My goodness, time is just FLYING! Miss Ainsley turned one on July 3rd, but we had her big party the week after since we go to NH every year for the 4th. Summer really is the most fun time to have a birthday! I'm glad the last miserable month of pregnancy paid off and will continue to pay off every year when we can throw Ainsley a lovely outdoor BBQ or pool party. And with her birthday almost landing on America's, I will also always have a default party theme if I don't feel like coming up with something new. So without further adieu, I present our little love's patriotic first birthday party, starting with the invite:
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| If there was any question, this was done from scratch, no pre-made template, no ordering online. Created, printed and mailed straight from my home. I like the vintage hint and just LOVE the photo of Miss A! |
Following are photos of some of my Pinterest inspired decorations/projects:
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| Loved the mason jars with straws and red punch! It was one of the super easy and cute touches that actually didn't require much work! |
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| Here you can see two other projects that were way more involved, but a lot of fun for me (and Ainsley) to do: patriotic bunting with Ainsley's handprint in lieu of a star and her First Birthday Flag. |
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| Another fun project: painting Mason jars! Gotta use something other than acrylics next time though because, unfortunately if these get wet, the paint will wipe right off the glass. |
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| Last minute touch because I had it lying around. |
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| Close of up the flag - So proud of my baby and all her accomplishments in one year! |
Those were the only shots I got of some of the details I worked so hard on. Missing from those photos are good shots of: the "stars"(Ainsley's handprint) and strips bunting (which you can catch in the background of some of the other photos), the "goodie cups" for all the kids with their star sunglasses, mini flags and bandanas, and my Flag Fruit Kabobs (which I thought was totally not worth the effort! Making food look pretty is definitely not my thing. Let's just stick to making sure it tastes OK!)
Anyway, with around 50 people (20 of them being or under 12!) and no afternoon nap, Ainsley was a little overwhelmed! She didn't crack too many smiles for the camera, but still had fun with her friends. Below are a few of my favorites:
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| Oh hey, look, my flag fruit kabobs in the background! |
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| Not the greatest of Ainsley, but her friend Emelia is just way too adorable! |
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| They weren't as miserable as they look, I promise! At least here you can see Ainsley's pretty party dress and bow! |
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| Who needs a smash cake when your parents give you the entire real one? |
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| Don't let her fool you… this isn't her first time eating cake! |
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| Post cake MELTDOWN! |
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| Owl? Owl? Of course!!! |
Ainsley is very lucky to have so many amazing friends and family members who came out to celebrate with her! It was such a beautiful day and I didn't want it to end. We had even set up cafe lights and bought sparklers and marshmallows for when the sun went down, but like us, most of our guests had little ones to put to bed and left well before then. Still, Ryan, my mom, dad and I were able to enjoy winding-down by the fire and reminiscing about the past day/year. Here's a view of our house from the yard that evening. Looks pretty inviting, huh? Just love it!
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