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.
Beatrice says
What a beautiful party! I admit I haven’t had a 1 year old in (wow)almost 40 years (!!), so pardon my ignorance…but that was a hu-ge amount of work for just 2 hours worth of party, wasn’t it? Are all kids parties that short? Maybe it’s just my memory that’s short.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, well we figure it’s an attention span thing at that age. Most of our guests stayed around 2.5-3 hours, but after that it was nap time for lots of the kiddos (we had 7 kids who were under five years old running around!).
xo,
s
Ali says
Everything is so coloful and festive! Love it! I was at my nephew’s birthday party Saturday (yep, same b-day as Clara) and we also had a big bowl of veggie straws. Noah loves them too!
Beth says
Looks like the party was a huge success! Love the video of Sweet Clara. Yall are just the cutest family EVER!
Arlena says
I’ve been looking forward to seeing these pictures!!..what a wonderful celebration. I am glad the rain let up to show that lovely patio and all the hard work that went into it.
I enjoy seeing your beautiful home each day, but even more so…Clara. I believe she is the happiest baby I have ever seen and she brings a smile to my face. Congratulations on Year 1 Clara!!!
Rachel says
Seriously you guys, all these sweet videos make me cry at work which is so not cool. Your family photographer did an amazing job capturing the party. I love how all of the colorful decor looks in your den, so pretty! I think it would be really cute to bring in some colorful Moroccan poofs in the party colors. They would look so great with the gray and your rug.
You guys are amazing parents and so blessed with Clara! Happy birthday to your sweet girl!
Rina says
Happy Birthday Clara! I was sooo excited to come into work today (I’m in Melbourne Australia)… got my coffee and settled in front of my computer to read the Birthday Post – it was just like I was there at your party! (my husband think’s I’m crazy being so involved in stranger’s lives! Ha Ha). Anyways, was so fun coming to your party – loved all the decorations and personal touches. So beautiful!
Diana Y says
Happy 1st Birthday Clara!! And thank you to your mom and dad for sharing your first year with us; what a wonder of a year it has been! Love to your precious family!
Sheri says
Guys–I was smiling and crying like a dork when I watched Clara’s video. Thanks for including us in Clara’s first year!
Claire says
Cutest Birthday Party Ever!! I can’t wait to have kids and steal some of your ideas! Thanks for posting such creative ways to celebrate! Love it!
tara says
What a great party and I loved the video! So sweet! I have a 7 month old girl so I appreciate all your Clara posts!
Mary says
Best Post EVER! Love your little family! You guys are magic! I seriously think you have an army of elves that helps you get all of these fantastic things done! Oh and they sleep in the laundry room–the elves I mean! Happy 1st Birthday Petersiks! May all your birthday wishes come true Clara! xox!
YoungHouseLove says
Did one of them escape and tip you off? Haha.
xo,
s
Ann says
What a terrific video/photo log of Clara’s first year. This is sure to bring happy tears for years to come, especially when she turns 14 and wants nothing to do with either of you. :)
Leah says
You guys are such amazing parents. That party is perfection and the video is totally adorable and something that you will cherish for the rest of your lives. Clara is beautiful and has such personality! What a gorgeous, happy family! xo
Meaghan says
Oh Sherry (and John of course, too!)…
I just have to comment on the video…
It is wonderful, and I just kept thinking of how much she will love it when she’s older. Y’all have done such wonderful, loving things to document her life, and she will be so thankful for that.
I have two girls- one’s 3 and one’s 9 months- I cried during your video. They grow so fast…and your sweet Clara is just a doll.
She is one lucky girl…and y’all are two lucky parents as well. So glad to see her party was a huge success!
Meaghan
Stefanie says
What a lovely party, and I also got teary during the one-year video! Seriously the most expressive baby I’ve ever seen.
Also, my husband thinks my addiction to your website is hilarious because when we got married a year ago, I said I wanted to wait five years before we had our first baby… he’s pretty sure that my timeline gets cut by a month every time there’s a Cute Clara post.
