Oh man did we party like it was 1999. Clara’s big birthday bash was so much fun, and even the weather miraculously cleared up for us (which I fully contribute to all the anti rain dances you guys did – so thanks). Of course you’re all virtually invited, so let’s get this show on the road. Here’s what the living room looked like decorated with some giant balloons and the fabric flag banner that I begrudgingly made for the bean just minutes before the first guests arrived.
On the other side of the room I hung a paper pendant that I made a while back above the hallway sliders and John taped up all of Clara’s 52 weekly photos (see the whole collection here) on the fireplace. It turned out to be a great place for people to stand and study them all (everyone had a different favorite) and it was so amazing to see how much she has grown and changed.
It had rained all morning but I refused to let the dream die (you know, the dream of actually using the patio that John worked so haaaaaard to build before the party) so I strung up some balloons that I got from Target for a few bucks to create a festive come-hither-and-enjoy-the-new-patio look. The forecast said it might stop raining by noon (which was the beginning of the party) but I snapped this picture around ten minutes before and it was still misting and overcast. Boo.
Pssst- Notice a privacy fence going on? Let’s just say John’s been busy. Details as soon as he catches his breath…
Thankfully, all that mattered to us was keeping Clara smiley, which didn’t hinge on the weather at all. We actually had to wake her up from her nap to attend her own party after a few guests showed up right on time. But she didn’t mind. Look at that happy girl. And isn’t her dress cute? It’s from Target.
Burger was possibly the best sport of the day to wear these ridiculous curly pink ribbons that I tied around his collar. I figured he’d immediately attack them until he got them off, but he didn’t seem to mind them at all. So he ended up wearing them the entire time. What a good big brother.
As for the food and drink set-up, we decided the kitchen was just waaaay too ugly to work as the main party backdrop (oy, that paneling) so we moved the kitchen table into the sunroom to create a little food and drink buffet. We even improvised and used a cute toy bucket of Clara’s for ice. Oh and here you can see the fabric runner that I made for the table using some of Clara’s weekly photo backdrop fabrics (I’ll have to share the steps for making that guy soon – it was really simple). And in the top right corner of the photo you can also see Clara’s special fabric that we designed on Spoonflower which we intended to use as a photo backdrop for everyone at the party.
Intended was the key word. We did manage to grab photos of a few guests in front of it (holding blank pieces of paper that we planned to later photoshop with their names so we could make an album for Clara to learn to recognize everyone). But the day was just such a blur that we didn’t get a chance to capture everyone. Maybe we’ll just have to make her an album with photos that we already have of everyone without that cute backdrop (which I plan to make into a beanbag someday).
As for the spread, we landed on a few simple crowd pleasing foods that work for babies and adults alike… and also had special meaning to us. We even made little cards to explain why we chose certain eats (just printed out on card stock on our own computer). For example, the pizza card said “Many of John & Sherry’s casual dates in New York City were enjoyed over a slice of New York pizza.” It was really nice to order five pies and call it a day (instead of slaving away making the food like we did for our backyard wedding – we must have been crazy back then).
We also had some of the most delicious chips and salsa in Richmond on hand – which also happened to have special meaning for us when it comes to our favorite girl. The card explained it all: “John was eating these Cafe Olé chips on his last day of work when Sherry called to announce that she was in labor.”
We also figured the other kids and parents would appreciate an easy little snack (one of Clara’s favorites). In fact when we held up a few things (Cheerios, Goldfish, these) she picked these (by pointing at them and saying “dis” – which isn’t a dis, but actually means “this”). And so the card read: “Clara loves munching on these veggie sticks and specifically requested them at her party.”
And although we would serve cupcakes along with Clara’s smash cake later in the party, we set out some cinnamon cookies with the food just to fill up the table with one more crowd pleasing treat (they’re also known as “labor cookies” because it’s an old wives tale that the spices somehow can start labor when you’re ready to pop – but it didn’t work when John whipped up a batch for me). So the card on these guys read: “John baked these ‘Labor Cookies’ when the doc said Clara was ready. They didn’t work – but they were good!”
Everyone ate their little hearts out and had a merry old time. Our party guest total ended up being 25 of our closest friends and family members, which was just about perfect. Here’s Clara taking time off from pizza eating to flirt with the camera man (our brother-in-law Todd very graciously snapped a lot of photos while we “hosted” and soaked up the day since he’s a pro photographer – and we’re oh so grateful).
And by this time it started to get nice and sunny out, so while most people were venturing outside onto the new patio (miracle of all miracles!), some people ate inside as well.
