I'm still kind of in shock at how fast life goes since becoming a mom, ya know? Like how did my baby get to be one year old? Or rather (almost) 18 months old now?!
I meant to blog about her birthday party months ago but time has seriously gotten away from me (obviously lol) and here I am (almost 6 months after the fact) and just getting around to it... But at least I'm getting it done before she turns 2 right? haha!
So let me start off by saying... Bella's party was a blast! I was kind of a nervous and emotional wreck leading up to her party but it turned out perfect and was so much fun!
We hosted it 2 days before her actual birthday (at the apartment we were living at the time) and we were actually surprised at how many guests it held (without feeling cramped either)! It was a little bit of a rainy day and rather cold (it was early December after all lol), but inside it was nice and toasty and warm and inviting!
The white and pink Christmas tree lit in the sunroom and her presents in there too, her party decor mostly in the dining room but really there was a little everywhere... The balloons on the stair banister in front of the house, the month photo garland hanging from the fireplace mantle along with the cutest and sparkly "ONE" courtesy of Glam Banners, and all the food and fun decor in the dining room!
We decided to go with a brown and gold owl theme (inspired by one of her most favorite little stuffed animals) and it turned out the cutest!
Surprisingly, it was actually hard to find gold party supplies in our town (even Walmart doesn't carry gold supplies) so we ended up having to go out of town or order most things online. (thankfully there is a party supply store now so it'll be easier to find things this year).
To Target for the wrapping paper and gold plates; Party Place for the balloons, napkins, cups, cupcake wrappers, etc. And to Joanne's fabric for everything I needed to make her feather crown and a few other things. And of course a trip to the grocery store for baking supplies was in order.
Everything else was purchased online, the tulle for her DIY tutu from Amazon.com as well as the giant "1" gold Mylar balloon, the fabric garland was from Two Little Fish Inc, the cake stand from H & M, her gold bib from our favorite Snap Bibs, her gold moccs were from Freshly Picked Moccs, and last but definitely not least, the adorable "One" onesie was purchased from Belles & Beaus Inc on Etsy. The tall gold birthday candle was from my sweet friend Megan (since I couldn't find them anywhere) via Whole Foods Market! And as a last minute addition, the "1" cake topper, also from the sweetest Glam Banners! (if anything catches your eye in the photos that I forgot to mention, please feel free to ask and I'd be happy to tell you where it is from:)
What foods did we have? I made her smash cake, and cupcakes for everyone else, we also bought a few pizza's at the last minute. There was a "candy bar" with Oreo Cookies, Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows that I made, Malted Milk Balls; And we had Apple Juice, Water and Ginger Ale to drink.
A few guests started arriving around 1:30 and the party "officially" started at 2. We sang Happy Birthday around 3 and then it was cake smash time! It was the most fun thing ever! It was so cute to watch her dig her little fingers into the cake and enjoy making a complete mess of herself. Her Snap Bibs bib definitely came in handy here! Haha.
Afterwards we opened her presents and received so many lovely cards and gifts from family and friends (Thank you Everybody! She still really loves everything!).
We gave her several things but one of our most favorite gifts to her was a beautiful custom made ballerina doll from Stapley Dolls, it turned out perfect and was such a special first birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy to our beautiful little sweetheart.
I'll be posting about our day on her actual birthday soon, but for now... Below are some photos from her birthday party! :)