magnificentbliss

LITTLE MISS DID NOT EAT an ounce of cake! that’s okay though…mom and dad enjoyed it later that day.

THE TURNOUT FOR THE PARTY was overwhelming and an absolute blast! little wren had no clue what was going on but enjoyed every minute. such a gracious little hostess, she was a delight and riot, even missing her afternoon nap without a fuss. we had so much fun and cannot wait to do it again next year – who knew throwing kid birthday parties would be so much fun?!

I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES because the transformation of that dark and dated clubhouse was a miracle. tommy and i were up well into the early morning hours decorating with paper birds, colorful paper chains, and my favorite piece, the happy birthday banner. my mom even joined in and quickly made a ridiculous amount of paper chains when we realized that we hadn’t made enough. i wish i had a picture of her doing it, she’s so cute and nimble. i also wish there were more pictures of the setup, but too much was going on before the party for me to capture all of our hard work.

if you couldn’t already tell, the theme is BIRDS, of course! if there was more time i was going hang paper birds from the ceiling, but i’m only human and that idea died at 3am when i could no longer keep my eyes open while sticking pictures of wren’s first year on the wall. we had so much fun decorating with the paper chains that i’m thinking of keeping up with the tradition every year. i spent five dollars on a stack of construction paper and was able to use it for all the paper birds, the chains, the flower arrangement covers, and the happy birthday banner.

wren’s party was a huge group effort, friends and family pitched in, making it special and very fun. one family let us borrow their large, round kid table. a friend went out of her way across town just to bring all the balloons. two other friends made two cakes the night before. the grandmas brought tons of food and prepared all my food when i realized there wasn’t enough time for me to get it all done! wren’s grandpa brought eight costco pizzas {and carried them by himself – his poor back – have you ever tried carrying just one?}. everyone loves wren and this party shows it!

LOOK WHO JUST TURNED ONE! wren had so much fun on her first birthday – just look at her with her birthday balloon. tommy stayed home from work and we played all day. i’d say that wren’s highlight of the day was being pushed on the swing by dad. my highlight was seeing her gag on her birthday cupcake. she hated every moment of it. the video of her trying to get rid of it is hilarious. tommy and i spent most of the day reflecting on the first year. we might have gotten a little teary-eyed too. it’s been a wonderful year and i wish we could go back to the very beginning and do it all over again.