And Clara’s cousin John checked out our hallway frame wall with his new balloon friend. Btw, the giant colorful balloons were a huuuge hit with the kids. And two of them did pop, but they did so nice and loudly – which was helpful because one of the eighteen adults could quickly grab all the pieces (since deflated balloons can be choking hazards- safety first!).
We also mentioned that we wanted to create a birthday time capsule for people to contribute to at the party (we talked about it back in this post, which also has sources for a lot of our party supplies). What we ended up doing was grabbing a basket for people to drop notes and “artifacts” from 2011 into, which we would then transfer into a tin box for Clara to open on her 18th birthday. Oh and the note to direct people to contribute said: “Add something to Clara’s Time Capsule! We’re making a time capsule for Clara to be opened on her 18th birthday. So please write a note to be slipped in. (Something about her, about 2011, or even about yourself. Whatever!)” She ended up with lots of well wishes, a newspaper from that day, a party hat, and some stat cards full of gas prices and top recording artists and TV shows today. It should all be really fun to look back on when she’s eighteen.
See those little striped pens? Those were from the sentiment cards that people filled out for our wedding. I was so glad to spot them in the drawer when I went digging around for some fun little pens. And as for the note cards, they were just pieces of 8 x 10 card stock that I cut into quarters and drew a little heart at the top with pink, blue, and green markers. So the whole time capsule project was f-r-e-e.
And speaking of cheap thrills, these bubble containers shaped like ice cream cones were less than fifty cents a pop at Target (they sell them four per pack in the party aisle) and I used a silver sharpie to write each child’s name on them to create cute little favors. Once again, we printed out a little card stock sign to explain the whole shebang: Thank you for coming to my party! If you’re a young bubble enthusiast like myself, please take the party favor with your name on it. (This means you Laney, Elsa, John, Emanuel, Hayes, and Edison!) xoxo, Clara
Happily, they were a hit. Especially since everyone was gravitating outside to the patio (with rain clouds nowhere to be seen).
The balloon garlands were also pretty fun for the kiddos to look at, poke, smile at, and talk to (kids are kind of weird, but very cute). Look at my sweet momma and my sweet baby girl, living it up underneath them.
People even started spilling out into the carport, which is where some crowd rallying dancing took place. Here’s Clara’s cousin John getting the party started with some Macarena-ish moves.
We took the carport fun as a sign that it was time for my homemade piñata. That’s right the ugly goiter-esque creation that I shared on Friday actually worked out! I used a blow dryer to eliminate the moisture issue, popped the balloon, and then covered it with tissue paper “scales” for a fun girly effect inspired by this one I pinned on Pinterest a while back. I’ll be back with a detailed tutorial to share all the steps (I tweaked it to create a “pull string” piñata so the wee ones didn’t need a bat to get to the goodies inside, they each just yanked a bunch of strings to pop open the bottom and get to their treates – which were individually wrapped packets of Teddy Grahams and Goldfish). Long story short: it was lots o’ fun.
And because some of the party-goers stuck around in the carport for more bubble adventures (while others made their way back to the patio or the sunroom for more snacks/drinks/time capsule fun), we decided that it was time for some smash cake for the bean…
For those unfamiliar with a smash cake (my own Italian momma had never heard of it) it’s a tradition where you bake a tiny kid-sized cake for your one year old…
… and encourage them to dig in and make a big ol’ mess while snapping lots of photos and giggling uncontrollably. Clara was not shy.
It might have been the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
And she even generously shared some with us, so I ended up with a little icing in the hair situation and John got a cake goatee. Best time ever.
Here’s the cake carnage. Not a bad job for a dainty little girl, eh?
Then we pulled out three dozen cupcakes from our favorite bakery (Ukrops) and announced that everyone else should dig in too, since Clara set a great example. And did they ever. Oh and since all the other food got a label, of course the cupcakes earned one too: “These are the same cupcakes that John & Sherry enjoyed at their wedding, which Clara was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.”
And in some miracle of bulk cupcake ordering magic, three dozen of these pink, green, and blue babies came out to under $14. Yes, that’s less than 38 cents a cupcake. And I didn’t have to make them. I’m actually not sure I could have made and iced three dozen cupcakes for under $14, so it was definitely money well spent. And it freed me up to make Clara’s smash cake, which was lots of fun.
Here’s where everyone was outside and we realized that we hadn’t taken a wide shot of the sunroom with the kitchen table all set up with food (well, cupcakes and cookies at this point) so we snapped one (that table in the corner is where the bubble favors and time capsule stuff was set out for everyone).
