Hello One-derland! Part 2: Party Prep

As promised, here are some behind the scene things from G's first birthday party. I love that I can now share some of the treasures that I've been harboring on a secret Pinterest board. A lot of prep work went into her party even though I tried to keep it pretty simple. I went with a Spring theme so that I could incorporate a lot of fun festive colors without having to put Easter eggs everywhere (since her birthday was the day before Easter).

The Food:
I wanted to keep the food simple. We were having her party mid afternoon so a meal wasn't quite necessary, but we'd be cutting it close so I wanted people to have something to hold them over. With the help of my mom and sister, I put together a tray for the "Veggie Patch" and made turkey and ham tortilla wrap pinwheels. Super easy. Really good.

My mother-in-law brought a fruit tray that we displayed as the "Fruit Field" on the food table.

We also had "Peanut Bunny and Jelly" sandwiches for the kids (and adults). My sister spent some time making PB&J sandwiches and then used carrot and bunny shaped cookie cutters to make cute shapes with the sandwiches. They were a big hit!

One of my favorite components of the food table was what we served to drink. Besides bottled water, I mixed together this delicious "Carrot Juice" punch. Don't let the name fool you. No veggies were harmed in the making of this punch.

The Cake:

Of course I was going to make her cake. Although I haven't decorated a cake in over a year and a half and I may be a little rusty, I had to give it a go. At first I thought I'd just make cupcakes, but then I saw this adorable cake and had to try it.

It began with G deciding on the color of her cake. I knew I would do a basic vanilla but thought I'd add a touch of color. I presented G with several food coloring bottles and she chose the turquoise. Her cake then became a white/turquoise marble vanilla cake. The icing was my homemade butter cream. Now for the fun part...the decorating!

I shaped the bunny bottom and feet out of Rice Krispy cereal. I then covered them in the fondant and used toothpicks to help hold the pieces together.


I filled in the top with chocolate candies and used KitKats to border the cake.

Her smash cake was also a treat to put together. While it may be years before she appreciates all the love put into these cakes, I must say that I enjoyed putting forth the effort.


The Decorations:
There were several things I wanted to do for her party, but time and budget dictated what I could muster. I put together this adorable carrot garland.

I also made up these cute carrot party favors. I found the bags on sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics and with my coupon I got them for next to nothing. I filled them with animal shaped cheddar cheese crackers.

 

 

I made up this sign to put next to the party favors.

I fell in love with this book idea for her party. I found a book to commemorate her first year. The idea is that people will write special notes to her throughout the book and it will become a keepsake that she'll treasure for years to come. I made this sign to put next to the book. I placed these on the gift table so that people would be sure to sign it.

Another fun touch was added to the food table. I found the idea for these super cute napkin/utensil rolls. Who wouldn't love to put their paws on these?

The most taxing, both surprisingly in cost and time, were the topiaries I chose to make for the centerpieces. I'm still not sure what I did wrong, but the topiary ball would not stand up on the dowel rod...even though it was fully supported in the flower pot. So...to spare my sanity, I scaled them down a bit. Over 360 suckers later, here is my version (the original version can be found here).

 

 

Everything came together so nicely and I can't thank my mom, sister, husband and best friend for all of their help to make this come together. You can check out the events in my Hello One-derland! Part 1. I'll be posting little delights from her party soon!

Easter 2014

 

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Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love the sights and sounds of Spring! Easter has always been filled with fun family gatherings and sweet treats. However, before any baskets are opened or eggs are gathered, we've always reflected on the Heart of Easter...the death and resurrection of my Jesus.

 

::via::

 

While I celebrate my salvation all throughout the year as I live to serve my Savior, I do enjoy the festivities of the holiday. This year was G's first Easter. You can catch a glimpse of her first egg hunt here.

 

My family came in on Thursday but had to leave really early on Easter morning. My husband also had to go into work. I was blessed to have my best friend come in for G's birthday. She made plans to stay through Monday, which worked out really well. She celebrated G's first Easter with us and her extended stay allowed for some much needed catch up time. We typically go to the "Sonrise" service but with everything we had going on that morning, we opted to go to the main church service instead.

 

G with Aunt LaLa

We went to church and then enjoyed a nice lunch out afterwards. We came home and relaxed for the remainder of the day. It's nice to have someone you can sit in a room with and be okay with the silence. Love her!!!

 

Here are a few pictures from G's first Easter. While I know I'm biased, I must say she is one beautiful little girl. I am forever in awe of how lovely she is and just how much of a blessing she continues to be in our lives.

 



Hello One-derland! Part 1

G is 1!!!

