Party details

So I honestly started planning this party when Ryan was six months old. It took me a while to decide on a theme - there are so many cute ones out there! I finally decided on Red Wagon and knew that I really wanted to do everything in red and aqua. Over the months I checked out a million party blogs, obsessed over anything red & aqua and then slowly his party came together. 

So this post is going to be long but I gotta give credit where it's due! Let's start with the front of the house.

I wanted to add some decoration to the front of the house so that everyone knew where the party was! I think these pinwheels added a nice little touch and they were SUPER easy to make! On our front porch I added a little tissue paper flower bouquet and tied a red & aqua ribbon around it.

I found a cute shop on etsy that makes adorable party wreaths and I really wanted to order one, but then I decided to take a stab at one myself. I am glad I did because it was super cheap and super easy! Plus, I think mine turned out pretty sizzling! 

So WELCOME to Ryan's 1st birthday party. 

Let's start with the sweets table. 

The backdrop here was just extra fabric. Originally I had planned to have all the food and sweets on one table but then I realized that wasn't going to work. I wasn't quite sure about what I was going to do about the backdrop so this was a little thrown together. I think it ended up working just fine (even though it was a tad small). There were also some pom balls hanging down but they weren't low enough to make it in the pictures - oops! I ordered the bunting from Blue Moon Studios on etsy. We also used it in Ryan's 1 year pictures!

The cupcake stand was from Sam's (it is actually reused from my baby shower). I added the ribbon around the edges with a hot glue gun. The cupcake toppers and labels are from DimplePrints. I purchased the custom party pack for $30 and it included EVERYTHING from the invitations and banners, to party hats and water bottle wraps.  And everything was customized just for Ryan! Working with Carli (@DimplePrints) was so great - she was super helpful and I loved how everything turned out!

I made his smash cake myself (and he totally liked it).  I kept the design simple this time for two reasons. One, because for the first cake I made him (the one we used in his one year pictures) had way too much icing and he was not a happy camper. 

He hated it. 

He cried. 

It was not good. 

Secondly, I fell in love with this topper so I wanted it to be the focus. 

The topper idea was not originally mine. One of my favorite party blogs (TomKat Studio) featured a party that I loved.  Sarah (from LifeSweetLife) threw an amazing Aqua & Red Sock Monkey party for her son Manny and I found a couple of ideas that I stole for Ryan's party.  The bunting topper is a printable from TomKat Studio and I tied them to the red & white straws. 

I needed something for this corner so I just came up with this last minute. Basically just painted two frames that were laying around.  The sweets pictured here are oreo balls. They are super easy to make but I have still NOT perfected the whole dipping thing. They are truly disastrous looking. Luckily I was able to hide them (somewhat) in those cute little mini cupcake holders I found at Michaels. 

On the other side I had rice krispie treats that are just covered with aqua vanilla flavored candy melts. So simple to make and I am a sucker for them! 

The last component to the table was a photo book that I created. This was another idea that I stole from LifeSweetLife. When I saw the book she made featured on her blog I emailed her to see how she had made the cover. I didn't see that design on Snapfish and she explained that she had made it in photoshop. Sarah was so sweet and made us a cover as well! I love it so much!

Next up, the food table.

I wanted to keep the food simple and didn't want to turn my oven on for a thing. It's been over 100 degrees for the past 28 days and I didn't need anything heating our house up! We served chick-fil-a nuggets, sandwiches from Jimmy Johns, kolaches for a yummy local donut shop, and fruit. We also had animal crackers and goldfish for the little ones.  Regarding the decorations, the tissue paper flowers are from Polkadot Market and all the paper products were from my DimplePrints party pack. To add some height I wrapped diaper boxes with fabric - that is what the sandwiches and nuggets are sitting on!

I used cupcake wrappers (from DimplePrints) to wrap around these fruit cups. 

Next up is the fireplace.

The main focus here was the 12 month photo display (even though I am missing the 12th month- oops!) I originally found this idea on StaffordStories but I think the original creator was IHeartNapTime (I've seen it a lot!). The banner is a printable from DimplePrints.

Ryan's hat and bib are from bloomingbabiesboutique.com

I used this table to display photos from his one year pictures. I found the different frames at Zgallerie, Hobby Lobby & Target. 

In the backyard I had a few more decorations as well as the drinks. I made the banner on buildasign.com and love the way it turned out. The picture cracks me up and I think it will be a fun banner to bring out every year as he gets older! To the side I created a "Step & Repeat" with fabric from Joann's and another printed pennant banner.

The drink table was somewhat neglected. I had ideas to spice this up a little with some more ribbon and bunting but I completely forgot. There was juice and lemonade in one bucket and water in the other.

We did have some fun drinks for the adults to try - you could make these with alcohol or sparkling water. I got the drink mixes at Central Market and just put them in these glass carafes. The fun aqua & red ribbon is from Polkadot Market.

For party favors my friend Heidi at Sugar Bee Sweets created these ADORABLE red wagon cookies. I loved them and they tasted just as great! I bagged them and added a little tag that said "Thanks for rolling by! Love, Ryan"

Here is a close up of them.

 Also, for the kiddos, I got these custom coloring books made from GaddieandTood.com. They are ridiculously adorable! You pick the illustrations and wording and they package them up with crayons (I took this apart to show you). 

Just showing the inside.

So that it! I think I covered everything! It was a lot of work but I had so much fun doing it. I can't wait for next year!

