So...this post is WAY overdue. We threw Esther a 1-year-old party (a while ago), and despite the promise I made to Lee to not get carried away...I may have. Whoops.
Before the party, we had a min-celebration the actual day of lil bit's birthday. We started with blueberry muffins for breakfast, which she ate so quickly she promptly threw them up. That evening, we had a special birthday cupcake for the birthday girl...which she didn't hesitate to dive into. So. Much. Fun!
The birthday party was focused on rainbows and bubbles, and since it was in July, it was all water-themed. The weather turned out cloudy and rainy...which wasn't a total disaster, since it was water-themed anyway. I tried to do a rainbow of snacks, which we put under a tent to protect from the drizzle:
We welcomed guests with a bubble maker...which was then turned into the favors table afterward (jars of bubbles for the kids and bubble gum balls for the adults):
We had swim diapers available for anyone who needed them, and decorated with rainbow candy!
Outside, the deck was decorated with a fantastic banner made by my sister, with "bubbles" of pictures of Esther. That's also where we had the watermelon, cold and ready to be cut, and drinks iced for adutls and kiddos:
The yard supplied our entertainment. Lee made some awesome pvc water spouts, decorated with sponges. We borrowed several kiddie pools for the younger children. Mom helped me make the sponge stars - a cheap and easy option of things to throw, put in your mouth, etc. Lee also blew up a fun tunnel water slide, and then put together a large slip n' slide on the far end of the yard.
Esther had SO much fun, thanks to Lee's tireless efforts:
The BEST part about the entire day was how many people showed up. My dad came up, all of Lee's family came, family, church and community friends showed up, lots of Lee's co-residents from UMC, even my bff from the coast came up to help - we felt so loved and had so much fun celebrating Esther!
The birthday cake was AMAZING, made by Teresa Sones - who also delivered the cake to us that morning! It was delicious and perfectly decorated!
Esther dug right in without hesitation, probably thanks to her "practice" cupcake on her birthday:
Everyone got a little wet, thanks to the games and the rain. But I think everyone had fun, too. We have wonderful friends who chose to celebrate this blessing of life despite the weather.
After all our friends left, we opened gifts surrounded by family. Esther had lots of help unwrapping:
The best part of it all is how much fun Esther had, and how long her nap lasted that afternoon. Happy birthday to our little sweetheart!! (And sorry this is months late.)
