Mackenzie didn't care much for her birthday hat, but it did turn out cute.
I had a lot of fun getting everything ready for the party. The banner above the table has a picture from each month over the last 12 months. It is amazing to see how much she has changed. The goodies consisted of cupcakes, marshmallow pops, cupcake cake pops, M&M's, and chocolate covered pretzels.
I decided to make the cupcakes. We had 2 different flavors: strawberry with strawberry icing and chocolate cookie dough with whipped icing. The Chocolate Cookie Dough was a favorite among the crowd. It had a ball of cookie dough in the middle.
These were my attempt at cupcake cake pops. They turned out a little bigger than expected so they ended up not actually being pops. Still very yummy!
Hunter had a blast having everyone over to celebrate.
The kids got to decorate a cupcake to take home with them. They had a blast with all of the sprinkle choices.
Hunter was very proud to be her big brother.
She is walking, but a little on the wobbly side.
The blue icing was really blue, but it was the kids favorite. Sorry moms if it stained any tee-shirts :)
Mackenzie had fun opening the gifts, but not as much fun as the other kids did helping her.
Mackenzie decided to feed me some of her cupcake.
She was a little hesitant in the beginning, but once she dug in she loved it. She takes after me loving the sweet stuff.
We weren't sure how much she would eat, but she did have fun.
We were able to grab a family photo before Mackenzie went to bed.Back in July, Kelly Troutt and I had lunch with the girls. Over lunch, Kelly mentioned that she was going to plan Katherine's 1st Birthday around cupcakes. I loved the idea and asked if she wouldn't mind if I took that idea also. I had a blast looking for ideas and putting my creations into action. Everything either was cupcake themed or polka-dot themed.
The party started at 4. We let the kids play for about an hour and then set out dinner. Adam and I had decided to go easy with dinner. We bought about 3lbs of barbecue, some potato salad, chips, baked beans, and a few other sides. There wasn't hardly anything left.
After dinner, we opened gifts. Mackenzie got tons of girly goodies. She got her first tea set, a pink "chew-chew" train, and a pink Mega Blocks car. She didn't care too much about the gifts. The other kids loved helping her.
We then sang "Happy Birthday". As I was putting the cupcake on her tray, she grabbed the flame with her fingers and put it out. There were no tears. Everyone looked around at one another just waiting. I quickly smiled and then continued acting like nothing had happened. It didn't phase her or burn her fingers. So she didn't blow out her candle, but put it out with her finger instead. She slowly dug her little fingers in the icing, but was hesitant. Once she saw that I wanted a bite, and she shared one, she knew it was perfectly fine. After a few minutes of digging in, I decided she had had enough sugar. We went directly to the tub and I got her ready for bed. She was exhausted and went down quickly. After about an hour, the sugar kicked in and she was up again. We let her join in on the fun a little longer.
Once I had Mackenzie down, the kids gathered around the table to decorate their cupcakes. I had left a few from each batch un-iced. The kids loved using all of the sprinkles. I had little containers for them to take them home in.
Overall, her party was a hit. I love entertaining and am always looking for an excuse to have friends over. As much fun as I had getting everything ready, I don't think we will be putting as much effort into next year's party. You only have your 1st birthday once and I wanted it to be one that we would remember. Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you more than you will ever know.
