When the cat is away, the mouse will play

In other words, when the parents are at work and Nana takes over THIS is where they end up!

We now know that Cavin likes McDonald's (especially the chocolate milkshakes). Pretty sure that isn't what we had in mind when it comes to his 'organic diet'. **Sigh** Guess this is the beginning of a long and beautiful Nana / Cavin relationship.

We're married and Cavin's a Catholic! (just another Saturday in the Spruiell house)

As many of you know, Mike and I were civilly married in August 2007 at Wente Vineyards. It was a beautiful day that we shared with family, friends, lots of wine, Wente's smoked pork chop (that was heaven in and of itself), and cake. Even though ourselves, you, and our checkbooks will remember that day from here until eternity, the Catholic Church could care less. So we decided to renew our vows and (bonus!) baptize our son in one, intimate ceremony in April 2010. It was a very special day because not only was I able to renew my vows with my very perfect husband, but I was also able to experience Cavin's very first sacrament.

The process was a lot of fun and I can really appreciate the Catholic Church's marriage preparation. Not only did we have a marriage preparation "class" (aka. we were pushed to discuss some uncomfortable topics with one another) but we had multiple meetings with our priest, Father Declan. We learned a lot about ourselves and our marriage so I'm glad we did this.

Here's the bride walking down the aisle

Our vows

Cavin's Baptism

Cavin's garment (which was the same garment Mike wore at his baptism) being placed over his head

The newlywed couple with Father Declan and our witnesses (my mom and Sy)

Cavin with his Godparents, my Uncle Bill and Cavin's Aunt Amy (Mike's sister)

Cavin with Nana, Pa, and Uncle Bill

After the ceremony, everyone headed to our house for some BBQ, wine, and yummy cake made by Marisa.

Lucas, Cavin's BFF, met us there so they could have their own party! (We don't blame Lucas for wanting to miss the boring ceremony.)

The cake and invite that Marisa made for the event

Everyone enjoying the BBQ!

And Cavin enjoying his cake

It was a truly wonderful day. We are so thankful for our family and friends who traveled to Lafayette to celebrate with us. A special thank you goes to Amy and Lesley who performed readings at our ceremony, Uncle Bill and Amy who served as Godparents, Mom and Sy who served as witness, and Judy, Papa, and Bryan who served as videographer / photographers. We love you!

It's BUGS....Everywhere!

Okay, let's back up...Cavin's birthday party!

Ah man this was a fun one. I'm not sure what it is...maybe the fact that I was Vice President of my sorority in college (aka. formal and informal party planner) or maybe it is the general love of planning and serious need for control over everything but this girl LOVES to plan a party. Just give me a reason and a theme and let me loose! So Cavin's 1st birthday party was no exception.

First up: Theme...BUGS!...Check!

Second up: Colors...Blue, Orange, and Green (for the grass that bugs crawl on)...Check!

Third up: Location...a park of course...where all the bugs are!...CHECK CHECK!

Now on to the dirty details.

The fabulous Marisa made the invites and the cupcakes....she did SUCH a great job. Here's the invite:

And her cupcakes and smash cake she made to match the invites...

You will see how much the cupcakes were enjoyed by Cavin and Mike later in this post.

Each kid left the party with a favor bag complete with their own bug kit inside (plus a few more items)!

As for the food...we decided that Mike would grill hamburgers and hot dogs. For sides we made 'ants on a log' (aka celery, peanut butter, and raisins), salad, had chips, and the ever popular watermelon bug salad! See my theme is even in the food...how's that for overboard?

We even had a baby watermelon bug at the drink table (BTW, Houstonians...notice the pink cooler is alive, well, and still doing her job by keeping our beer cold.)

The kids played in the baby jail that we had set up and seemed to have a great time!

From Left to Right: Cavin, Lucas, Jenna, and Delaney

Cavin and Jenna

I think everyone had a good time!

Cavin even had people coming in from out of town for the big occasion!

Grandpa

Uncle Bryan

Aunt Amy and Grandma

Nana and Uncle Bill

And when it was time to sing Happy Birthday and let Cavin dig into the yummy cake Marisa made for him, Cavin had NO patience what-so-ever to listen to his mommy thanking all the guests for coming and supporting us over the last year. He dug right in and got a little lick!

Fine, fine...here's your cake Cavin!

ALL DONE complete with a food coma...

Daddy definitely enjoyed the cupcakes!

When we got home, Cavin dug into his birthday gifts...

"When's my next party mommy???"

***Special thanks to our family who helped us with much of the last minute details including but not limited to preparing food, transporting items to / from the park, watching Cavin, and cleaning up...oh yeah, and lying to our faces stating that they actually "enjoyed helping out". You know who you are. We love you and couldn't have pulled this off without you.***