On January 9th we celebrated Brooklyn's 1st Birthday by throwing her a bumble bee party!! The theme was bumble bees & letter B's along with polka dots. Most people probably think I carry out the whole "theme" concept a little much, but I have so much fun putting together all of the decorations and little details that I challenge myself to be creative (and its so much more cost affective). We were super excited, because it was the first party where we could invite all of our family & friends in Illinois! We had the party at our house and served S&T home-aide pizzas for lunch along with some delicious dips my mother-in law made. With good company, The Bee Movie playing on DVD, and our house packed tight we had an absolute blast.
The invitations for the party I ordered online and then stamped with bumble bee stamps. The thank you cards I bought and stamped the envelope with a bumble bee.
The Birthday banner I made out of this cute polka dot wrapping paper.
Tissue paper pom poms and hanging letter B's that I painted black to match the party hung as a centerpiece.
I also made flower centerpieces to put on the tables by covering toilet paper rolls in the wrapping paper and cutting petals out of craft foam and topping them with a hard boiled egg (an idea I got from Family Fun magazine). And of course, I always love to put out recent pictures of the Birthday girl!! This one is a favorite of mine....
I bought this little bumble bee outfit almost 6 months before her Birthday, because I just couldn't resist!! It is a Gymboree bee outfit that even has little wings that stick out on the back. It is so cute and made for the perfect party theme attire;) The polka dot headband topped it off!
I have to laugh at this picture, because Brooklyn
and I are making the same face! lol!
The dessert table consisted of a bee hive cake that I made, cupcakes
topped with frosting flowers & lemon drops, lemonade, hot tea served with honey, black licorice bites, bumble bee cookies, & letter B cookies.
These little bee cookies were a hit! Thanks to my friend & professional baker Taylor:) Her cookies are not only adorable but delicious too! You can check her out @ www.taylors-temptations.com
Unlike her big sister (at her first Birthday), Brooklyn couldn't wait to dig into the cupcake!!
Olivia enjoying her cupcake:)
Considering the fact that first Birthday parties are primarily attended by adults, I had two games for everyone to play. The first one was a game I put together by placing some of Brooklyn's favorite things in sealed paper bags each starting with a letter from her name for people to guess. Some of the items included a picture of Olivia, a kiss, and even a nap (the girl loves her sleep). The other game was a bumble bee trivia game.
And the prizes for the games were gift cards & Burt's bees chap stick wrapped in these cute little boxes I decorated with wrapping paper & ribbon.
Party pictures....
Time for presents!
One of my favorite things about the party (which I also did
for Olivia's 1st Birthday) was that I asked everyone to bring a book for Brooklyn and write something inside. I also had everyone sign a photo mat to hang in her room with one of her Birthday pictures in it. And like Olivia's first Birthday, I had everyone write a little piece of wisdom or sweet message on slips of paper which I put in a tin to give to her when she is older.
Favors were little bags of black licorice tied with ribbon and tags stamped with "Thank you." For some reason I always enjoy giving editable favors, because they can be enjoyed at any age.
On Christmas morning we woke up to find Santa had stopped at our house!! The girls ripped through all of their presents from Santa & of course a few from Mom & Dad. 
After presents and breakfast at home we traveled to Papa & GG's house for more presents and a yummy lunch cooked by my sister-in-law. 
After their house we headed back to Nana's house for dinner, dessert, & (can you believe it) even more presents. Every year, my Mom has her family over for Christmas dinner. It was a nice relaxing evening and a great way to end our two days of running around. 
