Well, hello! It’s been a LONG time since I’ve posted. It’s been a crazy, what, six (?) months. Between my job away from home, raising my little ones (who are running me ragged), having kids in both virtual and in-person school, and working on our home… mama is tired.
However, recently Adeline turned ONE! I know, right?! Already?! I don’t know how it’s even possible that a whole year has passed since giving birth to what is likely my last baby, but it’s been the most amazing year. Adeline has been such a blessing to our family. She is such a sweet baby — always up for cuddles, hugs and kisses, walking over to just rest her head in my lap throughout the day, and greeting everyone with a big smile. Yes, you read that — she is walking. Well, actually she is walking, climbing, and running. I think we are days away from first words. She MAY even be talking already. I believe the SLPs would call them “word approximations,” like saying “da-da” for bottle/baba, “di-ta” for diaper, and “UH!” for uh-oh. We’re getting there.
For her first birthday, we had a small, family gathering with grandparents, aunts, uncles and us. As usual, I needed a theme and to decorate like she would actually care about it. Thus, I present to you “Adeline in ONE-derland.” I take no credit for the idea… Pinterest all the way, baby.
The Party
I tend to keep it pretty simple since it’s just family, and usually decorate the dining room only, occasionally spilling into the entryway or living room if needed. Most decorations were small DIY/craft projects put together in the few weeks before the party.
Above is the chalked sign in the entryway welcoming our family and an overview of the dining room before the party. I forgot to snap pictures of the long balloon arch cascading down the staircase leading in to this room, but it was full of pink, red, blue, black and white balloons.
The table was set with a simple checked runner over a disposable blue cloth and sprinkled with red hearts I found at Hobby Lobby, then topped with a few snacks, drinks and of course, cake and “Eat Me” cupcakes! The drinks were tagged “Drink Me,” “This one makes you smaller,” and “This one makes you taller,” and there were candy dipped cookies with things like “Eat Me” and “One” iced on the front. They weren’t perfect, but they were gone before the party was over. I put out some fruit, cheese and crackers for snacking and called it done.
Around the table I hung some DIY decorations. I displayed each of Adeline’s monthly photos in the twelve glass panes of our (desperately in need of a makeover) china cabinet. A DIY “ONE” banner and some home-made signs made a good spot for some family photos with the birthday girl on the adjacent wall.
Adeline’s outfit was an Amazon find and I ordered her beautiful crown from lovecrushcrowns on Etsy. Mommy and Papi even dressed as the King and Queen of Hearts, and her gift was prepared to look like it was from a deck of cards. I know, I’m clever.
I made a super simple high chair banner from clearance ribbons and card stock in a few colors. The cake came out super cute, I thought, though in truth I have no idea if it tasted good. She seemed to like it so I’ll call it a success!
Gifts
We kept it super simple this time for first birthday gifts. In truth, I am constantly overwhelmed with the sheer number of toys our babies have, and I think even they get overwhelmed too. I’m constantly purging toys, so I asked our family to keep it simple this year. We ordered a custom lovey from StellaAndLu on Etsy to give Adeline for her first blanket. We added a few Little People toy cars (our girls LOVE cars) and a fun lift-the-flap style Alice In Wonderland book and called it done. Some other favorite gifts were things for outside — a unicorn sunhat and giant blow-up pool to name a few.
I’ll end this post here, with Adeline’s DIY cake smash photoshoot on her birthday. My girl is so photogenic, no? I’ll say it one more time: I cannot believe she is one already. I can’t believe I have two toddlers. Time flies, y’all. Babies don’t keep.
If you liked this post, feel free to check out Amelia’s Taco TWOsday party for more birthday party fun!
