The Big ONE

We had such a fun Saturday celebrating the first year of Miss Charlotte. I decided to keep this celebration just our close family -- it was important to me to be able to enjoy the party too and not be so busy taking care of things that I didn't get to join in on the fun. :) I also wanted to be able to spend time with Charlotte on her actual birthday (which was 2 days before) and spend time with her on party day as well.

But, I did want it to be special! Here's a yarn wreath I made for the front door.
Our house was all things pink, green and white with a cupcake theme. I made these mason jars decorated with "C"s on them as the centerpiece of the dining room table where we all ate lunch.

I was overjoyed that all of our family was able to be here to celebrate with Charlotte. At this age, gifts mean very little to her. But, being surrounded by all the people she loves -- with her as the center of attention -- made her one pretty happy gal! I realize the not all of our family will be able to be present for every birthday, but for some reason it's just so important to me that they be here for the first one. I want Charlotte to know that everyone loved her so much that they came to celebrate with her!

I made lunch for all of us before we celebrated with cake. I made Chicken and Wild Rice, Salad and homemade rolls. We started with the BEST dip that's definitely going on my "must make often" list -- thanks to my friend AJ for the recipe. :)

Charlotte is such a good eater. She sampled some of everything and couldn't get enough of the casserole & bread. I hope she stays this good of an eater!

Like I said, I wanted to make this day special. I make these cupcake cookies to match the cupcake cake that she had.

Here's Charlotte checking out the table. Look closely & you can see Harrison sneaking some M&Ms. :)

Here we are singing Happy Birthday. You can't see it very well, but her outfit had little cupcakes embroidered all over it. Perfect for this day!

One great thing about being baby #3 -- you have 2 older siblings to help you blow out your first birthday candle!

But, you still get an entire cake to yourself! She was a little hesitant at first, but decided that she definitly like the icing! Although she did prefer for me to feed it to her.

Eventually she did get her hands dirty and kept rubbing the icing between her fingers. Ick!

After cake it was present time! We got her a pushtoy-stroller and some stacking blocks and a couple other little toys. She also got a beautiful dress and new snack keeper, monogram plate set, new book and shoes! The gifts were opened in record time, with the help of Madeleine and Harrison!

This ball popper has already been taken over by her older siblings. They love it, too!

To me it was the perfect day! We were surrounded by our family, ate good food, played with the birthday girl, and made wonderful memories. I can't think of a better way to celebrate this wonderful year with our wonderful Charlotte!