And here’s a shot of everyone hanging out on the rain-free patio (there was even some ball playing in the backyard). We felt so lucky to end up with a nice day to celebrate the bean.
And we capped off the event with a little year-in-review video that John made for Clara on the computer using iMovie (and then burned to a DVD so we could share it with everyone on the TV in the living room). Look how many people we can fit on good ol’ Karl the Sectional.
Oh and as for the bean’s presents, you guys know I made her this quilt (which she very cutely pawed and smiled at when I gave it to her) and we also got her this fun little stacking game where you make sandwiches from one of our favorite eco companies. She loves it! And John will be building her a sandbox any day now to complete the gift trifecta. She also got lots of books and some great “activity presents” like a membership to the Children’s Museum and a series of toddler nature classes from the family. And her boyfriend Will Bower got her a super fun bathtime bubble blower and an über stimulating book called First 100 Words and this gorgeous dress that she’ll wear to woo him the next time she sees him.
So there you have it. Our precious baby girl’s first birthday party full of food, family, friends, fun, bubbles, balloons, cupcakes, chaos, and laughing til we cried. And the cycle of babies continues! John’s sister Katie recently announced that she’s expecting again (you can see her cute baby bump in the photo above our Clara video). Congrats to Katie and Martin! I’m sure we’ll blink our eyes and find ourselves at that baby’s first birthday party before we know it.
Donna Huebsch says
What a fabulous party!! Your little bean is just beautiful, your house looked gorgeousm, and I love that everyone got to use the patio that John worked so hard on!
Nichole says
Happy Birthday, Clara!
What a beautiful family, party and video! I had to chuckle when I saw the one legged crawl. Our 15 month old daughter did the same thing and we called it the pirate crawl because it looked like she had a peg leg! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Totallllllly! I call it “the wonky crawl” but the pirate crawl is pretty hilarious!
xo,
s
Meredith @ La Buena Vida says
Happy Birthday to sweet Clara!
Looks like you guys had a fantastic party–so glad the rain held off for you!
liz @ bon temps beignet says
I say you should leave the baloons up all year on the patio. It looks like something out of a magazine!
I was wondering, do you think y’all work better with deadlines? Like, “We HAVE to get this done by Clara’s birthday” or do you think it’s better to work without deadlines? As in “It’ll be done when it’s done!”
YoungHouseLove says
I think we mix it up. Sometimes after a big deadline like the patio we want a breather and less pressure. But sometimes if we’re puttering along and want to build momentum again we’ll try to pick a deadline and stick to it! I’d say for the most part we like to have a we’ll-get-there-when-we-get-there attitude (since our last house took us 4.5 years to finish, we don’t have any delusions that this house will be done this year or next year or even the year after that- and we’re happy to take our time and go day by day).
xo,
s
greenbean says
my grandmother used to do nothing but smile at the TV when Family Matters was on. And i just did the same at that video of the bean. So lovely.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s the best visual. Love it!
xo,
s
Amanda Wells says
It turned out so cute! We have Clara’s dress for my three year old. It’s adorable! My question is where did you get your adorable sweater?
P.S. – I’m having storage bin issues in our playroom – http://www.amandadovewells.com/?p=451 – any suggestions are welcome!!
YoungHouseLove says
That was from the Banana Republic Outlet in Delaware (where we go to the beach with John’s fam). As for storage bins, maybe try TJ Maxx or HomeGoods or Ikea or Target? Those are where we find most of ours. Good luck!
xo,
s
Maggie Rose says
That was my question too! Sherry’s sweater!
It was my birthday on Sunday so I couldn’t help but think of Clara on our shared birthday weekend! Happy b-day, bean!
Jennifer C. says
Looks like it was a GREAT time!
Jess says
The party looks absolutely amazing! I’m so glad that the weather held out for you. Happy Belated Birthday, Clara!
counselor mom says
I loved it!!! Everything turned out great! I loved the decorations and especially the time capsule idea. I had my 1 year old baby’s bday party last Saturday and I feel your pain. A lot of work involved for the special day. I think next year we are going to a park for her birthday :) Much easier and not as much cleaning!
