Lena Turns One - The Party!

Not too long ago, before we were blessed with Lena, Dan and I used to think that it was silly to throw a big, fancy birthday party for a one year old baby who would never remember the occasion.  What we didn't realize that we know now is that the celebration of a first birthday is not for the baby as much as it is for the child's family and friends.  As Lena's first birthday approached we decided to throw a party to honor and thank the people in her life who have prayed for her, blessed our family with time and resources, and will be an important part of her future upbringing.  Honestly, if we were to include everyone who meets this description our house would have busted at the seams.  There are so many of you who have been supportive of our family from afar sitting at your computers reading our updates, writing encouraging messages, and praying for us regularly.  We can't thank you enough!

We had a lot of fun preparing for this celebration!  I was very inspired by this pumpkin party that I found online and borrowed several ideas for Lena's party in addition to some creativity on my own part.  We had beautiful weather on the day of Lena's party which was ideal since most of the party was outisde in front of our house.

We had lots of pumpkins everywhere.

We rented a bounce house for all the kids that were coming to celebrate. and Lena loved it too!

These fun scarecrows offer a playful fall touch to the porch and side yard seating area.

One of my favorite craft projects was this visual timeline of Lena's first year of life.

Beginning with her picture as an embryo, ultrasounds, and at birth...

...through months one through four...

...months five through eight...

... and months nine through twelve ending with a picture of her first pigtail taken the day before her party.

I am going to reuse the black and white photos from the timeline in her first year scrapbook.  It was so emotional walking the timeline and seeing the transformation of Lena Joyce from embryo to one-year old all laid out before your eyes.  It was a great testament to the miracle of her life and the sanctity of life in general.

The guest tables were set with pink checked fabric remnants and strips of burlap with mini pumpkins and mason jars full of candy corn.

Inside we had a harvest themed feast for our guests.

Lena's smash cake was from a local bakery and I made carrot cake cupcakes and mini yellow cupcakes for the guests.  I got the styrofoam cakestand on Oriental Trading Company and pinned green fabric remnants to the tiers and edged them in orange polka dot ribbon.

We had homemade caramel corn, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin shaped homemade shortbread cookies as a party favor.

Harvest veggies and hummus, grapes, and Irish cheddar and crackers.

We also had BBQ pulled pork sliders, white chicken chili, spiced apple cider, and a coffee/tea station.

I made bunting to hang all over the house from green fabric remnants and jute string from Lowes.  The same Etsy shop where I got Lena's invites had a .pdf party package where you could print out matching water bottle labels and birthday banners, etc.

Lena in her special birthday outfit with Grandma!

When she woke up from her nap she wasn't in the best mood and when everyone gathered around her for the cake and sang to her she pretty much freaked out.  Not how I imagined this moment.

We tried again later without a big audience and she really got into her cake!

She liked eating it with a fork more than with her hands.

Opening presents was a bit more fun!

Lots of lovely, fun things to wear!

She loved the giggling face from Grandma.

She loved this kitty cat birthday card!

Bounce house with Pop!

We had a VERY fun day as a family.

Happy Birthday to our beautiful baby girl!  Thank you so much for helping us celebrate her precious life!

(Photos compliments of Pop and Auntie Mary!)