Holly says
Looks like the party was a blast! The weekly photos look great on the back of the chimney – I hope you leave them there awhile :c) And the video, oh my! We are trying for our first and anything baby puts me in that smile-cry mode! What great memories you’re creating for your Bean!
Niccole says
So, the party looked great. But the video…lets just say I was in tears by the 30 second mark and by 1:30 I was in the full blown, ugly cry. It is amazing how quickly time flies and you guys have done a great job of capturing the important stuff. She looks like such a joy. Happy Birthday to Miss Clara and cheers to two AWESOME parents.
Julie says
Oh, that was a happy, heart-warming video. Almost made me cry, too. I read your blog every day and enjoy it so much. You two put so much effort and love into everything you do. Keep up the great work! And happy birthday, Clara.
Heather says
This is just wonderful! Happy Birthday Clara! You guys are just all so cute!
Ruth says
Looks like a great party
Jacks says
I love the idea of the time capsule! You guys are wonderful parents!! Beautiful party :)
Ali says
Looks perfect! Was thinking of you guys when it *didn’t* rain on Saturday in BA and figured the party was working out just fine. :)
Amanda says
Everything looks so cute. Very bright & colourful Good job you two! I’m glad the patio got used!
That photo of Burger, SO ADORABLE … I mean, ahem … very manly of Burger ;)
I love the video. You should put that DVD in the time capsule so she can watch it on her 18th birthday!
Emily Kidd says
Yall are amazing parents! Clara is so lucky to have yall. She will so cherish all the memories yall are making for her!
Kristen @ K Leigh Ford says
You guys did SUCH a great job! I love the time capsule idea! And you did a great job on the smash cake!
MeliseH says
Awesome! Totally Awesome!!!
Vicki says
Happy Birthday, Clara! I just turned 30 last Friday, and I do believe May is an excellent birth month.
I have a 4 month old son (he’s cute, if you like younger men) and when his one year old birthday comes around (I’m crying already just thinking of it) I’m totally stealing some of your parents’ ideas! The balloon banners, the mama-made quilt, the TIME CAPSULE! I love it.
Bobbie Brown says
Happy 1st Birthday to Clara! What a great party :)
Relevant Notes says
Wow, everything looks so wonderful! I’m really glad the weather turned out ok for you. Happy Birthday Clara!!
I don’t know if you’ve mentioned this before, but now that Clara is over 1 year, are you going to continue taking weekly or monthly photos?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re going to take them monthly from here on out until she’s two (we just can’t stop cold turkey- haha).
xo,
s
Liesl says
Oh my goodness, I LOVED the video! Seriously, you probably have the cutest, happiest baby ever! Thanks for letting us all virtually attend the fabulous 1st birthday bash. I feel like I know you guys! Love the blogworld. :)
P.S. I just purchased a lovely set of BumGenius cloth diapers, inspired by Clara! My hubby was sold as soon as I talked about how much $$ you saved! We’re becoming licensed foster parents soon and also expecting a baby in September through open adoption, so I cannot wait to get some great use out of the cloth diapers!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so exciting! Congrats on the diapers and most of all on the September baby!
xo,
s
Meg says
Wow, the video of Clara’s first year is incredible! The love is palpable amongst the four of you (including Burger)! The party looked like a blast for the wee ones and the old ones!
Emily says
Geez…I don’t even have kids and that video made me tear up. It was so beautiful. Happy birthday to Clara!
Caroline says
The video John made is absolutely adorable! Clara is such a beautiful baby and has such an animated personality…future actress?
Adrianne says
Happy Birthday Clara!!! The birthday party looks like it was a blast. You guys are so creative! And I’m really glad the rain cleared up. I just wanted to say that the video of the her first year is absolutely fantastic! What an awesome way to document that and have it to remember her first year with, and to be able to show her when she’s older!!! Awesome.
