Claire's Garden Party

For Claire's 1st birthday, I wanted to do a garden party theme.

I had some great inspiration from party planners on Pinterest and this is what I came up with because I'm not as a) organized b) crafty c) time managed and d) over the top as some people. I still think it came out pretty cute!

We had vases full of flowers everywhere, which my mom expertly arranged.

This idea I stole from Pinterest which is using garden pots for silverware. These came from Home Depot. And of course, the plates and napkins had flowers on them (Target).

I also stole the idea of a Champagne bar from Pinterest -- here's the bar set with raspberries, orange juice, peach nectar, and lemonade. All 3 bottles were finished!

I made vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and pink sprinkles for the kids (and adults).

For Claire's cake, I opted for 5 small 5" cakes with different fillings (lemon, chocolate raspberry, chocolate caramel, vanilla & chocolate, and strawberry) all decorated with flowers -- from Whole Foods. They did a fantastic decorating job!

I love the sunflowers with Oreo centers and the basket weave for the lemon cake. And Claire's cute little smash cupcake.

The birthday girl!

And a party isn't a party without a piñata! I found one at Target in the shape of a butterfly. The kids had a blast hitting it (with a nerf baseball that we had to upgrade to something more potent!)

One Years Old!

My little Claire turned 1 years old today!

I can still remember her birth and how happy I felt when they laid her on my chest. She was beautiful and I kept on saying, "My baby! My baby!" How this year has flown and how happy we have all been with her in our lives.

Taking her home from the hospital ... so tiny

And on her 1st birthday ... my big girl!

 

11 months old ... very late!

Claire turned 11 months old under the sunny skies of Florida. The only thing missing here is a baby piña colada in her hand!

A lot has happened since she turned 10 months:

• She started crawling a few days after turning 10 months and is also very steady on her feet. She can stay standing for about 2 seconds before sitting down. She is also cruising around furniture and tries to "stand up" from a seated position.

• She started getting her teeth! Her 2 front teeth are almost completely in, as well as 1 bottom tooth. And she's eating table food more than puréed food I make for her.

• She's still nursing about 2-3x a day and 1x a night -- she still wakes at night a least once.  And now, she's teething so she's up a few times ... Sleep deprivation looks terrible on me (and 11 months of sleep deprivation is not pretty.)

• She started bathing with Wesley in the big tub. They are really cute playing together with all their bath toys.

• She wants to play with her big brother all the time, preferring his toys over her own (typical) which makes my day full of "play together!" and "stop hitting!" Claire is learning to hold her own (the joys of being #2). She is definitely feistier than Wesley which I expect will make my life only that much more exciting as she gets older.

I can't believe that I am getting ready for her 1st birthday party! This has been quite a fun year!