Party Time!

If you know me you know that I really enjoy party planning.  I had to wait a REALLY long time to have kids and so when we finally had Makenna, her first birthday came and I decided I was going to go all out - we invited a TON of people and I had a blast making invitations, planning decorations, food and getting ready for it.  Every year we say we are going to tone it down and every year the invite list is just as long and the party planning is just as crazy (though I admit I love it!).  Soooo, for Alex's first birthday we decided we really were going to tone it down.  I've feel like I've been crazy busy with life lately and part of me was a little relieved to not have to party plan for a ton of people but part of me just couldn't resist a little time on pinterest and some fun baking...... we trimmed down the invite list to just family and neighbors and we had a great time celebrating Alex's first birthday today!  And yes, we still ended up with close to 40 people - ha!

I've had great luck with Vista.print in the past for pretty reasonable prices so I put together a fun little party invite and started planning a baseball themed party for our little slugger.

I made cake pops for Makenna's 1st birthday party and they were quite a hit so I thought I'd try my luck with them again....

Let's just say this looks much better in the picture than in real life - thank you instagram!  I forgot just how putsy and messy they can be to make, but after a bit of patience they actually turned out pretty cute. 

I'm glad I made this birthday wreath for Makenna a few years ago because it is one of my favorite things to hang up when it get to be birthday week!

I intended to make another smash cake for the party today, but I tried frosting it last night and the entire thing just crumbled...... oops.  It's a good thing Alex likes cake pops;) 

No party is complete at our house without some of Great Great Grandma Busch's sugar cookies.  Mmmmm, these turned out tasty as always.

Just a few fun mantle decorations..... thankfully I had most of these decorations laying around the house so I didn't have to buy much of anything.  I saw the pumpkin baseball on pinterest and I thought it was cute:)  The water bottles are just a thing I always do.....Brad always makes fun of me but it honestly only takes 20 minutes or so and I think they look cute.  The A above the fireplace was a last minute add yesterday.  I cut it out and pasted chevron on it to add a little something.  

The "lil Brewer fan" was taken off the walls in Alex's room

Party favors

Just a few food signs...

I made this birthday banner for Makenna's 2nd birthday and have been able to reuse it every year.  I added a few stars to the ends and voila - it kind of matches everything else:)

The sweets table....Mmmm

Some Brewer cake pops

My baseball cake pops

The neighbors have nut allergies so I went with the circus peanuts instead of the real ones.  

The banner has Alex's monthly pictures on it

Lovely picture on the nasty old cookie tray, right?!  Oops. 

We just got a Chick Fil A in our area so I ordered a tray of nuggets from there, too - yummy!

This poster has monthly pictures of Alex on it, too

Ok, who is ready to party??

Watching for the guests to arrive...

Mom, look the neighbor kids are here!!

I love his little outfit.  We got it as a gift from some friends when he came home from the hospital and I was excited the size matched up.  It was a chilly day out but we didn't have to go outside so it was perfect.

He's ready for cake!!

Mmmmmmm

Happy Birthday Alex, we love you!!

Making Ms Elizabeth smile

Are all these presents for me mom?

He was getting a little tired during present opening so he wasn't quite his normal excited self but he did great and got SPOILED!!  Lots of boy stuff - wheels, trucks, puppies and loud toys!

Daddy and his birthday boy

Never too tired for a BIG OLD smile with Cookie Beek!!  Love this one!!  When she got to our house this morning I set Alex down in front of her and the first thing she told me was how blessed we are to have 2 absolutely beautiful children.  I couldn't agree more Cookie Beek - so thankful you stuck around to see them both!!  They love you!!

After a good nap he was SUPER excited to try out all his new toys, especially this one!

Thanks everyone for coming!  We had a blast and are so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends in our lives!!  

Happy 1st birthday Alexander Brooks!!