Buckaroo Party (Part 5 - Memories, Pictures & Thank You's)

After the party is over, the family and friends have left, the dishes done and the decorations are taken down, the only thing you have left are the memories.  The memories and the pictures are the whole reason you put all the hard work into planning.  They are the best part of any great event.  Now I'll share ours with you.

It took many tries to get a picture of the birthday boy in his cowboy hat.  He is not a hat boy.

We finally got one!  Kinda.

I put Grant's smash cake down in front of him for one moment so we could sing
to him and the curious little fellow put the candle out with his fingers before I
could stop him!  It was a sad moment until I put his finger into the frosting
to help make it feel better.  Then he dove right in to his cake (with a little help.)

Mmmmmmmm.  Delicious!  It took a little coaxing, but he got the hang of it real fast.

"Do I have frosting on my face?"

He certainly did after cousin Ashley got a hold of him!

Even while Ashley was prepping Grant be hosed off in the sink, he was
still loving every little bit of the frosting all over his hands and face!

Ashley and I stripped him down to hose him off in the kitchen sink. 

Look at that sweet little frosted face!

The trio of baby boys were quite entertained by the bubbles I was blowing.
Well, Steve, Rachel and Sarah seemed to be pretty entertained too.  I'm assuming they
were entertained by the babies and not me, although I can be quite entertaining.

Grant and Brody started to chase the bubbles after snacking on some sidewalk chalk.  Yes, you read that right.

Tarri, Steve, Grant, Brody and Rachel were trying to catch the bubbles.

Tarri, Steve, Sarah, Rachel & Brody, Suzanne and Bryan, Uncle Wendy, Uncle Vaughn, and Greenlea out enjoying the cool weather.  I'm so glad the storms eased up so we could enjoy the weather and space on the patio.

Bethany, Aunt Josie, Aunt TIny, Tarri, Steve, Grant, Suzanne & Bryan, Rachel & Brody, and Sarah again entertained
by babies and bubbles.  It was great seeing our friends and families getting to know each other.

Grant did NOT want a stick on mustache on his face.  He was having no part of it!

Auntie Sissy won!  Well, after holding his arms down long enough to snap a picture
without him ripping it off his face!  Such a handsome buckaroo!

Brody didn't mind wearing one at all!  This picture of Rachel and Brody is one of my favorites.
Brody is just 9 days younger than Grant.  I was happy they could come and meet Bethany & Grant
and Suzanne and Bryan so there could be some play dates in the near future.

Some people came in to enjoy the grub in the dining room.  Brody took so well to Bethany that it gave Rachel
a chance to eat while kid free for a few minutes.  Bryan was snacking on a mum mum and Grant was
enjoying some time with Aunt Linda (or Aunt Nanny as some of us call her).

After grub, cake and a bath, it was time for Grant to open presents.
He had this part down pat!

Aunt Linda didn't want to keep the list of gifts so she passed it down to me and I quickly passed it off to Ashley (who made a terrific sexitary!)  LtoR: Bethany & Grant, Dustin, me, Colton, Uncle Wendy, Aunt Josie and Aunt Linda.

Grant loved all the books!  He's gotten quite good at helping turn the pages when any of us have sat down to read with him since the party.  He will never out grow books, right?!

He even tried to help his mom guess the words to one of our favorite
childhood books, The Pokey Little Puppy.

If you look behind Aunt Tiny, you can see Ashely, the amazing sexitary.
Grant even got a present wrapped in a bandanna.  How cool was that?
He stayed on Bethany's lap the whole time she was helping him open presents.  

Once they were done with presents, he still wanted to
look at the books and have them read to him.

"So, what's next, guys?!"

And last, but not least, we have the funniest memory of the whole day!  Sarah arrived in the cutest headband with rhinestones and a little black cowboy hat.  At one point, I came out of the house and the gals had put the headband on Grant!  Suzanne was quick with the camera and snapped this picture to be kept forever.  I grabbed him up quickly and ran inside the house, said behind Chris, "don't be mad, but this might just be your son's first pageant outfit!" and jumped out so he could see.  Now, you must know, Chris HATES when Bethany watches shows like Toddlers and Tiaras so we've spent many moons teasing him about putting Grant in pageants.  He was not too amused by this addition to the outfit, but everyone else was.  I promised I would not put it on Facebook, but did say it might end up in my blog.  It will now be retired until his wedding day.  So, there you have it.  The cutest little buckaroo in all the land.

To all those that missed the big day, you were certainly missed.  To those that were able to make it, thank you all so much for sharing Grant's special day with us.  I know you were all either busy and/or had a long drive to get here, so thank you for making the time and taking the drive.  Your company will be treasured always.  

To Bethany and Chris, thank you for your help getting everything ready for the big day and for letting me put on a big shindig for your lil guy.  I enjoyed spending the days before the party together in the kitchen and getting things ready.  Chris, thank you for capturing so many pictures!

And lastly, to Grant, thank you for humoring your crazy Auntie Nen.  I can't put into words just how much it means to me that I get to be a part of your day to day life now that you live here.  Your smiles and hugs are so very sweet, but your giggles and belly laughs will always melt my heart.  I love you, lil dude!!!

All in all, the party was a success, the weather was great and it was a terrific day spent with wonderful friends and family.  Thank you all!

Buckaroo Series:
Invitations
Part 1, Homemade Decorations
Part 2, Store Bought Decorations
Part 3, Party Favors
Part 4, Food