Party Prep

So, you'll have to bear with me.  This first birthday thing was a pretty big deal around this house.  No matter how much I'm trying to hold back I just can't help but share all of the wonderful pictures we have from that special day.  I posted the link to the online album, I posted some of my favs to Facebook, and now I'm blogging about them.  It's too bad my only readers are my Facebook friends and family because they have been, and will continue to be, bombarded with the same fabulous photos again and again.  But really... Can you BLAME ME??

So.  This post is all about the party prep. 

A month before the party Pinterest became my new best friend.  I probed all the great ideas other mothers had posted and made them my own.  I began with a gigantic one made from red and black cupcake wrappers for the door.  One night while my parents were visiting I plugged in the glue gun and got gluing!  The grip-it-and-rip-it in me was saved by the skin of my teeth that I had enough cupcake wrappers to make alternating rows.  Towards the end it was touch and go...


The next project was a banner that displayed all of Audrey's month-old pictures throughout the past year.  I had some FAB help from my brother and his friend Sarah getting it strung and ready for display.  It was so fun to watch Audrey grow next to her little ladybug.  She made quite the adorable decoration in my opinion. 


Next up was the birthday banner we made and displayed behind Audrey's high chair.  As we were getting the house ready we put Audrey in her high chair under her banner and took her picture.  Although she seems so big in our eyes it's amazing how tiny she still is compared to normal sized things. 


Last up, as far as decorations go was the banner for Audrey's high chair.  We had to get creative finding a way to make it stick since Audrey was able to blow through different amounts of tape.  In the end We went with hot glue.  By the time We had Audrey officially in the chair she was distracted by cake so the label lasted for a while! 

Audrey is one lucky girl because I spent MYYYY birthday working on the perfect ladybug cake.  I got the idea from a post on Pinterest but made it my own with the help of a cake mold from Sara (yes, there were 2 additional sarah's involved in this project.  We were one heck of a trifecta if you ask me...) I made a prototype the week before to make sure it was even possible to make a ladybug cake so we were a happy household full of cake and yummy treats. 

I can't take credit for the following party prep, but it sure did turn out great.  Scott sent flowers to my school for my birthday and the looked beautiful on Audrey's special day.  We ordered the most delicious food from our favorite restaurant for lunch, and the guests provided quite the display of presents!