A Party Girl's First Party

I'm trying to make good on my Fan Page Friday question from Kim only, oh, four hundred years ago.  She needs first birthday party ideas.  Maybe you could leave her some comment love?  Let her know what you did?

Or you could always become my Facebook BFF and post it on the Maybe If You Just Relax page!

The Invitations
I ordered the invitations from Etsy. I picked the design for the cake first, and got lucky enough to find this digital photo card at Invitations, Ink by Kottage on 5th.  It was personalized and sent to me within 24 hours, and uploaded to and printed them from Shutterfly.  Any smudges are my editing - I took out my address and phone number, because I don't need any of you crazy crackers peeking in my windows...

Everything printed perfectly and looked adorable.  I will definitely shop Daina's shop again!

The Dress
I got this dress at the Carter's Outlet after Christmas sale for $6.  It was originally $34.  It looks like just a tutu, but it actually has a really adorable bodice.  Too bad I forgot to take her bib off - I don't have a single picture of her in just the dress.  She also wore footless white tights from Target.

The Decorations
I don't like character themes for birthday parties.  That sounds snotty, and I know that I will have to get over myself in the very near future.  But for right now, I can get away with just picking a color scheme and going with it. 

I knew I just wanted a happy birthday banner, and a few other decorations, with matching balloons.  I planned to buy something from Etsy, but my coworker's cousin is a crafty little whore, and agreed to make me something.

This is a Happy Birthday Olivia banner.  I'm going to keep it, and even if I don't ever use the happy birthday again, I can hang the Olivia up in her playroom.

I also asked for two signs to hang in our kitchen; I left the wording up to her, and loved her ideas.

And, of course, a little decoration for the birthday girl's throne!  It says, "I Am 1."  I was pretty bummed that it got frosting all over it, because it was really cute and I would have loved to keep it.  But, once I post the After Cake, you will understand why it didn't survive.

The Cake

The cake was the inspiration for the entire party.  I found a blog with tons of cake ideas, and used this cake to design our cake, invitations and decorations.  I asked for that design, with Olivia's name instead of a bow, and no cupcake topper.  I'd say I got exactly what I asked for, right?

And the best part is that my little cousin Val made the cake for me.  She's just getting her business started, but she does a fantastic job!  It was adorable, and DELICIOUS!  And I don't even like cake, but I ate no less than seven pieces before my abdomen exploded and I gave birth to the smash cake.

(Not really.)

(I mean, I did eat like seven pieces.  I just didn't give birth to a smash cake.)

You could always go check out Val's cakes on her Val's Cakery Facebook page if you want some ideas, or hire her if you live in our neck of the woods.

This is the smash cake.  Or, as Olivia may know it: Demolish Cake.

Some kids are very polite with their smash cake, and some kids are very messy.  All one year olds are adorable, no matter what, but I'm not lying when I tell you that I really hoped that Olivia would totally dig into her cake.

As you can see, it started out totally polite and refined.  Then she remembered who her mom is, and she dug in. That's mah girl!  She sat in her high chair for about 20 minutes while we all ate.  We gave her a spatula, and she flung cake all over the kitchen and talked to herself.

Happy birthday, indeed.

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One Year Ago: Titty Quitter

Two Years Ago: Side Effects? Yes.  Fun? Not So Much