Our daughter turned one back in February. We had just moved in to our new home in Washington and were finally somewhat settled in. My parents came up for the little celebration and we had a sweet day with our birthday girl.
We kept the day simple with a special meal, an attempt at some birthday cake, and opening gifts. I went back and forth about how I wanted to style the party and for a few photos. I was still adjusting to the darkness of our home and the rainy weather. And to be honest, I was pretty ungrateful/frustrated with missing all that great natural light we had in Virginia.
But I worked through my silly irritants and came up with a solution. Even though we knew the rain would be coming and going all weekend, I decided we would keep things flexible and when the weather cleared, we would head outside for her cake and some photos. It ended up working perfectly and was a good lesson in working with what I have. To not get frustrated with a different house but instead embrace it's beauty.
I printed out a bunch of photos from the last year like I had done for our son's first birthday. Not only is it fun to see how our baby girl had grown but so many changes and new adventures we had embarked on with moving across the country.
I also sewed together some paper circles to add a little weight and whimsy to the hanging photos. We kept all the photos up for awhile and they were so fun to stop and look at.
Our family from California is always so great about sending gifts. So we have plenty of presents even when our celebrations have been small.
I have shared before that I am all about the helium tank and blowing up our own balloons. It makes it so much easier to do from home.
We set up a simple but festive lunch with the birthday girl.
I ordered the sweetest little floral headband for the party and it turned out so cute!
After lunch we had a little break in the rain so I ran out and set up for a few photos and cake. I made another paper circle banner for the backdrop.
Our sweet girl. Heart exploding.
I don't usually buy new clothes for the kids for holidays or birthdays. I just usually dress them in one of my favorite current outfits. I love this sweet denim top from Gap. We have had a few in different sizes and they continue to be a favorite.
After a few photos I set up for cake in the same spot.
She had ZERO interest in her cake! And was quite upset about it! But we got a few non-crying shots!
For the highchair I used gold letter stickers on white card stock for the banner and purchased some silk peonies on Amazon to decorate the cake. Just a few little details made for a beautiful setup!
Not amused. :)
It's not a first birthday until somebody cries?!
And just as we started to clean up it started sprinkling again!
There are so many pressures around some of these big milestones. We want the day to be special, beautiful, get good photos, and have perfectly behaved kids! That's a lot of pressure! I know that with each year passing, I am okay with things being simpler and simpler. I focus on the few things that are important to me and let go of the rest. That way I have a few simple magical moments and then enjoy the rest of the day with my kids.
Our sweet girl. She is just a joy. We love having her be a part of our little family.
I tried to recreate some photos we had of our son when he turned one but she wasn't having it!
So I gave up and tried again another day. A blurry smile success!
After the party, we went out to eat at a local Chinese restaurant to continue the birthday celebrations. Both kids enjoyed their noodles!
And us grown ups enjoyed our spread!!!
What a year it has been - for so many reasons. Life continues to feel like a wild ride. But we are so grateful to take the moment and enjoy this sweet year we have had with our baby girl. She has forever changed our hearts with her smile, sweet spirit, and spunky personality. To many more milestones and celebratory years to come!