Brittni says
Love the smash cake! My nephew (to-be) had his first birthday party on Sunday and he had one too! I will have to post some pics of his on my blog for some extra giggles :)
Lauren says
What a wonderful party and that video was so beautiful!!! Way to go, John! Clara is such a cutie-pie and so, so happy! Oh and Sherry, you are gorgeous! I can’t even believe how beautiful you looked after labor! I love the video idea for someday…What a great way to cap off the party.
Jenn from The Mustard Seed Blog says
I was referred to your blog about a year ago it has been a pleasure to see your Clara grow. She is such a happy girl! I teared up a little during the video because it is so wonderful to see the love and happiness in your family. Thank you for sharing this-I feel honored to be privy to it.
Jessica says
Sorry if this has been asked already. You mentioned music by Ben Drake – What Ben Drake song is used in Clara’s birthday video? I heart it so. Happy Belated birthday beautiful and always darling, Clara!
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
John said he got most of the songs in the video from the first few tracks from an album on the Ben Drake site (see the url at the end of the video for that) called “Musical Explosion” (or something like that). We love his stuff! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Audi B. says
you did a fantastic job on the party, looked beautiful!! I was wondering if you will be throwing a copy of the video into her time capsule?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! We also have some photos and other clips from the party (of her eating her cake and of the pinata, etc). It’s going to be lots of fun to open someday!
xo,
s
Rosemary says
Everything looked perfect. Clara is so lucky to have such wonderful parents like you two. The video had me shedding a tear or two (or twenty).
Happy belated Birthday Clara!
Jessie says
Ok, I think I might be reading your blog a little to much. Today when I had my nap (I work 3rd shift), I had a dream that I was at Clara’s birthday party, lol. But you guys weren’t at your house, it was my papa’s house in Wisconsin that you had apparently purchased. It was weird.
The pictures look amazing. I’m so glad the weather played nice. John did a really great job on the video. I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. I’m sure Clara will really treasure that video when she’s older.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha I love it! We’ve never been to Wisconsin but it sounds fun! Haha.
xo,
s
Katie says
What an amazing day! I hope that I have it that together when I have a baby someday. You are a true inspiration. I am still just trying to get my house together!
Cara C. says
i couldn’t help but comment on this lovely post – congratulations on your little one’s first birthday and kudos on the amazing party! i know i’m going to be coming back to this post in the future for all of the beautiful, family friendly ideas.
Jan says
Thanks for letting us share Clara’s 1st birthday. The video you made was wonderful, it brought tears to my eyes.
whitney campbell says
i always love reading your blog – especially because we’re another young couple from richmond who had just bought our first home about a year and a half ago (a 1940’s cape cod that we were diy-renovating)…and crazily enough, we pulled a reverse petersik and live in NYC now. anyway, just wanted to congratulate you on clara’s first birthday and tell you she is a beautiful girl!!
and sherry, i love the sweater you’re wearing in these pics – i would love to know where you got it.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I’m giggling at “a reverse Petersik” – love it. As for my sweater, it’s from the Banana Republic Outlet in Delaware (we were there over Easter with John’s family). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Ange says
Oh Love..love..love this post! The video is fantastic. I got teary, it’s just so fun to watch. She’s an expert spaghetti eater. It’s reminded me a was very slack with my Nos 3 when it came to taking videos, what a shame, it’s so fun to look back on when you edit it like this. Congratulations, what a fun day & milestone.
Kath says
Honestly?? You guys are the cutest family ever! So refreshing, sweet and funny – it’s an honor that you share your life and love of family & DIY with us!
Thanks for making my day and Happy Birthday Clara :-)
Deana says
This had to be the sweetest video ever! She will cherish it so much as she gets older!
Rose says
Much love Clara from your vegemite family in Australia……………….such a beautiful party so not OTT like I am seeing on so many party blogs…..would hate to see you all stressed out and not enjoying your day just to get your party stuff all matching and themed. As with everything you do it was just right…..you guys know what’s important in life and it shows……Always inspirational……….
Sarah says
You guys are just too cute…. :)