Thank you for all your comments and kind words here and on Facebook! We had so much fun planning this precious party. You only have a first birthday party once, ya know. Ha! Some may think we went a little overboard, but I wouldn't do it any other way even if I could. Over the past year, I went back and forth on themes for the big birthday bash. It wasn't until the drive home from our beach vacation that I finally texted my sister with a decision.
Sunshine and lemonade it would be! Immediate Pinterest overload began for both me and my super creative event planning sis. We created a secret board and shared pins from that day on. In the meantime, I began my stage of denial and put the party on the back burner. Because everyone knows that when you put it off, it isn't real right? Thankfully, my sister never had a terribly hard time with the whole "turning one" thing. She continued her search for cuteness to match the cuteness of my sweet girl.
And, in case you wondered, Auntie Kristin rocked the party planning!
We both loved the idea of a lemonade stand. I should say that many times we had exactly the same ideas. The difference: Kristin can create a masterpiece out of a splinter and I cannot. Kristin and Lee built, painted, and added the accessories to this precious pint-sized lemonade stand. It was the perfect size for Millie Janalee! Oh my at the cuteness!
The lemonade stand stood by the driveway and was the first thing people saw besides the ribbons and balloons on the mailbox. Next to the lemonade stand was a sign Kristin created leading our guests around the side of the house to the back yard.
I told Kristin that I would love to have signs leading guests as they entered, so I made about 10 signs for Kristin to attach to the dowel rods and add ribbon. We lined the pathway with lemonade and birthday-inspired signs to greet our happy guests on this hot day. It turned out just as cute as can be!
The back yard? OH the back yard! Beyond adorable! Kristin and I shopped for nearly everything together, so I could hear how her mind worked and ideas formed. It's quite fascinating actually. I would find something I liked, and she would say, "Oh yeah. I just need some ___ and ___ so I can stick it in ___. That's easy." Uhhhh....okay. Then, I spent the rest of the afternoon wondering why I didn't think of that. It really did sound pretty easy. One thing we both love is lots of cute ribbon. We hit up Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and our own collections to create the ribbon goodness you see here.
Take a look at this ribbon chandelier. I found a picture of this and loved it. Kristin asked me for a hula hoop, and the rest is history. Remember my
hula hooping phase of "fitness?" Yeah, I no longer own that hula hoop. It is now a ribbon chandelier. Ha! We worked around the ribbon hula hoop for the rest of the decor. And I'm pretty obsessed with the final product.
There was not a detail untouched. The tables were complete with lemon filled basket centerpieces. The picnic table in the yard was even draped with fabric and a cute framed picture of my girl.
Let's all take a moment and pay homage to this incredible creation. [A moment of silence here.] This backdrop. Oh, the backdrop! I asked Kristin for a cute backdrop for when Millie Janalee eats her cake. I was thinking a little painting. Nothing major. Then, I saw it. The big amazing creation from scraps of fabric and tulip paint. Never once thinking about how we would hang it, I jumped up and down with glee. The day of the party, I notice these wooden boards with "feet." When setup commenced on the party day, I notice that Lee is drilling these boards together after Kristin places the backdrop on the top board. Lee built a backdrop stand for Millie Janalee. Like a full-on heavy-duty construction project. One that can't be completely put together until the day of the party. Too big to go inside. It was a magnificent creation if you ask me...
After I made the signs for the front yard and a few extra smaller ones, I mailed Kristin the signs and extra scrapbook paper. She took the scraps and my smaller version signs to create a cute high chair banner. Did I mention we were planning this party 2 hours apart. It works, but not ideal for my concrete mind. I like to see things and work in an organized fashion. Not so much here. It's a good thing my party planner had it under control in her controlled chaos.
I picked up these ONE letters from Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's (I can't remember.) and told Kristin I wanted to use them somewhere. I asked if she could "cutesy" them up. Ha! What do you think? The cute chalkboard easel food labels were a random find at Hobby Lobby too. Perfect!
When it comes to food, I'm not all that into it. I love the look of a finished product. If I were planning this party by myself, I probably would have gone with anything I could have bought or had catered. However, Kristin is quite the cook. And not the 3 ingredient kind of cook I am. She likes to do gourmet detailed cutesy foods. So, we put our heads together as we decided what I could handle and what she would take over. Ha! We really did have a good time making the Strawberry Jello Smiles and the Pasta Salad wasn't too hard for me to pull together. The rest...she pretty much whipped up on her own. I did supervise the cupcake decorating, but I dared not touch them for fear of complete collapse. I test tasted the delicious icing...and approved! I do plan to share the recipes I used soon.
I am in love with Millie Janalee's twelve month banner Kristin put together! And who would've thought that Command hooks would stick to brick that had been in the rain all day?! Not me.
At the last minute, I found these adorable water labels for our water. I wish I had a picture of the back, because the nutrition facts were personalized too. Happiness 100%, Love 100%, etc. I filled water balloons the day before and stored them in the freezer to add a little fun to our ice bucket. These made great ammunition for water balloon fights with the family after the party. Just remember that some may still be hard ice.
(We know this from experience and a bruised toe.)
My mom has her own wedding rental service basically in her storage unit. It comes in handy pretty often. These cute lemonade serving jars were perfect for our big lemonade stand. Yes, there was even an adult lemonade stand where my mom helped serve lemonade to our guests in mason jars with daisy lids and cutey patootie straws.
I wanted the kids to have something fun to entertain them as well. Russ and I have 8 neices and nephews, but they are older. For them, we set up a badminton set with a few other games in buckets for their fun. This proved fun for the adults too! For the little ones, we had a Fun Zone complete with a homemade ball pit and photo booth. It was a hit! Let me mention Kristin and Lee here again since Lee built a frame and stand for the plywood I thought was all he needed. He also cut the hole while Kristin worked her magic with a paintbrush.
The favors, I handled. Cute little sunglasses with lemonade pouches. I made the cards on my computer and tied it all together with a cute ribbon. "You are so SWEET to help BRIGHTEN my day!"
Of course, next to our favors sat the phenomenal poster Kristin created for Millie Janalee's first year. All her favorites, her stats, the things she loves, and things we say about her. All beautifully arranged without penciling anything out. Nope. Kristin laughs at the thought of a pencil. It's all free-hand and work as you go kind of art. Oh, to have that skill!
Next time I ask Kristin and Lee if I can host a party in their back yard, they may think twice. I only asked for a location and I ended up getting a full event planning, catering, and construction service. And landscaping too! Lee worked tirelessly. And I mean tirelessly in his yard the days leading up to the party. Everything was impeccably cut, weed-eated, watered, swept, weeded, and mulched. It was better than anything I could have paid for.
By far.
And, the party day? Let's give credit to a sweaty Pawpaw who helped move lawn furniture from his house to this one, draped tarps over the pergola and backdrop, found fans, and hung lanterns. To a busy Susu who drove all over tarnation getting last minute groceries, balls for the ball pit, watermelons, burgers, and more. A helpful Uncie Bucket and She She who came in and never even took time to eat their take-out before helping tie balloons, lanterns, and climb ladders. Sweet Mrs. Brenda who, after cleaning the house, helped calm the chaos by lending her hand.
Party planner anyone? Don't look at me. I can help you come up with ideas...then I'll point you to the people that can make it happen (or at least tell you how to)! So many thanks to the best Auntie and Uncie ever!
