Ingredients to a Perfect Party

Incase you weren't aware, first birthdays are kinda a big deal....

well for this mama it was at least.  :)  I had only been planning it, envisioning it, saving pins for it since oh, February 28th, 2012.  Ha!  And it went great!  

First ingredient: decor...mostly done after lil man went to sleep, so he was in awe each morning to find the changes downstairs.  He didn't disappoint either -- he would make "oohhh" noises at them.  

Then the ever so important ingredient: cake...plus a the extra smash cake needed for a 1st birthday and if you are a worrier, the cupcakes done in a different flavor because maybe not everyone wants white cake. 

 (side note : i am that mommy who still doesn't want her baby to 1st be grown and 2nd to have much sugar even if he is the ripe age of 1.  So I used a super yummy, sugar free and egg free recipe for a cake, plus sugar free cool whip.  They advised making sugar free sprinkles too, but I had to draw the line somewhere.  Here's the link to the cake: http://www.ourhavenhill.com/2012/06/05/recipe-healthy-smash-cake-for-babys-1st-birthday/)

Then the most important ingredient: a smiling, happy birthday boy!  He played his part well -- he bounced around from person to toy to mommy and back again until he finally dropped 20 minutes before the party was over. 

 

Extra ingredients not needed, but enjoyed : presents -- they were enjoyed by all the kids during the party.  :)

The icing on the cake: we raised over $100 for World Vision with our donation stat present party (my family wasn't able to go completely toy free - oh, well)!!! 

 Love that we could celebrate AND give back to my charity.  

 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR HELPING US CELEBRATE IF YOU CAME AND FOR ALL THE PRAYERS THAT HAVE GOTTEN LIL MAN AND ME THIS FAR!  WE ARE GRATEFUL AND BLESSED!!!

Additional thank you to my family for taking the pictures --

 I put my phone down and didn't find it til hours after the party!  Oops!