Brooklyn's 1st Birthday party

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.