Kitakind
Menu
  • About Us
  • Cub’s Corner
  • Lyoness’ Lounge
  • Lyons’ Den
  • Chrissy’s Critters
  • Lyons’ Library
    • Learn German With Lyons Cub
  • Lyons Club (Forum)
  • Little Mane Man’s Blog
Menu

… Have a 1st Birthday Cake-Smashing Party?

Posted on 6. June 20216. June 2021 by lyoness

When Lyons Cub had his first birthday, I wanted to create something memorable (not for him, but for me, haha 😉 ), especially with regard to his difficult birth and IUGR diagnosis. If you have a baby of whom you don’t know whether he’ll make it, or what the outcome will be, the first year milestone is even more of an achievement. By then, Lyons Cub was in Early Intervention and had made great strides with his gross motor skills, but he couldn’t walk yet, so we didn’t take any standing position photos, just seating.

I had decided to treat ourselves to a cake-smashing photo appointment and then to a birthday party with two gay friends and their adopted daughter of almost the same age as my son. We kept it small firstly because we were new in Clarksville and didn’t know too many people, and secondly because Lyons Cub’s immune system was not strong enough yet to meet a hoard of children. He had been home with a nanny and not in a daycare the first year of his life after he had come home from the NICU, so he had not been exposed to the germs of other kids yet. That would all change in his new year of life, when we would frequent splash pads, playgrounds, the library, and at 18 months of age, he joined a Montessori kindergarten.

As a German, I had never heard about cake smashing parties before – after all, I am from Generation X and was still raised in the 1970s with the thought, “you don’t play with your food,” and at first it seemed like a complete waste and a terrible clean-up chaos to me. However, when I saw those cute photos on mom forums and Pinterest, I decided that we were going to have a cake smashing, too, since we were living in the U.S. now and had had a baby shower (actually, I had TWO!), as well. In the meantime, you can also find cake smashing supplies, photographers, and parties in my homeland.

Credits for all the studio photos on my website go to Daphne Treadway

For our cake smashing photographer, we used the same one we had for Lyons Cub’s newborn pictures, Daphne Treadway. She takes excellent photos and also has a very patient and child-friendly demeanor. I remember that at 8 months of age, when we took our half-year photos (the time babies start sitting up on their own, which took 2 months longer for my son to achieve), my boy made pee pee on me when we did the “Madonna picture” in a beautiful, blue dress borrowed from Mrs. Treadway. She didn’t mind and just laughed it away (she had probably seen a thing or two before), and she also let me pump the whole time while my son was posing in different chairs and on various, colored mats, trying on cute hats. I was producing so much milk that I couldn’t be at a hairdresser’s or seminar for more than two hours without pumping. She and her staff were very accommodating.

We had purchased the  Cherished Baby Plan, which covers three important milestones: at 4 months (which we did with an Easter theme), the second when baby is sitting up (at 8 months), and the first birthday. It also includes an additional family session in year two, but by then, Covid had hit and we didn’t leave the house much anymore to protect Lyons Cub’s fragile immune system and my lungs (I have asthma), too. We let Daphne purchase the blue cream cake for the first year session (however, the parents can bring their own cake or cupcakes, if they wish to). What I did bring were white and blue pompoms and the “happy birthday” banner, as well as his clothes. Since Lyons Cub was going to get all messy with his cake, I had just brought dark blue diaper pants and a bow tie. I chose plain blue for our “theme,” mainly because his eyes were so blue and he was a boy. Of course, you can choose a deliberate theme like, “Where the Wild Things Are” (Wild One) or Dr. Seuss, or Mickey Mouse, etc. I suggest checking out the different set-ups and ideas on Pinterest. You can also make all the decoration yourself if you have the time and talent.

Lyons Cub was very patient and well behaved, and happily dug into his cake nose first 😉 There were no tears, although he got a little tired towards the end. Daphne has excellent skills to detract baby with squeaky toys and rattles, so they look curiously right into the camera. The most difficult part is always to select some of the most beautiful pictures, because all Daphne’s shots are great, but you can only buy so many… If you are worried that your baby might get a sugar shock, don’t be, because our babies don’t really EAT the cake, they just destroy it and maybe lick a little.

At home, Lyons Cub got a homemade brownie instead of a cake, and he loved it:

This is how I prepared Lyons Cub’s nursery for his first birthday:

And here he is with his main toy, a musical learning train that he loved for the next two years:

His second toy was a pink stroller with two rag dolls, and this toy was instrumental in teaching him to walk (which happened at 14 months, with Early Intervention). Apart from that, he got clothes, baby food, and teething crackers.

And here we are together. I hope you have enjoyed our first birthday ideas and wish you lots of excitement and fun planning your baby’s WILD ONE!

