nathan's first birthday

I love a birthday party. I love planning them as much as I love going to them. I love a theme spilling over into all the party details. I love the children's games and little goodies. I love the brightly wrapped gifts, tasty cupcakes, punch and ice-cream. I love the smiles on the faces. The laughter of the children. I love the helium balloons-even though Patrick insists they are the biggest waste of party spending, I learned from Holly that no party is a party until there are bunches of balloons.

Patrick's nephew Nathan turned one in August. He is the youngest Vance grandchild, but only for a few more weeks. Jeff and Sarah's baby girl is due at the end of the month. Lindsay threw him an adorable monkey theme birthday party; she and Matt call him "monkey". She made banana punch, monkey cupcakes that were actually banana bread muffins with chocolate frosting (yum), and had lots of (those party defining) yellow and brown helium balloons. It was the day after we came home from Hawaii, a simply beautiful warm but not too hot day at the end of August. Though we were a little dazed and jet-lagged, the boys absolutely loved playing with their Vance cousins. All of them were there, there's 6 total. Clayton, Haydn, Isaac, Caleb, Hannah and Nathan.