 

 

In May 2011 we began our TTC journey. After battling PCOS induced infertility, we finally welcomed two pink lines. We were ecstatic! At 37 1/2 weeks our little girl made her way into the world. Our lives were transformed in an instant. Her first cry was the most beautiful sound in the world. She had her father's face and the most perfect little fingers and toes. Our sleepy little platinum blond has since grown into a spunky, independent red-head. She may look like her daddy but she has her mommy's personality. As we mourn reflect on the passing of her first year, we look forward to what is to come. God has been so good to us. He remained faithful even when we felt like we were not. He listened to our silent prayers at the moments we could not utter them or did not know what to pray for. Through it all, He continued to prove His love for us and gave us more than we could ever ask for.

 

2013

2014

 

Plans for her party began a few weeks ago. I slowly began gathering items. I fell in love with several bunny themed items, although I was determined not to have her party look "Eastery". I wanted to avoid an Easter egg overload. I instead just went with a Spring theme that incorporated fun colors and of course, a bunny or two.

Although the timing wasn't prime for many due to Easter being the next day, we decided to have her party on the day of her actual birthday. Her day began with hugs and kisses from her aunt and Granna who came from Georgia to celebrate with us.

 

 

 

We then gathered her things and her Easter basket and headed out to our pastor's house for our church's annual Easter Egg Hunt and the telling of the Easter Story. Here are a few pictures from that morning.

G with her daddy...ready to hunt eggs!

She could not decide if she liked her eggs in or out of the basket better...

Our little birthday bunny!

Our pastor always shares the Easter Story prior to the Egg Hunt

 

 I then left G and my hubby to head to the church fellowship hall to begin decorating for G's party...I'll be posting party prep and birthday celebration pictures soon!!! Keep an eye out for Hello One-derland Part 2!

Five on Friday: Sneak Peeks!!!

Hippity Hop on over for today's Five on Friday!!! Join me and others as we share some of our favorite things.

 

 

This week has been full of wonderful things!!! Here are a couple recaps and sneak peeks of things to come!

 

[one]

On Monday we took G to the NC Zoo for the first time. The trip went really well. We ate some delicious food and visited a couple of neat places (antiques and cupcakes included). You can read about our wonderful, but short, family vacation here.

 

 

[two]

Over the weekend we introduced two new members to our family. Ace and Rigby were rescued and then became the newest of our adopted additions (we also have four dogs that we've adopted through various shelters and rescues.) Meet Ace and Rigby if you haven't already!

 

 

 

[three]

On this day last year, I was being unexpectedly admitted to Labor and Delivery for the birth of our daughter. We were unprepared and could not believe the time was near. We were both honestly expecting her to hang in there for at least another week. Unbeknownst to me, I was 4cm and 75% effaced at my weekly appointment and had progressed to 6cm within two hours of blood pressure monitoring...which is what caused our admittance. I still can't believe that we'll be celebrating G's first birthday tomorrow!!!

 

Hospital gowns are never flattering...I've found a cute pattern for one. Maybe I'll get ambitious and make one for the next one.

 

[four]

My mom and sister are here and my best friend will be coming in from out of town to celebrate G's birthday with us. I hate the distance between us and miss them dearly. The moments I can have them here are always so special and I treasure every moment. They will be helping me set up for G's party after her first egg hunt tomorrow morning. Here are a few things you may see in upcoming birthday pictures...

 

 

 

[five]

I joined others for an Easter Basket Blog Hop earlier this week. I adored working with my hubby to fill her first Easter basket. You can check out all the fun by stopping by my Egg-stra special blog post. G and I also made special gift bags filled with goodies for her aunt, Granna, Papa and Granny. Don't you just love those little chicks?! Baby feet make things so sweet!

 

 

 

 

An Egg-stra Special Easter

Easter is always a very special holiday for us and this year will be no exception. This will be G's first Easter...you may be thinking, "but she'll be one and hasn't celebrated her first Easter?" Last year she was born after Easter and this year she will be turning one the day before. We have a full and fun weekend ahead. To get things started, I'm joining Darci from The Good Life and Sarah from Our Journey for their Easter Basket Blog Hop! Feel free to join in!



 

 

With everything we have going on this week in preparation for G's first birthday, I wanted to make sure that I had her basket complete. I've tried not to place too much pressure on myself. While this will be her first Easter and thus, her first Easter basket, I know that she will not likely remember it other than what she sees in pictures. I did however, enjoy putting it together. As she grows we want her to enjoy the holiday but we want the real focus to be on Christ's death and resurrection. Soon I'll be posting some of the traditions that we'll be incorporating into her childhood for Easter.

