Wilson's First Birthday

I have to admit, first, that I ended up eating the words, "I'm not going to make a big deal out of Wilson's birthday... he's not even going to remember it." It only took a couple of looks around on Pinterest to be  bitten by the party-planning bug, and ladies there is no cure for the bite. I was itchin' up something terrible to create and execute the cutest party ever for my Little Man.

I thought I was above it, but there is something in me that wants the absolute best Wilson, even when it comes to shallow things like his birthday outfit (which I shed a few needless tears over when I thought it wouldn't be here in time.. it was.)

Now onto this fiesta of uno! Only because I got some alligator thank you cards on sale last year did I decide to make the theme of Wilson's party the said reptile. And, you have to admit, they are pretty darn boyish and cute. Here is the birthday boy in the aforementioned stress-producing birthday outfit saying "Ta-da..." (he really can say that) "...It's my birthday party!"

 I ordered the outfit from a lady I found off of Etsy and she finished it in record time. The possibility that it might be late was all on me. The "dunce hat," as my loving husband called it, was something I found at Hobby Lobby last year for a birthday wreath... I saved it and I'm so glad I did. The elastic I added was a little tight so I didn't make him let him wear long. 

We had his big birthday celebration the Saturday before his birthday and we decided to do it at Andrew's parents' lake house which was a more central location for everyone. It was perfect to house everyone and to provide a really neat back drop for the party.

My friend Rachel designed these sweet invites that we sent out:

She also designed some cupcake toppers that dressed up our Sam's cupcakes. I know it sounds crazy, but I've discovered that Sam's Club has some of the.best. bakery items around. Their cakes are really moist and I love their icing... I also really love the price which is why I use them for all parties/showers. 

I got a couple of ideas off of Pinterest to decorate for the party...the first being the balloon wreath, which was one of my favorite things.

It was really so easy. I just tied balloons to a wire wreath that I found at Michael's. It took two big packs for Wal-Mart and about 15 minutes to do. Then I added some ribbon (I keep a lot of ribbon on hand... I love to use it for showers and parties to add playful touches on serving dishes) and a little badge I also found at Michael's with one of the cupcake toppers. 

The other idea I got was for a birthday banner.

 

I used this tutorial to cut out the fabric... and then my God-send grandmother and mother-in-law sewed and threaded them the night before the party. My grandmother (who is a sewing guru) told me that the pattern didn't allow enough room for her to pull the fabric inside-out, so she did some tweaking that I wish I could tell you about, but I was making potato salad while she was doing hard labor. My mom cut out the letters with a circuit cutter and we hot-glued them to the fabric. I am excited that I can use it for birthdays to come.

Another decoration I added was his month-by-month pictures. It was really fun to see side-by-side how much he has changed over the year... I got pretty teary-eyed putting it together.

It turned out to be a really sweet birthday party... not because of what I did, but because of all our dear family and friends that came to celebrate. Oh, and the cupcakes were pretty good, too.

 

I think I really love planning birthday parties. So much so, that a few days later on W's real birthday... we did it all over again!

 

I can't believe our Little Man is one! I am looking forward to many more years ahead... even the days when he won't let me put party hats on his head.