William’s party was a blast. He was completely worn out by 4pm and I am so surprised he lasted that long (especially without any naps!). With help from my mom and sisters, I pulled off his Dapper Little Man theme.
The party was actually the day after his birthday, so on his birthday, we FaceTimed with Oma and Opa and opened their presents. They got him this really cool bike that he can either ride or walk and push. He loves to go fast on it!
I did as much decorating that night as I could because I knew the next day would move quickly. I decided to try and keep things simple – just a few decorations and only sweets and fruit for snacks. The only decoration I made was the bunting. Using scrapbook paper from Archiver’s, I cut out neck ties and bow ties and then attached them to baker’s twine. I guess I also made the balloon bunting which was an idea I saw on YHL. It’s a great way to decorate with balloons. I also hung up tissue balls from ShopSweetLulu and two “collages” of photos of William.
One of the collages I did was 48 Printstagram prints of William in the shape of a one. I saw the idea for that on a friend’s Instagram feed. She did it for her one year old. The other collage was 13 photos of William, one on his day of birth and one from each month up to 12. They were 5×5 prints from my lab with a white border.
Some pre-party preparations….William is helping James get the drinks cold. Aunt Jessica is working her magic with the icing for the cupcakes. I made Blueberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese icing and a gluten-free, dairy-free yellow cupcake with a chocolate frosting. Both were really good! And I would not have had them decorated in time if not for Jessica. I don’t have patience for that stuff anyway. William was also on balloon testing detail. He LOVED the balloons. We still have a few left that he tosses around. I am pretty sure his first official word is ball.
We also had yellow cake pops with white coating and yellow sprinkles. I rolled them but my sister finished them (she is an expert truffle roller) otherwise they never would have made it to the table. They were a big hit with the kids (and adults). The gray chevron straws I also bought from ShopSweetLulu…it was a pack of 20 so we cut them in half.
These are the gluten-free, dairy-free cupcakes. I used a box mix and the frosting is mostly coconut oil, dark chocolate and vanilla. The consistency is different but there was only one of these left at the end of the night, so that must mean they were tasty.
I picked up this W at Michael’s and wasn’t sure how I was actually going to use it for the party but in the end it made a great centerpiece.
We had a wonderful turnout of friends and family – so many kids! I am afraid it was a bit of a crush though because the rainy weather kept us from using the patio and backyard. It was still fun though and I really enjoyed seeing so many people.
Maria and William show off their birthday outfits. Our next door neighbor has a little boy too who is 3 months younger than William. I love this photo of them…it looks like William is protecting his puffs.
Then it was time for cake. Can you tell he is sleepy?
He was pretty straight faced for a while, just politely eating his blueberries and watching everyone watch him. I love the top right photo….”You want me to make a mess? Do I have to?” He is so into wiping his mouth now with any towel or napkin he finds. Such a neat mister. The bottom right he hit sleepy/silly.
Heather is a fellow birth center mom and Miss Carrie turns one this week!
So many presents! And tissue paper!
Wearing his awesome fedora from his friend Zoe. He actually really likes it…I promise. He was ready for a nap at this point.
Bedtime snuggles and books with Aunt Jessica and Uncle Nathan. What a great way to end a fun day.
Happy Birthday to my dapper little one year old! It still seems like yesterday we brought you home and had no idea what to do with you. So we just held you and stared. I still stare sometimes and am amazed I have such a precious life entrusted to our care. What a fun, challenging, long, short, exhausting, educational and tremendous year it has been. William, I can’t wait to get to know you better as you grow and learn each day. I love you! ~ Mom
Elizabeth Hafner 