"You are My Sunshine" First Birthday!

With Eliza's first birthday approaching, I became extremely urgent about having a party in honor of our daughter. Why? Well, I'm pretty sure if I didn't have a party to plan, I would have gone into some sort of clinical depression (don't judge). I am convinced that first birthday parties are for the mother and the mother alone. When I mentioned the idea to Chris, he knew that it was necessary, absolutely necessary, for a mentally healthy wife.

So needless to say, I threw myself into the planning and decorating of this party. I worked inside of the allotted budget and came out the other side with a party for my darling daughter, that she will never remember, except through pictures. I am fully aware of the absurdity of having a first birthday party, but I NEEDED to have one, needed. Here are the picture of the day in honor of Ellie. We had fun!

We'll start with some party details.

I was brave and made the cake. It was a strawberry cake with lemon frosting. Yummy!

Cake Topper.

Yes, I made cupcakes too. I saw these cupcake liners and just had to use them!

The banners were made from an old pillowcase set that Erica and I found at a local Thrift Store. They were exactly what I wanted! I was thrilled!!!

This was probably one of my favorite decorations. We have it hanging in our living room now.

I HAD to have mason jar cups and paper straws. HAD. TO.

My mom and sister Anna were responsible for putting together my vision. They did a great job! Just look at that table. Lovely. Thanks Mom and Anna!

The entire room. :)

Yep, you are not mistaken, I required that we all matched. Not perfectly, but we needed to "go" together. Also, it made a cute picture!

My family. God had truly blessed us!

Eliza with Auntie Anna! They love each other.

Event highlights:

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

Eating Cake for the first time! She loved it!

Loved it until we had to clean her up. . .

Dad cutting the cake for guests. I like that his tie is thrown over his shoulder. He is pretty good looking.

Opening Presents!

My mom made this beautiful work of art for Eliza's birthday. She drew the pictures on the outside of Eliza and her mother Ellie. Both Ellie's share the same birthday!

Playing with the loot with all her friends!

Playing with daddy. I love how much they love each other.

I know, I went over the top, but I loved every second of it!