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.
I used a free printable from
On To Baby for the cupcake labels and pieces of 12×12 scrapbook paper as a “placemat” for the cupcakes.
For William’s smash cake I made a mostly healthy
cake. It was mostly applesauce and banana and pretty dense so I kind of wish I had just made him a real cake…the icing was buttercream and not healthy at all. I think he liked it and the blueberries the most. That would probably be the only “do-over” for me…a little bit of chocolate would have been just fine I am sure. At least it looked really cute!
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.
I really, really wanted a pinata for his party for the kids but decided to wait on those until he is actually old enough to enjoy it as well. My back up plan was
miniature pinatas for party favors but I couldn’t find the right supplies so I went with something easier.
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.
And finally some messy face action. That’s about as messy as it gets people.
Allan and his wife, Lori were one of our first wedding clients back in the day and I am happy to say we’ve remained friends. Their little gal, Sarah just turned one as well.
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.
And what party is complete without an after-party? I know these two loved having all the balloons to themselves.William was in a much better mood after his nap and dinner.
Daddy put his bike together so of course he needed a test drive.
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 