Nicole says
Happy belated birthday Clara! Looks like you all had a great time celebrating the first year of her life. It actually made me chock up a bit thinking back to your birth story with her. So much to celebrate and cherish. They grow up so fast. :)
Megan says
Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
Kayla says
what a beautiful job you guys did! so fun and meaningful. of course the video made me cry. we just found out our baby due in October is a girl! can wait to steal some of your sweet baby girl ideas :)
Heather says
Just curious if you guys opened presents during the party? Everyone around here does that (and so did we), but it is a little weird since the adults are the ones who end up opening them. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
YoungHouseLove says
We thought about opening gifts in front of everyone at the party but since we had so many under five year olds (seven including Clara) we worried their attention spans might not hold out. So the grandparents stayed behind after everyone left and we opened the gifts then. Clara did her fair share of tissue paper ripping and ribbon pulling and wrapping paper scrunching so she actually had some fun “opening” them with us!
xo,
s
Cristina says
WHAT
A
PARTYYYYY !!!!
and
WHAT
A
VIDEOOOO !!!!
Please adopt me! ;-D
Erin says
She’s just the happiest most animated little girl! Congrats you two! :)
J'Ann says
OMG you guys are such awesome parents! congrats Clara on making one and saying “Hi Carrot!” lol. Loved the vid, makes me wanna have babies… :-(
A Girl’s Next Best Friend
Sarah says
That party was perfect you guys! I watched your video and even shed a few tears myself. It must still be the pregnancy horomones in my system even though my son is 5.5 months old!
Clara is such a gorgeous baby. She has grown so much! Tell her happy birthday for me. Give her a kiss for Hayden (my son), he’s got a crush on her! He gives a big drooly grin every time he sees a picture of her. :)
~Sarah from Ugly House Lovely Home
http://uglyhouselovelyhome.blogspot.com
Wendy says
Clara looks identical to John in the second smash cake picture!! :)
Kelsey says
Loved the video! What’s the music?
YoungHouseLove says
There’s a url at the end of the video with a music credit (to the site where you can download it for free). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
mandy madison says
um, adorable. Can Clara get any cuter? Seriously.
Richard says
You guys are such wonderful parents. This is by far one of the cutest posts you have done, everything looked perfect.
Christy says
Wow. You guys are amazing. The bar is set pretty high for all future Baby P’s. :-)
I do have a question… your pictures are so clear and beautiful. What kind of camera and lens are you using? Did you Photoshop everything before posting it, or are those straight out of the camera? They are all so good, especially for a day that is usually a little crazy with all the food, kids and details to attend to! Great job!
YoungHouseLove says
A lot of these pics are actually from Todd (our brother in law, who we mentioned snapped a bunch for us while we hosted since he’s a pro photog) but he uses the same camera we use (well a muuuuch fancier version) but they’re both Nikon DSLRs. Ours is a Nikon D3000 with the stock lens that came with it (and we have no idea what Todd’s is, but it’s big and expensive- haha). We really didn’t Photoshop many of them (other than to crop in or lighten something if it’s a little dark or off kilter). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Robin says
I was thinking about you all on Saturday and hoping for good party weather. And my first thought this morning (really!) was that I must read about Clara’s birthday celebration.
That video made me all weepy. And then I had to go back and watch it again.
Happy First Year, Petersik Family!
Lori @ Richmond, BABY! says
What a fun party…everything looks fabulous! And that video…too precious. Clara will love to watch it over and over when she is older, I’m sure- such a treasure of wonderful memories!
Happy Birthday, Clara!!! :)
Dani says
What a beautiful party and a sweet girl!
kelly ann says
My son, Hendrix and I watched the video together. He kept screaming “BABY!!!!” and laughing at all the video clips. While, I was CRYING. so perfect. What a beautiful family you have. So glad the internet allows me to stalk you so openly. :)
Happy Birthday, Miss Clara.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, tell Hendrix that Clara thinks he sounds cute. Haha.
xo,
s
Kristin says
Those are some great ideas!! Thank you so much for sharing! My daughter turns 1 next month and I’m trying to come up with the final birthday plans. Who knew it could be so stressful! I’m definitely going to use some big balloons!
Did you bake the smash cake or buy it?
YoungHouseLove says
That was homemade! I thought it was going to go south after I iced it and tossed some sprinkles on top (it looked a little – um – questionable) but then when I added the icing around the edge and the side and the number one and those little candies around the sides it came together pretty well for an allergic-to-baking girl like me. Haha.
xo,
s
Barb says
The video made me cry, too. Thanks for sharing Clara’s special day.
Stephanie says
Thanks for sharing the video! Teared up a bit :) Kids are so precious, especially at that age.
