i was so excited for ellie’s first birthday professional pics! i always have anxiety leading up to their photo sessions because kids are unpredictable and me, being type a, always wants everything perfect! olive has had the reputation of being fussy and she’s always been so difficult with every photo session we’ve ever had with her.
ellie was awesome during her newborn sesh but sooooooooo dang fussy with her six months photos. plus, she’s been increasing clingy of late, so i knew her one year sesh was going to be hard to capture.
on top of that, our date with tricia had been cancelled twice and rescheduled three times! once due to personal conflict, another time due to inclement weather, and then we finally settle on a third date! well, the day had come and we were ready!
tricia had suggested that we take family photos instead to the usual birthday photos of just ellie and i was game. we were going to do individual pics of her but i absolutely loved the idea of family pics because that is what we are about! make is special for ellie but document us all on this very special milestone!
the evening was warm and muggy. like suuuuuuuper muggy!!! wet. moist. sticky. yes…all those descriptive words. at first, olive {had fallen asleep in the car equating to a grumpy wake up and girl}, she was rather somber and glum at first. typical! i gave her a little pep talk and asked if she wanted a flower and that perked her up instantly! next thing i knew…she was happier than a clam!! she smiled, giggle, and made the cutest faces for tricia! i was blown away! she was sooooooo stinkin’ cute! she is usually like this when we take pics but it was so heart melting to see her like this with tricia!
ellie cooperated quite well until we placed her in a bed of flowers {i warned tricia that she didn’t like being out of my arms and definitely didn’t like the grass!!!}. that was a compete mess but nonetheless, it was a very successful photo shoot! we truly had a wonderful time!!!
i am always so pleased with tricia’s work. she takes the most amazing pics of our family and i have loved having her as our family photographer for years now.
happy birthday miss ellie. you have blessed our lives in so many wonderful ways. we love you so much and the first year with you in our lives has blessed and fulfilled us in so many amazing ways!
[my sweet birthday girl]
[sweet, giggly girl]
[the smiliest she’s ever been for professional pics…i’m in love]
[meeeeeelting…oh how i adore this picture]
[i can’t]
[my girls. my sweet, lovely girls.]
[my faaaaaavorite of these two]
[yup…this is what we get for sticking her in a bed of flowers. she’s like, nope.]
all the anticipation, all the anxiety, all the planning, all the crafting, all the energy, and all the time that went into planning ellie’s first birthday was finally here!
oh my goodness. i really don’t know why i do this to myself. i love party planning and yet absolutely hate it at the same time. hahaha! planning and executing it causes me so much strife yet the creative part, the vision, the beauty of it all brings me so much joy!
it all stemmed from my monthly photos of ellie. well, if we really want to rewind it, it truly originated from her room decor! her room started out with the idea of monochrome black and white with pops of pink and green. i had felt flower garlands handmade for her room to give it a feminine edge and soften the color of the space. from there, her monthly pics incorporated the felt flowers and voila! her party theme was born! i decided upon the influences of rifle paper co. because 1. i have alllllllllways been a fan of this company’s signature look and 2. their brand fit perfectly in with ellie’s flower themed birthday party!
so, i created, made, bought, gathered, prepared, and finalized all the details of her party {mind you…i started physically planning at least 3-4 months out but i probably mentally planned for it all 8 months out…haha!}.
her party invites were rifle paper co {see them here on instagram} and i was able to incorporate quite a few items such as the wrapping paper, cards, card stock, place cards, etc. to really tie it all together. i was also super excited to have had signs {one welcome sign and one sign in sign for her birthday book} made for her party from erin german, a local calligrapher with who i had taken a class with to learn calligraphy myself!
so, with that said…i had a pretty welcome sign for all our guests {over 70 folks} and a sign in table for her birthday book. i had a book personalized for her birthday {from pottery barn kids}, added in rifle paper in the front so all our guests could write a birthday wish for her to eventually read when she gets older!