Post Views: 3,255

1 thought on “… Have a 1st Birthday Cake-Smashing Party?”

  1. Nancy says:
    8. June 2021 at 3:03

    Such wonderful photos of such a magical age!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

boy on chair
boy and teddy

Hi, I’m Lyoness!

lady in green dress

Glad you found my blog! I’m a mom of a little dude and also an educator, translator, proofreader, content creator, musician, blogger… wearing many shoes, working for two, and enjoying life with my smart, cheeky kiddo. Whether you’re looking for entertaining articles all around motherhood, education, and life style or are searching for product reviews of cool articles we use(d), you’re welcome on our pages!

Most Viewed Posts

  • … raise crested geckos? (34,458)
  • … Keep a Hybrid Gecko? (24,127)
  • Hot Wheels City Ultimate Parking GarageProduct Review: Hot Wheels City Robo T-Rex Ultimate Garage (14,563)
  • preemie in NICU… have an IUGR baby? (13,550)
  • girl and man in front of plane… build an experimental airplane? (11,110)
  • … keep gargoyle geckos as pets? (6,548)
  • mom and baby in NICU on Valentine's Day… Celebrate Valentine’s Day in the NICU? (6,194)
  • … breed leopard geckos? (6,061)
  • … Ride on a Toy Helicopter? (5,944)
  • … Hire a Nanny? (5,775)

Archives

  • March 2025 (2)
  • November 2024 (1)
  • October 2024 (6)
  • July 2024 (1)
  • May 2024 (2)
  • April 2024 (1)
  • March 2024 (9)
  • February 2024 (9)
  • January 2024 (12)
  • December 2023 (6)
  • September 2023 (4)
  • July 2023 (5)
  • June 2023 (6)
  • March 2023 (2)
  • February 2023 (8)
  • January 2023 (2)
  • December 2022 (9)
  • November 2022 (2)
  • October 2022 (5)
  • September 2022 (10)
  • August 2022 (8)
  • July 2022 (2)
  • June 2022 (5)
  • May 2022 (5)
  • April 2022 (6)
  • March 2022 (1)
  • February 2022 (7)
  • January 2022 (8)
  • December 2021 (14)
  • November 2021 (14)
  • October 2021 (14)
  • September 2021 (7)
  • August 2021 (11)
  • July 2021 (17)
  • June 2021 (26)
  • May 2021 (40)
  • April 2021 (11)

Categories

Recent Comments

  • Nancy on … Go to a Tarantula Exhibition?
  • Nancy on … Visit Museum Koenig in Bonn?
  • lyoness on … Play Soccer in a Club with Grade Schoolers?
  • lyoness on … Win a Swimming Badge in Swim Club?
  • Nancy on … Play Soccer in a Club with Grade Schoolers?

Toddler Toys

Contact us

Contact us

Hungry for more? Check out Lyons’ Library!

baby chewing on bathtub rubber plug

Melissa & Doug Outlet – Get Quality Toys Cheaper!

Melissa & Doug Outlet sign

Montessori Toys for Tots

Fiver

RSS lyonessandcub

  • … Tame Centine, the Golden Hamster? 30. March 2025
  • … Take a Hiking Trip to Wipperkotten in Solingen? 30. March 2025
  • … Go to a Tarantula Exhibition? 17. November 2024
  • … Have a Hemithyroidectomy? 15. October 2024
  • … Publish an E-Book with Lulu Self-Publishing? 14. October 2024
  • … Hike through NaturGut Ophoven in Leverkusen? 13. October 2024
  • Product Review: Catnap Smiling Critters Purple Halloween Costume 13. October 2024
  • … Feed a New Golden Hamster? 13. October 2024
  • How to Replace a Dead Hamster with a Substitute for a Grieving Kid 3. October 2024
  • … Visit the Irrland Adventure Park in Kevelaer 2024? 30. July 2024

Hello!

Legal Notice / Impressum

Christina Lyons

1321 Upland Dr.
Apt. 9643
Houston, TX 77043
US

lyonessandcub {at} gmail {dot} com

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

CHECK24.net Partnerprogramm

Wir nehmen am CHECK24.net Partnerprogramm teil. Auf unseren Seiten werden iFrame-Buchungsmasken und andere Werbemittel eingebunden, an denen wir über Transaktionen, zum Beispiel durch Leads und Sales, eine Werbekostenerstattung erhalten können.

Weitere Informationen zur Datennutzung durch CHECK24.net erhalten Sie in der Datenschutzerklärung von CHECK24.net.

Privacy Policies U.S. and Europe

  • Privacy Policy (Europe)
  • Privacy Policy (U.S.)

Visitors

0 3 7 2 3 9
© lyonessandcub 2021-2024
Go to mobile version