To cake or not to cake...

I vowed not to have a birthday party, not to have birthday cake...after all, how much does a baby turning 1 really know what is going on? and why does he need cake? and why are all the people watching him my adult friends? and did he ask for a party? and on and on the questions roll in my head...the one thing I might enjoy about it? looking at pictures later of him with icing on his face. But do I have to put the icing there? does he even know what to do with it?
Questions, questions, questions...
Some people have no questions at all, they just know this is the only time their kid will turn 1 and they want to make it a big celebration in honor of that. And that's okay, it just hasn't been my thought process...
But I caved. I had a "party." We had 6 people, 2 of which were my parents. We had a "cake" and that is in quotes because it was a baby-friendly version of a carrot cake. We opened a few presents (and I say we here because he had no idea what to do, and really had no desire to rip the wrapping) and then played with some of them. He eventually enjoyed the cake. He pushed the box of diapers away, but he enjoyed the rest of the presents. He had fun with his 2 "younger" friends, the only kids he really seems to recognize and enjoy.

But he didn't nap good. And he didn't go to bed good. And he didn't sleep good. And he wasn't happy to wake up the next day. And he didn't want to be around other people the next day. And he wasn't consoled by food the next day. All things that he is normally great with on any given normal day.
And all of this is all the more reason why I didn't want to have a party...it threw him off schedule just enough to make the rest of the day, the night, and most of the next day next to unbearable for him (and a little unbearable for me).
Oh well, at least I have pictures of him learning to eat cake!