Dear Ryan (12 months)

Well little bug, we made it. Here we are one year later. I can't believe how fast it has gone. You are getting so BIG and growing so much everyday. It's amazing watching you play because it's almost like I can actually SEE you learning - it is so incredible to watch.  Everyday you bring so much joy into our lives and we cannot imagine life without you.

What's going on with you?
- You still LOVE peek-a-boo and now will pop up yourself and hide again (mommy says pee-a-boo for you and you think it is hilarious)
- The pool is still your favorite summer place! You love floating around the baby pool in your little raft because you can do it all by yourself.
- You are mastering your toys - you are figuring out how they work and how to play with them (instead of mommy having to make them work)
- You can put balls into things with control AND actually let go of them! You will roll the ball back and forth with me (until you get distracted)
- You can stack rings but still would rather have them unstacked.
- You starting DANCING. It's ridiculously cute and I love to see it. The intro song to The Backyardigans gets you going every time

You favorite thing to do is walk alongside the couch and it's usually to get closer to Bob so that you can poke him. Poor Bob.

Clearly by the looks of those thighs you are eating well. You are eating a lot of real food which is great! Over the past month you have been eating a mix of breast milk, formula and real food. You nursed first thing in the morning and then in the evening until the week before your birthday when we dropped the evening feeding. On your birthday we had your last feeding and it was a little bittersweet (nursing post to come).  Now we are going to start working on weaning you off the bottle - hopefully it won't be difficult. The good news is that you enjoy a sippy cup with a straw! We had to bypass the "sippy" sippy cup because you just weren't feeling it. 

This is a new face that you have been making. I have no idea why you started making it but it's pretty funny!

Here you are with your little walker toy. Everyday you are using it and you are getting more and more confident. I know you are going to start walking soon and I am not sure if I am ready for it!

You are a lot more difficult to get a picture of these days...you squirm all over the place!

Here you are looking a little tired...perhaps it's time for a nap. Speaking of naps, I think you are TRYING to give up your second nap and only have one long one, which I am totally ok with. The only problem is that sometimes you are super grumpy by the time dad gets home if you have only had one nap. The good news is that you are sleeping really well at night - you had been waking up at 6:15ish but since we got back from Montana you decided that 7:15am would be better. Mom agrees :)

You LOVE your new chair that Yia Yia and Papu got you for your birthday!

We went to your 12 month check up the day after your birthday and it was NOT much fun. Poor little man got FOUR shots and you were not a happy camper. They also took blood (from you foot) to test for lead. All good there. Here are your official stats:
Weight:  19 lbs 14 oz - 10%
Height: 29.25in - 35%
Head: 45.1cm - 15%

As you can see you are still on the small side which is so hard for me to believe because you don't seem small at all!!!

In other news, I just ordered more stickers for picky sticky so it looks like I will keep up with these monthly posts for a bit longer!

P is for PARTY

So welcome to my second post about Ryan's party....and this isn't my last :) Anyhow, since my last post was about prepping for the party, this one will be ABOUT the party! I am going to do another post with all the details on the decorations.

And our Step & Repeat (which I didn't know it was called that - thanks MK :))  

I snagged a couple pics with the birthday boy pre-party. 

And on to the party pics....Kevin, Jake and Jack

Jessica & Thompson hanging outside

Playgroup buddies - Wade, Tara & Lily! Lily and Ryan are only a day apart!

More playgroup buddies - Lee, Brooke and Henry! Love his hair...I think he has already had three haircuts!

My awesome neighbors Mica & Madelyn with my besties MK and Thompson! I think Thompson is digging Madelyn....

Adorable Marin - I swear she was smiling a second before I took this...

And Mr. Andy who everyone was in LOVE with!

And sweet little Caroline enjoying a yummy cookie!

My sister-in-law with Jack and her daughter (My niece) Lyla

Sarah with her little man, William!

Stacey and little Jack sizzle

It's time for the birthday cake! 

Ryan, Thompson and William (with their mommies). I am sure it won't be long before they are getting into trouble!

And us ruffled white shirt women!

We had such a great time at the party. I feel like it went by so fast and I didn't even get a chance to talk with everyone. I wish I had more time to chat with everyone AND take more pics! I really wish I had more pictures of everyone! That was my one regret. PICTURES! ugh.  Somehow I managed to take over 100 but they aren't all that great. Kevin bought me a new lens but I didn't play around with it much before so I didn't realize it wasn't the best for indoor pics until afterwards. Oh well, there is nothing I can do now...but if you did take pics please send them to me!

Update: Here are some pictures that I have stolen from friends cameras via fb :) I love that you can download pictures from there now.

Shannon, Susanne & Karen

Natawan, Jessyca & Katie

Jessica & John

Yay! I love them using the Step & Repeat! Shannon & Nat

Jessyca, Shannon, Lindsey & Susanne

The Aston's!

We had such a great time and hope everyone did as well!!! 

CAKE and PRESENTS

My little bug LOVED his cake. Wohoo! I wasn't sure how he was going to feel about it because at his smash cake session with a photographer he was NOT a fan. Plus he has also never been the center of attention in a room of 30+ peeps. The little man did great!

Taking some pre-cake pics

He was getting mad because I was holding him back!

mmm...that's pretty good!

Yup thats both hands...

And that my friends, is a job well done. bravo.

riding on in to the gifts...choo choo

Ryan with all his loot! Goodness gracious! Thank you so much everyone! It took us a while to open but he LOVES them all!