hc and i made a photo booth for our guests to have a little fun! we did this for olive’s party and i wanted to do it again for ellie’s. we had a wonderful bar table, complete with towels, bottle openers, ice, chilled garnishes, liquor, soda water, beer, pop, juice boxes, pellegrino, wine, champagne…you name it! everything you needed to create yourself a tasty cocktail.
i also set up the food table with all the essentials, cute little signs to identify the food & ingredient, enough plates, napkins, extra plasticware, and food nets to keep pesky bugs off the goodies!
each table had linens and centerpieces made up of flowers, rifle framed paper and cards, pails had calligraphy to identify the plasticware, and salt and pepper. i wanted each table to have it’s own purpose and function to make it easy for our guests when they sat down to eat.
we also had a piñata filled and ready to go. i even made favor bags for each kiddo for when the piñata broke, they would have something to hold all their gathered treats! unfortunately, we totally forgot about it! eep! we were so busy running around! it was the thought that counts, right?!
we even had a water slide bouncy house for all the kiddos! best thing ever if you are having a kids party!
last but not least…the dessert bar! my favorite, favorite part of the party! who doesn’t love desserts?! i think it was the prettiest part of the soiree! this area truly incorporated the flower theme in and out!
i have to thank my sister, kim, for gifting us with her talents and the flowers. she arranged all the vases and supplied all the gorgeous blossoms. without the flowers…my party theme would not have been complete. i am so grateful for her support! the decor looked absolutely stunning with all her amazing arrangements.
when the guests arrived, they signed ellie’s book, grabbed their drinks, maybe took a photo, and mingled. ellie was sooooo good with everyone. the sweet little babe was passed around all afternoon and she didn’t mind one bit! an hour or so after the party began, the food was finally served and of course, after that, we did the ubiquitous smash cake! as with olive’s smash cake moment, ellie was like, “hmmmmm, i’m not sure” but then she got into it. she was a sight to see, digging into that cake! it literally was too sweet! ha!
once all the markers were hit, i finally grabbed a drink and began to unwind. gosh, hosting a party with that many people is pretty darn stressful! i now could relax and truly mingle without having to ‘do’ something for the party and it was glorious!
slowly the guests departed {not without a candy favor!} and the party started to dwindle as the evening rolled in. overall, it was a fantastic afternoon. everything was perfect, fun, pretty, and most importantly…we celebrated ellie, the star of the party.
oh ellie, although this mama went a bit nuts throwing this party for you, but hopefully you will look back only to know and realize how much we love you and how much you mean to us. you are such a precious gift and we are so blessed to call you ours.
happy one year my beautiful child. we love you to infinity and beyond.
[welcome to ellie’s first birthday party!]
[sign in table…i created a personalized birthday book and filled the front pages with rifle paper for guests to write their birthday wishes for ellie!]
[table centerpieces ~ rifle paper and cards framed, flowers, salt and pepper for our guests, and bundled flatware wrapped with rifle paper]
[working on my calligraphy…i wrapped plasticware in a napkin and tied it with rifle paper]
[sisters]
[olivia and hc]
[gorgeous flowers by my sister kim]
[matt, kt, karen, johann, and tony]
[piñata favor bags…calligraphy by me]
[part of our bar table…we had cocktail garnishes, pop, pellegrino, juice boxes, wine, and pretty much any drink you needed!]
[my party staple…paper straws]
[jay, hc, dave, carrie, and lori]
[getting the food table ready]
[practicing my calligraphy! i created food signs for each dish we were serving]
[irina and her sweet family]
[e for ellie]
[bethany, darren, and their cute, cute kids]
[mike, kaitlin, julie, chuck, mary, dianna, and todd]
[jeri and john are about to have their third baby!]
[john and laura]
[dessert bar]
[i love these paper flowers!]
[ellie’s smash cake]
[french macarons]
[grace and edwin]
[rifle paper co diy 12 month banner for miss ellie]
[twelve months of ellie]
[flower donut tower]
[ellie with her auntie missy]
[smash cake time!]
