Mini, Mama, & Co.: olive’s 1st birthday!

my babe is a year old!!

so crazy how fast the last year has flown by.. it genuinely feels like maybe 6 or 7 months have passed... not 12!

for livi's first birthday, I of course wanted to go all out. and we kind of did.

I chose an under the sea theme, but not a little mermaid or disney aspect, as you'll see.

The week and really night before the party was absolute chaos as Micah and I literally finished our deck 5 minutes before the party started.

Here's a pic on the finished product:

It's hard to see, but the deck is 16x12 feet then steps down for a 12x9 foot section. We have big plans for our deck this summer, more details later!!

So back to the party...

The cake!

I followed a recipe I found online (kinda) for the crust and ideas for shaping of the cake.

The link is here: http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2013/06/12/how-to-make-a-sandcastle-cake-tutorial/

Instead of a yellow cake I chose a white cake ... I like the flavoring better. ;)

The table decor was so fun and I hardly took ANY pictures! Fail. :( but here's what I got.

Cups, plates, & forks - Zurchers

The gold platters I made.

Gumballs & Container - Target

Varied Straws - eBay

The cake pop stand I bought at Walmart & spray painted it turquoise.

My mom made like 50 cookies & I made 40 cake pops! And I might still have a giant one waiting to be "made" in my freezer. ;)

In my entry I decorated with a tulle banner and a chalkboard of Livi's first year stats.

The family room (again, I sucked at taking pics) I did a fun tissue tassle with paper wheels and doilies.

In the kitchen I did a paper banner over the windows & table and did more paper wheels.

Also, it's tiny & hard to see, but the little banner on the right was a string of pics I did of Olive's "months go by" starting at newborn and up to her 1 year pic. I loved it so much that I decided to turn it into a tiny book after the party.

I decorated her high chair with a tulle skirt that I turned into a tutu for Livi.

Sorry for the craptastic pics!

And in between the pendant lights over the kitchen island I did mini tissue tassels.

Also all around my house I put up "fun facts" about Livi. I printed them on a sandy looking glitter paper and stood them up on turquoise clothespins (I spray painted those too) and loved how they turned out too so I made a tiny book as well.

The birthday girl herself sittin pretty in the dress and crown I made for her. I love how it all turned out! She's matchy matchy with her d'Olive (darling little doll my sister-in-law Cara made & named).

We chose to do pizza & keep it simple for the meal. My awesome mother-in-law brought the salads, fruit platters, & even picked up the pizzas! Champion!

(I of course forgot to take a picture of ANY of the food so just pretend you see some amazing food here)

Oh I also made seahorse shaped ice cubes for the occasion. ;)

After eating & chitting the chat, we opened Olive's many gifts. This girl has some serious thank you notes to write.

After all the toys and outfits were out of the bags, we stripped Livi down and cut the cake.

Loves fire. Uh oh.

Really unsure about all the people singing to her.

Carefully destroying the cake.

Getting tickled my her grandpa!

Once all the food was cleaned up, floors vacuumed, & guests had gone home, Micah & Livi passed out for much needed naps. I finally joined in the nap sesh after puttering around of course.

On Sunday:

I had to do a quick little photo sesh with my little babe in her new pool & darling outfit from my sister-in-law Brittany.