Brittney says
Happy birthday to Clara! I’m totally bookmarking her birthday video for when I’m having a bad day. It’s impossible to not smile and laugh at her sweet little face!
Nancy Morrison says
The video was just beautiful! You guys have done a fantastic job of taking pictures and video. There is no doubt that as Clara gets older she will know how much she is loved! Such a beautiful family!
I love how you did Clara’s party. Everything was just right and the idea of using colors instead of specific theme is awesome! Well done. You do however know that once you start big with birthdays, they can snowball year after year. I bet you’ll have a pinterest board just for future birthday ideas here pretty soon. LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, oh yes! I’m already planning b-day number two! I’m nuts.
xo,
s
Gina @ Runningtothekitchen says
You guys throw quite the party! I love all the details and thoughtfulness you put into every aspect of it. wonderful pics!
Alina says
Happy Birthday, Clara!!!
Sniff, sniff… that video was amazing!
jennifer says
Happy Birthday Clara!! Sweetest video EVER John and Sherry!! I think you have just inspired me to sit down and make one for my girls.
Thank you!
Jen @ The Decor Scene says
OMG I loved it all!!! Gorgeous! All that hard work paid off in the end. Love all the decorations for the party and those cupcakes look yummy. That video made me tear up! Loved it. Thanks for sharing it all with us!!! :)
Crystal says
Aww, great party! Looks like everyone had fun!
While watching her video my 2 year old was totally enthralled. Why? Because he thinks Clara is his cousin Kaykay and he was uber confused how she managed to do all that fun stuff with all those other people and he never saw it happen! =)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, Clara says hi to Kaykay her twin!
xo,
s
kemmie says
Great party guys! Y’all done good! :)
Amy says
I feel so silly tearing up at a video of a perfect stranger’s baby, but there you go. The Internet is weird.
It’s obvious you two would make good-looking kids, but God that girl is beautiful! (And if she and Will ever “break up,” I have a handsome almost-18-month-old. :) )
Steph @ Birdhouse Family says
Happy birthday Clara! The party looked amazing! The food, the decor, the patio – everything looked great!
The video took the cake for me. So sweet and funny and touching at the same time.
Melisa Anderson says
Your video is precious! She will love seeing these things when she’s older!
Lisa says
I am starring every post about Clara’s 1st birthday party in my Google Reader account so I can steal all of your ideas for my son’s party (which won’t be until November)! You guys did a great job!
Monika says
Your video was so cute! It made me cry :’)
It looks like you had a wonderful party to celebrate your beautiful little girl. Thanks for virtually inviting all of us to share it with you. <3
Kristen says
Looks like the party was fantastic! Glad the weather cleared up for you. Your attention to detail is amazing. Loved the video too! What a sweet keepsake.
karen says
okay..first of all…tears from that darling video!!! i can’t help but think of my baby turning one in a month.
the party looked like soooo much fun! love the decor! The pic of Clara going to town on the cake is priceless!
you guys are such awesome parents!! kisses to the birthday girl, Clara!
Lisa says
WOW! You two NEVER leave out a single detail! So well done! Your adorable video brought even ME to tears. So cute. And brought back a flood of memories of when my 3 babies were that age & reaching those special milestones. My oldest just turned 12 and it seems like yesterday that we were goo-goo-ga-ga over our first baby and cheering him on. They just get so big and grown up so fast. You two are great examples of savoring and taking it all in! Thank you for inspiring us all! :) Happy B-lated Bday to Clara! :)
mrs.origami says
Everything looks great! Awesome job. I’m in RVA too and on Saturday when we had that break in the rain I thought of you all and how much fun you must have been having at your party. Happy 1st birthday to Clara!
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
oh my gosh! What an awesome party and I LOVE all the little sweet notes laid around. It just shows just how much thought you guys put into each and every little detail. Clara is going to LOVE looking back at these photos when she’s older. PS- LOVE that her party color scheme is very reflective of your living room. :)
Briel K. says
Happy birthday to Clara! Looks like she had a great first birthday party. :) The video is awesome.
Lisa says
Great party! We got the Green Toys sandwich set and pizza set for our son, too – he turns 1 on June 15. I was thinking of saving them until he is a little older but maybe we’ll bring them out sooner! I am so impressed that Clara is saying words… my son is still using just babababa, mamama, dada, and guh, whatever that means.
Heather Grilliot says
I was excited to turn on my computer today and see how the party went! Been hooked on your blog for months now, loved the video, so sweet. Great way to capture her first year. You have such a beautiful family. It only gets better from here on out! Happy Birthday little Clara!