And the parties continue...

Eamon had yet another birthday party over the weekend--this time with his Hoboken friends, who all turned one in the month of August! We met for a fun evening of good food, drinks, and for dessert, individual cakes for each of the kids! We decorated them the night before at Amber's--she is a party planner extraordinaire and had every kind of doodad imaginable to pretty up a cake with. (For her little boy's farm-themed party, she made an entire cake-scape, complete with a barn, pond and little animals made of cupcakes!).

Hard to imagine that these little guys are already one--weren't they just a few weeks old and screaming their heads off as we tried desperately to have a normal conversation (oh wait, that was just Eamon!)? They all are developing their own adorable personalities and are so much fun to watch.

After yet another blue-tinged cake, I think Eamon is done with frosting for awhile! But in true "Big E" style, he devoured his portion, no problem!

Digging in...Owen, the littlest of the group, went to town! He eats the most and weighs at least five pounds less than Eamon...go figure! Eamon was a bit wary of his Grover cake, but eventually dug right in.

The cakes...aren't they cute? Can't really tell from this angle, but the red guy is Elmo and the blue Grover...Amber is really creative and came up with the idea to use colored coconut for the fur! And I love the little island scape for Owen.

Eamon's birthday party

Eamon's big birthday bash went down without a hitch! Thanks to the help of my fabulous parents, sisters, aunts, and everyone else who made the trip to join us! The Farm was the perfect setting and the weather wonderful making for a relaxing, fun day outside for our crowd of 40 (including 9 kids!).

Eamon slept for the first hour or so (he wanted to make a grand entrance, I guess), then woke up in time to watch his cousins attempt to smash the pinata. That thing was reinforced with concrete, it seemed, because it would NOT break. Erin finally had to take a big whack to it and out burst the candy.

The menu consisted of (mostly) everything in tiny portions: sliders, mini corn dogs, pizzas, cupcakes and milkshakes. Just like I know to create a weak spot in the pinata in the future, I also know to leave buttercream-frosted cupcakes in the fridge until the very last second. I brought them out too early and the perfect frosting job from Bec and Ula completely melted. And it wasn't even THAT hot. Oh well. They still tasted good.

As you can tell in the pics below, Eamon spent most of the day, appropriately, in his "birthday" suit. I'd bought him two brand-new outfits to wear, but decided he was much better off in his diaper--Farm Style!

Collaboration

I haven't posted too much about work lately, I guess because I've been (happily) busy with my editor gigs and writing some freelance items on the side. But I thought I'd post a couple of pages from the August issue of Competitor New York, in which I "hired" Ula to shoot an amazingly inspiring local triathlete who is currently battling colon cancer. I just love the shots Ula took of her.

TOC_Aug_NY

Comp_Aug_NY

Is there such thing as too many pics of Eamon? Here are some more from the past week...

Sweet.

I think it's safe to say that Eamon had a sweet birthday--literally! He had not one, but TWO special desserts last night. Started off with dinner al fresco at Elysian Cafe, in which the birthday boy indulged in Macaroni au gratin (with lardons), some steak with blue cheese, and lots of bread. The astute waiter then surprised us with the most delectable plate of profiteroles, complete with "Happy 1 Birthday" written in raspberry sauce. Even though we had plans to go to Leezie and Speed's for cake, we couldn't let this dessert go untouched, so the three of us finished it off with style.

After that, we walked off our very full stomachs with a stroll down the street to the Smiths', where Leezie had decorated the living room with streamers AND had a prezzie and homemade cake waiting for Eamon--and Speed, since they share the same b-day. (As an aside, I know she has very steep competition in the aunt department, but she truly is a wonderful one--especially since she has TWO under two right now AND they were out all day). Anyway, we stripped Eamon down to a diaper and bib and let him have at the cake, which he promptly smashed--and devoured (it was very yummy). He was in heaven! Once he was through, I quickly dropped him in the bathtub, Speed shop-vacced up the piles of crumbs, and we let Eamon burn through some of that sugar with extra playtime with Sam. He didn't go to bed until after 10, but then proceeded to sleep for 11.5 straight hours. What a party animal!

And little does Eamon know that he has two more parties coming up! One on Sunday at the Farm, and the other here in Hoboken next week. He is probably going to think that cake is a daily requirement around here!

Some fun pictures from last night below...

Look who's ONE!

Happy Birthday, Eamon!

Shawanathon 2009

Eamon's one-year birthday celebration got off to an awesome start in New Paltz this weekend. We made our way up to Rose Lane on Saturday morning for the annual Shawanathon--the brainchild of Bec and John (and Ula, British Mark and Lino) that has grown with gusto since the inaugural event in 2007. This year's race included a prologue--a raft race in the pond followed by a sprint in the field--plus the standard bike and run legs. Mark was the official timekeeper, and I stood by with Eamon watching the hilarity (and fierce competition) ensue. Oh, I also participated...sorta. I was supposed to run for Ula, who is nursing a sore quad, but thanks to my terrible lack of direction, I made a few wrong turns and wound up way off course. Typical!

But the fun was just beginning: After all competitors had crossed the finish line, there was the medal ceremony, then the post-race party commenced—and went on until around 11 p.m.! Still, most of the crew woke up early the next morning for a two hour bike ride, while Mark, Eamon and I ran on the rail trail and walked around town. We got back just in time for a dip in the pond with Aunt Bec (both of them), then reluctantly got on the road. I didn’t want to leave…as usual.

Here are some pics from the race. They don’t really capture the true craziness of the Shawanathon, but you’ll get an idea…