Maggie's First Birthday Party

For the last couple of weeks it has been D.R.Y. here. No rain to really speak of in the forecast. Except of course for Sunday afternoon during Maggie's birthday party. My plan for outdoor decorating was changed so that the paper pom-poms wouldn't be destroyed if the rain did come. I knew that as long as there weren't thunderstorms rolling through, the kids would all be fine playing outside even if it was raining. They would be in the pool and sprinklers getting wet already so rain wouldn't phase them. As it turned out, it only sprinkled a few times during the party, much to the chagrin of my poor plants that have been desperately waiting for a good drenching.

The theme of her party came from the shower my mom and sister-in-law had for me before Maggie was born. Stacy made tissue paper pom-poms to decorate and I loved them. I brought them home and as I kept seeing them in my craft room, I decided it would be fun to decorate with them for her first birthday too. The originals were a little too "loved" to use for the party, so I had to make new ones (with Jean's help - thanks Jean!).

I also made a tissue paper wreath to match the colors and hung it over the mantle in our living room.

My favorite decoration was the banner of her monthly pictures I made. I had originally planned to hang it from the fireplace, but I put it on the mantle while I figured out how to hang it and I really liked it there. Plus, being up higher made it safe from little hands. 

The kitchen had more pom-poms, balloons, and her actual birthday banner. 

(I don't have a picture of just the decorations)

The birthday girl

Maggie was so good the whole time. She enjoyed playing with the kids and entertaining the adults. She willingly opened most of her presents and only got upset at cake time because there were so many people so close to her. But she didn't cry until the singing was over and the candle had been blown out. It was so different than the boys first birthday parties. Both of them were more shy at this age than Maggie is. It's so much more fun to be an experienced mom at a first birthday party. I remember Braeden's and I was so worried about everything going right and how he was going to act that I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I should have. By this time around, I was able to let it flow however it was going to go and had fun! 

Cake time. She couldn't take her eyes off of my aunt singing Happy Birthday.

Presents!

A crown that one of the kids at the party made for her as a present. So cute. 

Here is how she spent the rest of the night until it was bedtime..

It was a really wonderful party. I'm so happy that everyone we invited was able to come and celebrate Maggie with us. It was fun to watch the older kids playing and having such a good time together. Maggie was happy and smiley and enjoyed every minute of the attention. I love that we have such an amazing group of family and friends who love my kids so much and are able to enjoy these milestones with us. Thank you to everyone for coming and making it a great day!