[not so sure of the cake…and i totally didn’t realize her crown was tangled. wahhhh]
[you can’t tell from this pic but this balloon is ginormous]
we had a blast celebrating her first birthday! we did our best heading over to kim and mikey’s house early, i wanted to help kim out in any way with the party set up but she had everything down pat. it looked fantastic!
i loved all the details kim did with the mermaid theme. her invite was color coordinated and it had the cutest gold mermaid stamped on the outside. she had the same colors running throughout the decor, from the paper tassels, balloons, and the mermaid sangria bar. everything was way too cute! you know me…i am a girl about the details and it was adorable!
we just hung out and visited with everyone. slowly everyone trickled in and we said our hello’s. it was so great to see everyone, from her mom and dad, sister and brother in law, friends, and of course mikey, kim, brady, and brooklyn! i had a great time seeing a lot of people i hadn’t seen in a long time, so it was fantastic to catch up.
we, unfortunately, could not stay for the entire party because {our basement had flooded from the heavy rains the night before} we had to get back home to clean up downstairs. i was super bummed i was going to miss brooklyn’s smash cake! that is always the highlight of any kid’s first birthday! nevertheless, i was so happy to have made it with miss ellie {with her being only two weeks young!} and we were able to partake in some of the celebration.
happy birthday miss brooklyn! your party was beautiful and put together with much love from your mom! we wish you many years of happiness, laughter, and love!
[how adorable is her outfit? little ladies boutique romper and fancy free finery flower crown]
oh goodness. i have been so behind with blogging/posting. life has been so hectic and busy. i’m trying so hard to squeeze in some much needed sleep as well…which i have been terribly lacking in. that does not make me happy. i love sleep. loooooove it. but of late, i have been so very sleep deprived and that is no bueno. hello…that is why they call it beauty sleep and i am currently no beauty…just way tired looking!
anyhoo, i’m finally posting about thanksgiving. yeah…that was how long ago? but better late than never, non?!
we started off our morning right. relaxing, coffee, and just us being together. olive took her nap and after that, we gathered our stuff together and headed over to aunt wendy’s. they always have thanksgiving ‘dinner’ early. usually around 1:30pm. so, it always works out for us because my family has always had thanksgiving dinner around dinner time…6-7pm. we are able to split our day between both families.
we got to aunt wendy’s and settled in. we had brought a birthday cake to celebrate olive’s first. she was born one day before thanksgiving last year, so this year, it fell on thanksgiving day! the food was ready within the hour, i grabbed a plate for olive first. i fed my little babes her first thanksgiving meal {it was only colostrom last year!} and then grabbed a plate for myself! yum. the food was good…and very, very unhealthy! just keeding…it was all fat free 😉
[olive not having a meltdown in auntie missy’s arms]
[daniel and missy ready to give miss olive her birthday present]
[birthday gifts from auntie missy]
[my little babes]
[daniel and olive…cousins]
[me and lori]
[gramma and olive]
[‘lunch’ is served]
[darling morgan and miss olive]
[sister grace]
after we ate, we hung out for a bit. we caught up with the family and olive played around. she has to get warmed up and become familiar with her surroundings before she gets comfortable. once she is, she will start to explore and become friendly with the people around her.
after a bit, we decided to break out her birthday cake since the other desserts were being served. we lit her birthday candle, brought out the cake to the dining room table, and sang happy birthday! she didn’t even wait for us to sing. she saw the cake and dug her finger right into it! ha!
after her cake, we chilled for just a little bit longer and then headed over to my parent’s house to another round of thanksgiving dinner and birthday cake!
[birthday cake!]
[before we sang, she had already stuck her finger in the cake! // make a wish!]
***
when we arrived at my parent’s house, we were delighted by the cute little presents waiting for miss olive! my sisters did such a wonderful job putting her presents together! so sweet.
my sister kim was downstairs, still whipping up our delicious dinner. we all pitched in to help finish it up while the kids played around. every year, my sister kim always makes the yummiest thanksgiving dinner. it’s soooo good! everything is delicious, tasty, and savory. my favorite dishes are the brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes. this year, though, i was really loving the mushrooms. like i said before…it’s all fat free!
