Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Once Upon a Frog Prince Birthday


Ethan is One Year Old! It's pretty crazy when I think about it. One year ago I was holding a 6 pound 14 ounce baby who was 20 inches long... now I strength train everyday with my 25.6 pound boy who is off the charts for height (I forgot exactly how many inches, but the Doc said he is above the 95th percentile/off the charts... ooooh boy!). He used to be the sweetest little lump and now he's just about running all around the house. How times have changed!

Our little man officially turned 1 on the 8th of February (Tuesday). Mommy and Daddy didn't give him his first cake yet, but gave into a popsicle as his special treat. He was a sweet, sticky mess but enjoyed each lime lick!
He also got to take a bath for the first time in Mommy and Daddy's tub.
The jets were a bit surprising but made lots of fun bubbles... 

I have been planning Ethan's birthday for quite some time now. Party planning is such a fun outlet for me! Now that I'm not teaching, Ethan gives me reasons to use my creativity :)

I decided on a Frog Prince theme thinking that he will never voluntarily choose this theme on his own. I'm anticipating strong opinions/requests in the future and don't expect to hear "Frog Prince" as one of them (more like "trucks", "planes", "veggietales", "sesame street"....)

I found this party idea on Kara's Party Blog and fell in love! I bought the party pack through Etsy for $25 and was able to print out most of the decorations! The pack also included his invitations


I "enhanced" the invites with some patterned paper and ribbon


I really tried to copy her party as much as I could because I love it so much!

Here is what I was going for...



Here was the actual final result...
(sorry about the lighting!)

I ordered personalized M&M's!
  



The cupcake toppers are from the frog prince party pack that I ordered...


... as well as these lollipop medallions...
(flower pots from the dollar tree) 

...and the candy tags!








The banner by the candy buffet was part of the pack, but all the other banners I did with my Cricut!


All the ribbons were from Michael's


Fun cups with crazy straws were from Party City for 99 cents each 
(SO worth it to not have punch spilled on our carpets!)


The birthday boy helping put up decorations!
The night before the party, my mom made A LOT of poms out of tissue paper.
(Love you, Mama!)


Part of the work party...
Grandma Young and Grandpa Wager


Both Grandmas stringing up some garland



With balloons to compliment (some didn't last long...)


More fun Cricut Creations!



Mark adjusting the pom covered fan



My mom also arranged bunches of beautiful flowers...
I just LOVE it when our house is filled with floral ;)


Another Cricut project was Ethan's 12 Month timeline
(see... there are benefits to not having decorated your house completely! Lots of empty space to decorate for parties!)




High chair banner...


Jennifer making Sherbert Punch.
Sooo yummy!



Grandma Young helped put together the straw flags (also printed from the party pack!)


And the finger food...
Compliments of Mommy, Grandmas, and Auntie Jackie










Let the fun begin!

Hanging out with Paul

 

I ordered Ethan's cute little onesie from Banana Bear Boutique on Etsy.
I love that she let me customize the fabric, font, etc.


Play time with Emma



Smiles for Mommy


My handsome boys


Cutie Pie Emma


"The Monday Night Men"


Great Auntie Lori cuddles


Great Auntie JoJo and Uncle Tim


The West Family and Uncle Phil...
did I mention that we are in the middle of a backyard makeover? Yup!


Beautiful Baby Bumps were spotted... these girls are due within days of each other!



Cousin Andrew!


Uncle Marc


Father - Son

Father - Daughter
Great Grandpa - Grandma


Two of my favorites!


This is what happened when we tried to crown the prince...


Got it on...


He thinks it's a better snack than hat!


"What do you think, Emma?"


First Birthday means lots of firsts to come... including E's first peanut butter and jelly sandwich... which he devoured!...


and got all over Mommy! - who had to change tops


"Hey, what are these balloons doing attached to my chair?"


Smash Cake!


Ethan beamed when everyone serenaded him with "Happy Birthday"



Testing out the cake... this was the first time Ethan had processed sugar (aside from popsicles for owies on the mouth)


 Mmmmmmm...





Washing off the high chair outside...



Grandmas looking lovingly at their cake monster


Cousin Titus also likes cake!


Outfit change for Ethan!
Present time!!




Distracted... Cousin Andrew has a cool straw!


Andrew says Ethan's Warrior Bible is a good book!
Cool fact: Ethan's middle name/his Daddy's name means Warrior.


Ethan had lots of helpers...


A Quad! Wooo hooo! Daddy was jealous ;)



Uncle Ryan and Louise got E some new kicks...



Fun rain gear


The little guy didn't stay awake for the whole party, but he absolutely enjoyed it while he was up!

Cousin Hannah helped too


Enjoying her party favor...


Ty Ty having fun outside (check out the lollipop lips/tongue)


Sweetest boy getting sweeter (if that's even possible!)


Hanging out after the party



He's up! Family picture time!


Thank you, Mom, for everything! That word doesn't come close to all that you did/do! 


Having some fun with the poms. They turned the fan on after everyone left! I gotta admit, I'm a little sad I didn't get to see them fling across the room in all different directions!


Reliving Cheerleading days...



Goofing around with Uncle Tim


E> Moms <3


Still tastes good...


Andrew made some pretty impressive "pies" and sold them to anyone who was willing to buy some.
(My mom was a loyal customer)


My best friend and active photographer of the party...


At the end of the day, we all could use a nap... but lucky for us, it was time for bed anyway :)

*****************************************************************

The next day, Ethan had LOTS of fun toys to play with...

For a little guy who pulls off hats, he didn't seem to mind his new elephant head!


Unfortunately, the size 18-24 month hat did not fit his 12 month old head...


So we are forced to return it... but I had to snap some pics since he looked so cute!


New outfit from Monica :)


New bouncy toy for our "wild child" from Auntie Christina and Uncle Marc


Overall, the party was a success!
We are so blessed to have such loving friends and family!
Here's to another year of discovery, fun, and love with our little smiley boy!

2 comments:

  1. LOVE the pics!!! So many cute details that I didn't even notice, and thanks for sharing all your great Etsy links. I didn't know they did invites and everything, wow! Ethan is so so so cute and the party was perfect!

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  2. Great party! You are amazing. :) Happy Birthday to the lovely Ethan again.
    Beau

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