Our Little Pumpkin's 1st Birthday Party!

Party planning for Henley's Big Day started out rough. As I knew we would still be shacking up at Carmie and Popi's House....I needed to find a great spot for the cutie to have the time of her life! I was skeptical of choosing an outdoor venue, because October weather could be really cold, but decided to roll the dice. Come to find out, park pavilion rentals are cut-throat in October, and it was nearly impossible to find a good location...we ended up booking Chesterfield Central Park, which I love!....But had to do it almost 2wks before her actual birthday. Okay, so most people know that I am kind of a birthday freak...all things need to be just right...and I absolutely HATE when they end....so booking it so far in advance was kinda heartbreaking, because I knew that this meant the party would be over sooner....yea, doesn't make much sense...but basically I LOVE looking forward to things....and as events grow near, I have a tendency to get sad...before the day even comes, because I know its almost over. Okay, enough about my mental problems.

As the big day grew near, nap times were consumed with arts and crafts and fun ways to decorate at the party.
With her birthday falling right before Halloween, we decided to have a pumpkin themed party last Sunday morning. We had coffee and donuts, a haystack, and fun pumpkin buckets for party favors. And Courtney Winet designed some super cute invitations to accomodate the theme! :)

Yummy Dunkin Donuts and StL Bread Co Coffee :)

I loved painting the pumpkins that I put on the haystack -the pink/white/orange stripes turned out super fun, and I will definitely be painting more next year.









And thanks to Erin at Lizzie Jean Cookies, we bought some adorable LIGHT UP pumpkin buckets for the kids party favors...and stuffed with a fun box of s'mores - to go :) – and it was fun to add a mylar balloon use these as centerpieces for the tables -although it was a tad windy at times so hard to get a good pic:)







But probably my favorite thing about the party was the 12month poster of pictures. Trust me, I know NOBODY else cares about this....and I knew that when I was making it, but it was just something I wanted to do and be able to save for Henley. It was amazing to go through and look at our little 'pumpkin' and see how much she has grown and changed. I am sad that she will be turning ONE in just a couple of days, and I guess that means she is a....gasp! Toddler?! I can't barely handle that - but I guess I don't have a choice. Why do those first 12months have to go by so fast?!?!

















Okay, back to the party details :) ....

I think the highlight for Miss Henley was when she got to sit on her 'Throne' while we sang 'Happy Birthday' to her and presented her with her very first donut! :)
Here is a video of this memorable moment :)


http://youtu.be/27FYaHyVfgs

It looked like everyone had a great time with the pinata too. Everyone took a turn, and then another turn, and then another turn...

but apparently everyone could use a good hitting lesson at Balls N Strikes (or GameDay Ethan) :) - as it took an adult to bust it open so the kiddos could grab some goodies. We were so lucky to have Mr. Casey Sullivan in attendance - as he aggressively stepped up to the plate to help these little ones out....







Grabbing some treats and toys...

Hudsen cleaning up the remainders from the pinata....as she, and apparently myself and Kim, cannot stand a mess! :) - (we also must really love stripes!) :) haha!

The day was going wonderfully, but unfortunately Hudsen was a tad under the weather. She had been sick all week, but we thought had perked up the day before so didn't hesitate bringing her to the party...as she couldn't possibly miss her little sister turning one. But she wasn't feeling well and Justin and I spent a lot of time during the party taking care of her. She is all better now - so hopefully she will join in whatever festivities we plan on Henley's real birthday :)

My favorite picture of this wonderful day is right here - all the kids (minus Hudsen who was off to the side not doing to good)

A lot of boys here...we were lucky little Emily arrived just in time to be in the picture- as Justin mentioned...if not, it would be confusing as to whether this is a 1st birthday party or a Bachelorette party! :)


Some other fun pics from the morning:

Now that the party is over - I am absolutely THRILLED that we did it early! Mostly because the weather was literally PERFECT, but also because now, I get to look forward to her actual birthday next week! And also...having the party early, allowed me to thoroughly enjoy every minute rather than turn into an emotional wreck and accepting the fact that my little baby is turning ONE. I still have another week to enjoy her at 11 and 3/4 months old :)


Okay, so the party was wonderful! Henley honestly had the best day, and really enjoyed all of the attention. She was so lucky to have so many friends and family there to celebrate this special day - she is a lucky lucky lady!

Will this be the only post about Henley turning ONE, let's be honest...probably not :)

*Look at that face! If possible she loves her birthday just as much as I do!*