[cutest gift…a ‘target’ shopping cart and goodies inside!]
[if you’re vietnamese…you’ll know what’s inside the container thuy is holding!]
[cheers!]
[my sweet brother dan]
[thanksgiving table]
[happy birthday olive!]
[here comes the food!]
[cheers!]
[the boys were super excited mom found the wishbone!]
[bennett ended up with the winning part]
once we were done with dinner, we relaxed a bit at the table, and then the clean up began. of course, in old school fashion, all the women cleaned up while the kids and the men chilled.
after the dishes were done and the food was put away, we brought out olive’s birthday cake. kim and thuy got olive the prettiest cake and candles! it was covered in sprinkles! who doesn’t love sprinkles?! we sang happy birthday and she made a ‘wish’. so perfect!
[my sweetie]
[olive with her crazy aunties]
***
after cake, the big kids were super excited to decorate cookies. every year, i bake a few dozen sugar cookies {a blog post to come!} and bring them over so the kids can have fun decorating cookies! it’s creative, fun, and yummy {maybe a few get eaten before it’s all done 😉 } it’s entertaining to watch them, how creative different they all are and what fun designs they come up with on each cookie.
[fun festive decorated cookies]
[olive and grandma]
while the kids decorated cookies, we opened up olive’s birthday gifts from her aunties and cousins. i loved every little detail! the purr-fect card, the ‘target’ cart, the french word blocks, the best baby book {it’s so fun and interactive}, and the cutest, coziest cat hat for miss olive! so perfectly thought out and alls so useful! olive is so lucky to have such generous aunties!
[a cat card for my cat baby]
all in all, it was the best ‘first’ thanksgiving for miss olive! we had such a wonderful time celebrating her birthday, eating the most delectable foods, and spending time with our dear family. pure success in the ‘it’s a wonderful life’ department. woot. woot.
so, the day had come…olive’s first birthday party! oh em gee. i was feeling a bit stressed, excited, anxious, and bittersweet. my little babes is about to be one and it makes my heart melt. the first year is so full of many wonderful milestones and memories. each day possesses something new and fun. she is growing up so fast already…i can’t even take it! she amazes us every day; she brings so much joy and laughter into our lives! okaaayyy, so enough mommy gushing…okay, just keeding! i’m always mommy gushing! ha!
anyhoo. preparing for olive’s party was fun, crazy, time consuming, and very obsessive inside my nutty creative mind. i was scheming up so many ideas! i really loved the aesthetic feel of gold and light pink. i’m not a pinky kind of gal, well, okay i am but i’m not into piiiiinkkkk. for example, pink overload…like as if pink was to puke all over olive’s clothes. so not my style. but i was loving the idea of pink, albeit, a light pink {with pops of bright pink} for olive’s first birthday party! how perty it all sounded to me…pink and gold!
so, the day of her party was finally here! i had decorated, crafted, arranged, and tucked in many sleepless nights to get everything done. the guests started to arrive and we were just pulling together the final details of the decor. woooo!
[do you remember this chalkboard?? when we lived in chicago, there was never a place where hc could do any type of wood work or really do any type of reconstruction project. i had always wanted to redo the chalkboard i had purchased and my wish was fulfilled the past month! hc finally deconstructed the chalkboard and framed it in the white border that i had originally wanted!]
[her decorated highchair! // number 1 gold balloon & highchair banner {and most of the banners} by littledovie]
[my favorite…macarons and they were flown in from france!]
[owl treats by the krispie bakery // made especially for o{wl}ive]
[personalized first birthday book by i see me // add extra pages and have your guests sign in by wishing the birthday girl something special!]
[cookie favors by rpconfections and the biggest balloon evah!]
