This was the invitation for her party. I decided to go with a St. Patrick's Day theme because, duh, she was born on St. Patrick's Day. And I figured this would probably be one of the only years that I could get away with doing my theme of choice (I have a slight hunch that next year will involve Elmo... Just a hunch). I took the picture of her and just ordered the invitation online. But, of course, I had to find some way of complicating things, so I cut out teeny-tiny little clovers and glued them and the ribbon on the invitation (because I clearly don't appreciate sleep).
This is what the birthday girl wore. I made the dress, but the bloomers were from a little dress that I bought. They actually matched much better than they do in the picture.
The spread
Thank goodness my mom had a Cricut cartridge for the clovers so that I could make all of the banners and what-not... Otherwise, I would probably still be cutting them out... Or committed.
I made a "time-line" of all of Caroline's monthly pictures. Now, most of you who know me know that I am not really a weepy person. Sentimental yes, but weepy, no. I hadn't really given much thought to the fact that my Sweet Caroline was about to be a year old until I started printing out these pictures. I took those pictures every month and posted them on here, but really didn't look back at them after that. Once I started looking back at how much she had changed, it kind of hit me. My eyes got teary.......... And then it passed. I said I got a little weepy, I didn't say that I actually wept.
The drink table
What do you do when you have a dead animal in the middle of all of this sweetness? Why you just hang sparkly things from it, of course. Duh. (I'm pretty sure that this picture could represent a "You know you're husband is from Louisiana when" joke....)
I made the little water bottle labels. Because drinking out of regular water bottles just wouldn't work and I might have caught up on some sleep.... Or Real Housewives....
The favor bags. Funny thing is, I made the ultimate Rookie Mom mistake: I forgot to pass them out. I managed to catch the last couple kiddos while they were still in the drive way.
Caroline's cake. I still can't believe that I spent as much time on it as I did.... Only for it to be smashed. Oh, the things I do.
I found this idea on Pinterest. Basically, you just melt a Hershey kiss on top of a pretzel, and then push the M&M's in the warm chocolate.
Sugar cookies
The cupcakes. These might be some of the best cupcakes I have ever made, if I do say so myself. We had a few left over.... I may or may not have consumed about 3 cupcakes a day for the next few days...... I have a serious problem.
Mommy and the Birthday Girl!
"Yay! Caroline is 1!"
Family Pic!
Caroline and her friend Isaac. Isaac's mom Patti is one of my Stroller Strides friends. He is just a few weeks older than Caroline, so he recently celebrated a birthday as well.
Opening presents....
Getting the hang of it...
She was so not intersted in the card. Who would be with all of those ribbons?!
All she cared about was this orange ribbon
Getting some help from her BFF Addie
Kingston and his mom Katie. Isn't he a doll?! I LOVE his hat!
Nanny Darcy got Caroline a talking Elmo. Needless to say, it was a hit!
Poor dear was working on a tooth at the time and she was covered in drool. It kind of looks like she was sweating. First birthdays are a lot of work!
Grandma Daisy got Caroline her very first set of wheels. She couldn't wait to take it for a spin!
Caroline: "Come on Addie, let's go cruisin for boys!"Addie: "Let's hit the casino too!"
Beep beep!
Chatting with Daddy
Best buds :)
At the time of her party, Caroline was going through a major food strike. I think it had something to do with the tooth she was working on and the fact that she now hates the high chair because it confines her. She would much rather eat on the run these days.
"Oh, well, maybe this won't be so bad...."
It was fun to smoosh, but she wasn't too crazy about eating it. I managed to get one lick in her mouth, but that was it. She can't be my daughter. This truly made me ponder the possibility of her being switched at birth....
She was feeding Fred and Jack here, but they were outside during the party. Shhh don't tell them they missed out on cake..... Or that we had a party and they weren't invited. They might start to believe that they are dogs.
Annnnndd, it is over. It all lasted less than 5 minutes.
After things died down and we got her cleaned up, I gave Caroline a bottle. She was SO tired. I thought she would pass out and take a nap, but of course she didn't. She had so many new things to play with!
Daddy started sucking the helium out of the balloons, because what else do you do with helium-filled balloons??? Then he started just blowing them up and letting them go in Caroline's face. She thought it was hysterical!
Nanny Darcy and David drove all the way from Houston to be at Caroline's party (Darcy is a hardcore Godmother). They are expecting their first sweet little girl in July. David was trying to get some practice, and Caroline was giving him a run for his money. Caroline can't wait for her new friend to arrive! Hopefully those two won't get into as much trouble together as Darcy and I did ;)
Beep beep!
Chatting with Daddy
Best buds :)
At the time of her party, Caroline was going through a major food strike. I think it had something to do with the tooth she was working on and the fact that she now hates the high chair because it confines her. She would much rather eat on the run these days.
"Oh, well, maybe this won't be so bad...."
It was fun to smoosh, but she wasn't too crazy about eating it. I managed to get one lick in her mouth, but that was it. She can't be my daughter. This truly made me ponder the possibility of her being switched at birth....
She was feeding Fred and Jack here, but they were outside during the party. Shhh don't tell them they missed out on cake..... Or that we had a party and they weren't invited. They might start to believe that they are dogs.
Annnnndd, it is over. It all lasted less than 5 minutes.
After things died down and we got her cleaned up, I gave Caroline a bottle. She was SO tired. I thought she would pass out and take a nap, but of course she didn't. She had so many new things to play with!
Daddy started sucking the helium out of the balloons, because what else do you do with helium-filled balloons??? Then he started just blowing them up and letting them go in Caroline's face. She thought it was hysterical!
Nanny Darcy and David drove all the way from Houston to be at Caroline's party (Darcy is a hardcore Godmother). They are expecting their first sweet little girl in July. David was trying to get some practice, and Caroline was giving him a run for his money. Caroline can't wait for her new friend to arrive! Hopefully those two won't get into as much trouble together as Darcy and I did ;)Overall, it was a great day celebrating my Sweet Caroline. I can't believe that an entire year has passed. Actually what I can't believe is that I managed to keep a human alive for an entire year, but it is kind of all the same. Time has flown by and I know that it will only go faster and faster. I am trying to take advantage of every little moment with Caroline because before I know it, she will be graduating from college. Or just going to Kindergarden, whichever comes first.
It is a good thing that birthdays only come once a year, because after this one, I was spent. Until next year... I better start planning now ;)
