A First Birthday

Prepare yourself for some major photo overload. Seriously.

I was so excited for Clara's first birthday. I have had a great time planning it and getting it all pulled together. After weeks of thought and planning and days of cleaning and preparation, today was the big day. We spent the morning getting all set up, getting balloons blown up, and getting the baby to take a good nap so she wouldn't be cranky for the party. The festivities started at 1 PM. The theme of our party was:

Our fridge magnets only have 1 of each letter so Zack got a little creative spelling that out. Anyway, here is the decor. The living room

 Looking back toward the kitchen

This is the kitchen before the cookies arrived

The kitchen table (after the cookies arrived, obviously)

Michelle enjoys baking and is much better at it than I am so, even though she has been busier than heck moving this week, so provided us with these lovely home made cookies.  All were very delicious.

Zack's parents have some dietary restrictions so they were stuck with store bought cookies (there were more than 2 cookies on the plate at some point. I promise).

These "milk mustaches" were the centerpiece of the table set up.

Here are some details of the little milk jars we used. We forgot to take pictures of these earlier, so this was after the party.

Paper goods station

Before you get some idea that I'm all crafty and such, I should mention that I bought a little party package off etsy and the shop owner designed my party invitations, banner, welcome sign, the food labels and things we put on the milk jars, etc. I take no credit for that.

Clara was actually still napping when the party was supposed to start. We had to wake her so she started out a little shy, but she had taken a 90+ minute nap so she soon perked up. The birthday girl making her debut:

Our first order of business was to pig out on goodies and watch the babies play. The milk mustaches were a hit.

Clara didn't really understand why everyone was playing with them instead of eating them.

 Marseille was playing with some balls and discovered a new place to store them. We all got a kick out of that.

Soon it was time to open gifts. Clara is actually really good at unwrapping presents. Her first present was this cute cookie monster from Aunt Amy.

Uncle Ben and Aunt Tosca got her this push cart, which she just loves. She does not walk on her own yet (although she's getting close) but we set her up with this and she'll just take off across the room until she runs into something and can't go any farther. It is so cute!

 Uncle Sam had to leave before Clara unwrapped his present. She ripped the paper off it like a pro.

 And she just loved the little Sesame Street cars that were inside.

 Grandma Beth and Grandpa Dave gave Clara a little board book with pictures from her first year...

 and a little xylophone toy.

Aunt Megan and Uncle Jeff got Clara a darling little outfit (pictured below) and a book.

Grandma Deb and Grandpa Scott also got her some clothes and a baby doll, which she played with for quite a while.

By that time, she had kind of lost interest in opening presents, which was fine because the only 2 left were a ride-on car from us and her convertible car seat, courtesy of her grandparents.
Next, it was cake time. We got this little smash cake at Smith's for so cheap.

I tried for the last few weeks to train Clara to blow out a candle, but all she ever wanted to do was grab it. Today was no exception. We are sad we forgot to put her birthday hat back on for this.

At first, she seemed pretty interested. She went for the cookies and ate most of those. Then she stuck her hands in the frosting, and that's where it went downhill. She decided that she was very upset about being messy. She kept rubbing her hands together, trying to wipe them off.

 Then she rubbed frosting all over her face, which just upset her more.

 After a while of trying to interest her in actually eating it, we gave up. This is what was left.

At the end of the party, those who wanted to were able to take home a box packed with leftover cookies to enjoy later.

Clara had a great time (except for the cake part), and so did we. Thanks to our family for attending and for all the lovely gifts. Happy birthday to our little Clara!