small. I will say that the chest is very open, but I just pinned mine together and it would look super cute with a Bralettes or cami underneath. It comes in two colours and is under $30. These white booties were perfect for the look I was going for.

We were gifted these beautiful flowers from Bloomex (@bloomex_canada) who always make the most elegant bouquets! We even threw a rose in Junior’s shirt pocket and he loved it (yes, he tried to eat it). They ship throughout Canada and are another shop I highly recommend!

We opened presents, had a bbq and filled the air with so much love. If Covid has taught us anything, it’s how to pivot and to remain grateful for the wonderful people in our lives that make us feel loved and alive. The last year, getting to watch Junior grow and develop before my eyes has been a blessing, but even more so that Marcus has gotten to be here to watch Junior grow with me. While I can’t believe he’s a year old, I also can’t believe how long this year has been (does that even make sense!?). I’m just so thankful for how blessed we are to have this light of a human and our health by our side and can’t wait to see what joys this next year will bring.