 

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I hope you enjoy taking a peek into her Easter basket.

 

I don't know what I love more...her initial tag that I purchased at Michael's or her Easter basket that I scored at the Dollar Tree.

Growing up, mom always made or bought us a new Easter dress. I plan to keep this tradition for G, but I also like the idea of getting her a new Spring outfit. My hubby actually picked this one out and I think he did a great job! So cute!

 



 

I try to instill the love of reading into our daughter any chance I get...so of course, that means a book for Easter! I love this little story and I can see it easily becoming a family favorite. I also have a weakness when it comes to hair bows. While G doesn't always want to keep them in her hair these days, I enjoy putting one in her hair every chance I get, thus a few made their way into her basket.

 





I found this funny chicken at a local card store. He was on clearance and his silly dancing and clucking made me laugh out loud in the store. I know G will love it! The egg is an egg shaker that I bought a few weeks ago when my friend and I visited a specialty toy store. I bought two, giving her one early just to see her response. I know she'll love it. While she may be a little young for crayons, we discovered that she enjoys making scribbles at one of our favorite restaurants the other day. They have the brown paper on the tables and upon putting a crayon in her hand and showing her what to do, she had a ball!

When you put it all together...what do you have? An adorable Easter basket for our precious little girl.

Isn't that little bunny face to die for?!





We Bought a Zoo

Well, not really but we did buy tickets. For G's upcoming birthday, we decided to share our love of animals with her and took a family trip to the North Carolina Zoo*. We had a blast! The road trip went off without any glitches and the weather could not have been better. We arrived about an hour after opening, but thanks to our weekday visit, the crowds were light.

Our little Gator Girl!

With each animal exhibit, we enjoyed watching G point out the things she saw, and although we can't yet understand any words other than "buh" for bug (and "nana" for all things food, Momma and Dada) we adored the way she eagerly sought out the animals we pointed to. We loved seeing her discover the animals, get bouncy when something got her excited, and her attempts to touch the animals through the glass made our hearts smile.

They had a special giant bug exhibit. They were so cool!

G had her first carousel ride!

I have always loved zoos and aquariums. It continues to be a delight and a true privilege to be able to share these places with my daughter. These trips offer multiple opportunities to talk about God's creation. I love being able to show her God's unique designs, talk to her about the amazing abilities/adaptations of the animals, and to help develop her appreciation for what the Lord has made.

...and of course she had to have a souvenir. She picked the elephant.

After a fun filled day at the zoo, G passed out 5 minutes after getting strapped into her car seat. We traveled the 10 minutes to our hotel to freshen up. We attempted to get G back to sleep for an afternoon nap but that was a no go. Instead, we headed out to an early dinner. We took a chance and ventured to a restaurant that came highly recommended by Trip Advisor. We went to Time Square Pizzeria*. From the outside it doesn't look like much but we were not disappointed. The food was great!!! Their customer service was excellent and the atmosphere was very family friendly. Several people heard we were from out of town as we spoke with the guy behind the counter and they sang the restaurant's praises.

We had the BBQ Chicken Wings and the Parmesan Chicken Pizza. G enjoyed the spaghetti. Everything looked amazing!

We came back to the hotel and enjoyed a bit of family time in the pool. G was not a huge fan but tolerated the water. Our hope that she would consider it a giant bathtub (because she loves bath time) was a bust.

After showers we began our night time routine. Surely she would sleep like a rock considering she had not had very much nap time and had such a big day...but alas, our little darling, who normally sleeps all night, was up every two hours. Finally, at 4am I moved her to the bed with us and just allowed her to lay there as I prayed for sleep. She ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours. Wish I could say the same. I've never been one to have her sleep with me and I just could not fall asleep while she lay there...

We awoke early and enjoyed a tasty continental breakfast. We headed out to do a couple more things before heading home. We killed some time at Walmart, where I almost took out an old lady (more to come on that later) and then headed to an antique store my husband had been eyeing. After browsing through the antiques, we dropped by Main Street Sweets*, a local cupcake shop for some goodies for the road. We've only tried two of them, but they were tasty! (Side note: Any time we travel, if there is a zoo, aquarium or cupcake shop, we MUST visit.)

Beginning at top left: Salted Caramel, Almond Joy, Snickers, Strawberry Cheesecake, Oreo, and Chocolate Peanut butter.

She slept almost the entire ride home.

While we love to travel and have adjusted to doing so with a baby, there is just something about coming home. Over the next couple of days we'll be getting the house ready for incoming family, Easter, and my daughter's first birthday. Happy Spring!

*I was not compensated in anyway for sharing information or singing the praises of the any of the mentioned places in this post.