Blair's 1st Birthday

Our little Blair Kelly is suddenly 1.  Where did the past year go? I am now convinced that when you have children time begins to fly.  I completely understand parents who say, "Next thing you know she'll be off to college..."  And I also have the feeling I'll still feel 25 when I'm 50.  But that's enough about that - back to the party.

A few months ago I found this darling fabric I couldn't pass up.  The ideas for Blair's party grew from there. Maybe when she's older I'll get talked into a party at a bounce house, a petting zoo, a roller rink (thanks for mine, mom!), but this year it was up to me and I fell in love with the idea of a pink lemonade party.  Oh how the ideas snowballed!  It's the wedding planner in me I suppose.

We had a fun evening dinner in our backyard.  It was perfect - great company, yummy food and lots of delicious treats.  It was a wonderful time.  Now for the pictures. 

I found a shop on etsy that makes custom cake toppers and I couldn't resist.  I sent her the specifics on the party decor and what Blair would be wearing and she sent the topper across the pond.  I love it.  It will be a great keepsake of her very first birthday.

I picked up some really fun ribbon in just the right colors and wanted to do something cute with it.  I was holding on to a couple of topiary forms (for years) and decided to make ribbon topiaries for the treat table.  It was incredibly time consuming but not all that difficult.

 

I tried my hand at piping cupcakes as I figured the guests wouldn't want the leftovers from Blair's smash cake.  Bakerella's buttercream recipe is so yummy.  I topped them with yummy citrus gummies. The pink and yellow french macaroons came from The Sweet Tooth Fairy.  Yum.  The bottles of sparkling pink lemonade were favors (little 'happies' you might say) for the guests.  Dinner was a panini bar with side salads and fruit and of course, a punch bowl full of pink lemonade! I combined frozen pink lemonade concentrate with diet sprite (and a bit of water).  Really easy and very tasty.

 I can't resist any occasion to buy fresh flowers

Blair loved when "Happy Birthday" began.  We'd been singing it to her for a few days leading up to the party and she smiled so big each time.  We also taught her how to hold up one finger.  So cute.  She wasn't so sure what to do with the cake in front of her.  She pulled at it and pinched little pieces but didn't realize she could eat it.  She didn't get a drop of cake or frosting on herself, which was good considering I remembered during singing time that we hadn't taken a family picture yet.

 neighbors and friends : (kristina, mccall, me, lacey, keri, lindsay, danielle)

 
Look at Linkin! Adorable.  They don't quite socialize yet, but I'm convinced they will be buddies so soon.  Lacey & Ash get the prize for coming the longest way - so fun to have them.

  My neighbor Danielle was kind enough to take lots and lots of pictures while I 'hostessed'.  It was wonderful! I highly recommend delegating the photos to a talented friend.

 

This is the fabric that started it all.  I loved the outfit Blair wore on the 4th - the lobster two piece with a crisscross back.  I found a similar pattern and wanted to try to make one myself.  I've decided to not be afraid of my sewing machine or sewing projects. The bloomers were the hardest part believe it or not.  The pink ruffles on the bum came from my late grandma's sewing room stash - it was a happy accident that it matched and so special to use it for this occasion.

Blair was spoiled by so many gifts! Books, clothes, toys, shoes, and all kinds of other goodies!  In true birthday fashion we piled the bows on her head.  The balloon below was one of those giant 36" latex balloons - I couldn't resist.  (are we sensing a theme here of "I couldn't resist"?) We tied it up out front to welcome the guests.