You might recall...this girl had a big birthday last week. As if I haven't said enough about it already, indulge me as I recap her amazing birthday party!
I tried pretty hard to keep the party low key. I think we did a great job keeping the food and decor to a minimum, although I couldn't help but create a few pinterest-worthy pieces. The thing that really threw Eleanor's First Birthday Party over the top was the guest list. We really wanted everyone to share in this special occasion with us!
The thing is, we wanted to share this momentous occasion with everyone we know. Eleanor isn't just special to us, she is special to so many people. She brings joy and life into so many lives. And so since we invited just about everyone, we had the party at a local coffee shop. This was ideal since we also had out-of-town guests staying at the house.
Throwing a party outside of my home requires a great deal of organization. And help. I had several boxes packed up, ready to go. Each box was clearly labeled. And everything inside the boxes were also clearly marked. It was Alex's job to pick up all the food and set-up the whole party, while I made the trip to the airport to pick up my family and make sure Eleanor was ready for the party.
As I mentioned, we tried to keep things low-key. Rather than serve a big meal, we had an afternoon party and offered yummy snacks like soft pretzel bites, chicken nuggets and veggies and dip.
Our theme for the party was born out of photos from my first birthday. I am a huge sucker for nostalgia, so I found the exact same Carebear party hats from 1985 on Ebay and ordered them for four times their worth. I even asked my friend Shannon to make Eleanor's party dress inspired by my first birthday dress.
We didn't want to just do a Carebear theme so we rolled with it and created a "Sunshine Bear" theme-ish. One of our favorite nicknames for Eleanor is "Honeybear" so it was fitting. We had fun making the food fit the theme.
Cupcakes became "Cubcakes" and "StrawBEARy Cupcakes." We served Teddy Grahams and Gummy Bears and "Bear Food" (aka Trail Mix).
My one big project for the party was this photo display. In each of Eleanor's month photos I used a different fabric for the background. Using those fabrics I created (with my mom's help) a fun banner to hang from this beautiful picture frame. I found a nice frame at Hobby Lobby but it was so expensive. So I asked my dad and he made this wonderful frame and brought it with him from Missouri! The cake table is compliments of the wonderful Whitney Dumford! As always she worked her magic, baking the most delicious cupcakes (ever!), decorating them with the cutest bears, and making a special, healthy, smash cake for Eleanor!
The absolute best part of the party was watching Eleanor dig into her cake. I had no doubt she would enjoy every single minute!
"Happy Birthday to you..."
That photo above has to be my favorite picture of all time!
She started off slowly. I gave her a lick off my finger. And sliding the cake closer to her, it didn't take her long to figure out how delicious frosting is!
I have created a monster when it comes to the camera. Eleanor is such a ham. She pulled the cake plate right up to her mouth, opened wide, looked up at the crowd with those angel eyes and then froze in this posed bite so everyone could get the perfect photo!
Seriously! She kept smiling and flirting with the camera. We were all cracking up!
We let her chow down for close to 30 minutes. She put a serious dent in the cake.
For minutes at a time she sat with her mouth and nose buried in the frosting just sucking away! It was hilarious!
Eventually Alex pulled her away and gave her a bath in the bathroom sink. She came out happy and clean and ready to play!
We were so grateful to have so many of our friends at Eleanor's party. But especially grateful that my dad, my two sisters, my niece, my two uncles, Alex's dad, and his brother were all able to come in town for the big party. It meant so much to us to have them there!
It was also just so special to see these girls playing together. They are just five weeks apart in age and it is so fun to see them interact. I really can't tell you how special it was to have my two sisters with me to celebrate Eleanor. All the friends in the world can't replace sisters, and it makes me incredibly sad that we live so far away, especially watching these babies play together. I am just so excited I get to see all of them in just a few more weeks for Kolbie and Taylor's birthdays!
Eleanor's first birthday party has left me extremely humbled. There are so many people in our lives that love this little girl so much. I mean they really, really love her. She is in their hearts and their prayers. I am so thankful to know how loved Eleanor is. Thank you!
And a big, special, huge THANK YOU to Whitney Dumford who not only created that beautiful cupcake display but also took all of these fantastic photos! You are so talented my friend!
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