Birthday Bonanza

I can hardly believe that my little man is nearly a year old.  We had his first birthday party yesterday, and it was so much fun!  We set up a ball pit, a pool full of beans, and a tub of water and blue food coloring in the living room.  We had shovels and sand toys in the bean pool and funnels, cups, and magnetic fish with a fishing pole in the water tub.  All of the kids had a blast!  It's amazing just how awesome child directed play can be.  There were no "fights" or squabbles over toys, instead there were two little boys who were working together on a common goal:  get the beans from the the bean pool and into the water.  Another little boy quietly shoveled and dumped beans on his own and my little boy did a little bit of everything.  :)  Yes, there was quite a mess to clean up, but I was surprised at how quickly and easily it all cleaned up.  I can't remember how many times I answered the question, "Did you really think this one through?"  or "You won't be doing this again will you?"   Sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy when I'm setting up the activities that we've been doing lately but I'm always surprised by how much he learns, how much fun we both have, and how easily the messes clean up.  Now we make more messes than ever, but my house is also cleaner than it's ever been!  I love this.  Anyway, back to the party...we also had a bubble machine that was a pretty big hit.  I think everyone had a great time!