Owen's BIRTH-day/Photo overload!

  Owen apparently knew that it was his birthday yesterday because he refused to go to sleep the night before ("I'm too excited to sleep!") and he woke up before seven yesterday. I didn't even have time to put his birthday balloons near his bed so he would wake up to a surprise. But he did enjoy his balloons once he woke up and enjoyed bopping them around and trying to bite them. 
     Then we had breakfast down in the breakfast room at the hotel where Owen was wished a happy birthday by several of the hotel staff. The kid is pretty popular around here and everyone knows him by name. Owen wore his new red polo and jeans and a brand new pair of sandals. They are majorly cute. He even celebrated by standing on his own in them for at least ten seconds. 
     We had plans to go to a local park, but Mother Nature had other ideas because it rained steadily all morning and early afternoon. So we went to Subway for lunch, where Owen shared his Daddy's meatball sub. Then we made a quick run to Meijer (the grocery store) where we picked up some more Cheddar Bunnies and a plastic tablecloth. Then we let Owen ride the mechanical horse for a penny. We let him try it a few nights ago and dude loved it. It will now become a new tradition. Riding the horse at the grocery store. And people say you can't get anything for a penny anymore...
    After that we finally gave up on our plans to go to the park for cake, so we returned to the hotel and set up in the hotel breakfast room. We laid out the tablecloth on a couple pushed-together tables, set down the cake, plopped a semi-naked baby complete with new birthday bib on the table and let him at it! It was hilarious. And I took nearly 200 photos. So prepare for some scrolling.
     At first, little man was pretty hesitant about the cake and kept looking back and forth between us like, "What am I supposed to do now?" Then one tiny finger poked into some frosting became a couple tiny fingers poked into some frosting became a foot stuck in the frosting became a whole hand in the frosting until Owen had icing on virtually every part of his body. 

The unofficial birthday corner of the hotel breakfast room.

Owen's cake. It was supposed to be half the size, but they got our order wrong.

I'm excited and I don't know why!

Our boy, cautious as ever. Just in case cakes bite.

First taste.

Hey, this cake has my name on it!

Little tastes at first. Just one finger at a time.

Notice how he sits with his ankles crossed?

Yummy...

Oops. Foot in the frosting.

Slowly, but surely making a dent in the cake.

Mmm... cake by the handful.

Frosted face. Haha.

One sugar-happy one-year-old.

Someone call in clean-up.

     After our cake, we went back up to the room and napped. Owen must have had a full and happy belly because he slept for two hours. And so did Mommy and Daddy. 
     Once we all woke up, we went to dinner at O'Charleys, which is one of Owen's favorite restaurants. He loves their rolls. He also got to taste some mashed potatoes and some apple cobbler. Yes, I said apple cobbler. On the same day that he had birthday cake. Go ahead and judge. It was his day and we let him have anything he wanted. 
    Anyway, it's safe to say we had a rather unconventional first birthday party since we're staying in a hotel, but we had a really fun time regardless and we still have Owen's big birthday party with family and friends in a couple weeks.
     It's hard to believe, but we have a one-year-old!