[monthly birthday banner]
[photo booth!]
olive was still napping when our first guests arrived. within a half hour, the guest of honor had arose! i gleefully ran into her room to greet the little babes and get her ready for her big day! i got her dressed, hair styled, and all purty for her party. she was ready to go in her graphic black and white dress, gold glitter tights, and a gold glitter bow hair clip. natch. she looked so cute!
olive and i greeted all our guests, while hc got all the food ready! libations and snacks were out and about, while our guests mingled around and explored. after visiting with our guests for a bit, the food was ready to be served and everyone grabbed a bite to eat. it was great; our guests relaxed, mingled, and enjoyed themselves around the house while olive bounced around amongst different peeps.
hc and i had cleared out the basement and made it a play area for the kiddies and boy, they sure loved it! they had a blast running around and playing downstairs. it was a perfect area for them to go wild!
after lunch and a bit of resting, it was cake time! we changed olive into her second outfit of the day. a birthday crown, ruffled white onesie, and a pink fluffy tutu! we paraded her around for a bit and then plopped her into her chair.
we lit her glitter candle, presented the cake, and sang happy birthday to her! she was so unfazed. she stared at the cake and didn’t know what to do with it! ha! so, i helped her along by poking at the cake and putting a little frosting into her mouth. yes, that got her going. delicious, sweet frosting on the lips will inspire any babes to dive into a big yummy cake!
it was too sweet {literally}. we let the birthday girl sit there and maul her lovely little smash cake, while hc and i sliced up her beautiful gold birthday cake. we served the cake and ice cream on pretty little gold speckled confetti paper plates by merimeri.
after the cake smash fun, olive was given a quick bath and changed into her final outfit of the evening {such a fashionista…three outfit changes on her big day!}! hc dressed olive in the adorbs outfit kt and kar had given her a few months ago!
once the cake was served, all the guests hung out, socialized, and had some super fun with our photo booth! as you can see in all the pics down below!
[mom and thuy]
[lexi and dom]
[yesss, her third outfit change…such a fashionista!]
[auntie kim and olive]
[bennett and reagan]
[aj]
[lexi, cam, and chaz]
[cousins]
[new fuzzy pbk chair by auntie karen and katie]
[dana and scott]
slowly but surely, all the guests went on their merry way. we were so blessed to have been able to celebrate olive’s big day with our wonderful friends and family. it was a day filled with fun, love, and laughter. we seriously had a great time, i know olive did! the whole party was a success! wow…it had come and gone and nothing but fabulous memories now remain {well actually the glitter and a bit of confetti are still lingering around!}.
thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate olive’s first big day! we can’t wait to celebrate her real {for reals} birthday on thanksgiving day with more of her family, this week!!! woo hoo!
i searched and searched for glitter ‘1’ birthday candles. no one sells them in a retail store {at least i couldn’t find one!} and i found a few on etsy but i was not going to pay $10 for a glitter candle!! yes, i will pay for handmade things but it has to be comparable to time + price to push me to buy it. making one costs less than 1/5 of what they were charging for it {including shipping}. so, i decide to makey a candle myself! it’s so easy peasy, that is why i couldn’t bring myself to buy one at that price!
everyone wants to have a little sparkle on their birthday, non? well, olive definitely does. much to hc’s dismay {he hates glitter}. so glitter, sparkle, shine i did.
1. just buy a one candle at the local party store or whatever number you wish to glitter.
2. take the rubber cement wand {tap off the excess glue} and brush it along the outline of the candle. just enough to the edge so the colored outline will be covered. if you want, you can also use a different, smaller brush to help control the glue and be more precise.
3. take gold glitter {or the glitter color of your choice!} and sprinkle it all on top of the candle. be generous! cover the entire top and let it sit for just a bit before you tap off the excess. you want to make sure it has a thick, even coat of glitter.
4. ta da! you have yourself a nifty, cool, homemade glitter candle! let it sit for at least another thirty minutes before you can tap off any excess glitter {again}.
so, there you have it! a lovely, gold glitter candle for olive’s first birthday cake! i’m super excited and can’t wait to see it on her sweet little smash cake.
