Clueless Mom: First Birthday: Teddy Bear Picnic

Well. It's over.

My first child's birthday party is officially over. I will never plan another first birthday party for the first time! How did it go in one word? Perfect. Better than I could have planned--I don't know if I've ever had so much fun at a kid's party (probably because I've never had a kid before& it was my own!) but it was the most fun family weekend we've ever had for sure! Everything from the surprise arrival of my sister&brother-in-laws (they live in AZ, we had NO idea they could make it!!) to celebrating the end of the party with almond champagne& Jim Gaffigan, to laughing with friends and good food. Every moment this weekend was spent laughing with the people we love most.

                 

The fooooood

We had gouda-cheese/blue-cheese sliders with my mother-in-law's HOMEMADE sides of potato salad, spicy mac&cheese (with a non-spicy kids version!), baked beans! She is an AMAZING cook!

....And Bear Snacks of course

Some activities for the kids,

 

 (big kids included, his sister dared him)

                   (SO glad we had a son. Because my husband is the kind of guy that needs a son)

Our favors were puppy chow mix in ice cream bowls

& picnic plates to use & take home (had to add a little green-ness, I am an Austinite;))

& then the decor, which I made & was all REAL easy

Since it was, after all, a teddy-bear picnic, we layed out picnic blankets around the yard &tied them to beanie baby bears that I used to be obsessed with collect when they were cool popular

 

Then, we had guests watch a movie of Elijah's life Justin made for him

& after that was of course birthday cupcake time (first ingested dose of sugar ever)!

He got his birthday suit a little dirty, but that's allowed when it's your birthday

(he ate almost the whole thing)

Our surprise guests, sister&brother in law who flew in from Arizona!!

 

Beautiful grandparents--aren't they just cute??

 Some gifts he received included a sandbox, lawn mower, baby pool, bowling set, a Scout doll, drums, a swing, a backpack,  but I have to say, his favorite was

We had the time of our lives. Thanks to all who came & thanks Mimi, Paw paw, Abuelita, Kevin, Kelcey, Felix, Wes& Gina & family who helped cook&clean for me!

first birthday invites

Sniff. My baby is officially 11 months old! I can't believe it! I can't believe how far he has come as a little man and how much I've learned in the short months I've been a mother.

It's time to prepare for his birthday now!
(as I explained to my brother, who wondered how big of a deal his birthday was to me--Me: "It's like my wedding only for my baby...minus the budget" Slight exaggeration. But only slight.)

We're doing a teddy bear picnic theme, as he is known to many as little Bear--and I'm started the prep now.Of course I promised myself I would just order invites instead of making them myself, but I'm such a perfectionist and couldn't find EXACTLY what I had in mind....so predictable of me. But it was fun & not as time consuming as I thought it would be!

Here they are: (Please excuse the TERRIBLE pictures...two blogs and fifteen hobbies keep me too busy to work on photography...as all my pics are taken in 2seconds with my iphone... lame, I know)

Envelopes with paw-print&teddy stamps

So the first layer of the invite looks like above photo (tried to include a picture for every month, but it was too hard to decide!)Second layer:

and third layer (RSVP info) tied with ribbon (blanked out my info!)

So that is done! Now for party prep....I'll let you know how THAT goes!
***
Also, thanks to those who prayed Sunday, the performance was something that was hard but I was grateful for. It is not easy to cry on command that many times in a row&mean it! Actors are amazing. But I was humbled to get to 'be' this person for a short time. I will post a video of it soon. I had found out the week before, that the woman I was playing (see previous post) had passed away this January. What an amazing woman she was.

Much love!

PS I still use vinegar to condition my hair, and it's the only thing I clean his toys with!

Decorating for Easter; No Time, No Money!

So, Easter this year wasn't going to be a big deal. Justin is working like crazy for the next week and I'm in the Easter production this year so we were just low-keying it this year.

Then, Thursday I find out I'm hosting Easter this year. For both families. Yikes!

Plus, I kept telling myself, this is baby's first Easter...you *have to do a 'lil something special

So, on no time here's my quick&VERY inexpensive Easter decor 2011...

I used these two little pieces from PaperSource ($1 each),

Added a little: decoupage (paper and glue--paper from clearance section @Hobby Lobby, 10cents!), ribbon laying around the house, $1.19 butterfly also from the Hobbster (normally $2, used a 40%coupon)

And printed on some white cardstock, and tadaaa my wreath-less doors have a 'lil somethin' somethin' now

                                         Total cost: $2.29 each door.
                                         Total time: 2 hours (includes allowing glue to dry, so actually it takes 15 minutes where you're ACTUALLY working...)

Best part-- I can switch out the lettering and it will double for Spring decor&even summer decor! (I chose a versatile pattern)

Like I said, I'm short on time before Easter, and I like a little simple accent once in awhile, so...

 

Cardstock+ Little Label Sign

Uh, that's it folks.

Total cost: $1

Total time: 1 minute 

Now, for Easter tree. I wanted something cheap, quick&something meaningful

 So, I spray-painted branches from outside white (I had already used these mini-trees for decor for baby-dedication), bought some egg ornaments ($4 at Hobbster & $1 at Dollar Tree ($1 for 4))

Typed out some verses on resurrection to hang on the tree.
**Sidenote: I decided starting on Good Friday every year, as a family we will read the verses aloud together then hang verses on the tree every day. Friday will be verses on His death, and Saturday& Sunday, His resurrection. ****

So then, I found a pot from the backyard, and some mardi-gras-lookin beads from my decor stash--and

This is so much cuter in person.

Total cost: $5 (I had the spray paint already)

Total time: 30min-1hr (waiting for spray paint to dry, otherwise 8min work-time!)

Now for the flowers.

 I splurged and bought a kit like this one --only mine was only $10 at PaperSource

                             You can make your own paper flowers for cheaper, though. The uses? Endless!

                                                Total cost: $10 plus tax
                                                 Total time: 15 min (the speckled eggs, I found at the Hobbster (my favorite store of all time) for $1.50 (50% Easter decor as we all know :)--they are PLASTIC which is awesome when you have a baby ((and hard to find eggs that are both cute and plastic))

Finishing touches? Hide eggs in random places in the house for guests to find! :)

So, that's it folks! Overall, I didn't want to decorate with eggs&bunnies too much  because I'm trying to keep my decor versatile& storage minimal. These items I can use for Spring decor, Summer decor, and Baby's birthday decor! (the typed cardstock I intentionally didn't scha-lack to their pieces)

My Easter prep is done in a day--which is good because I have SO MUCH to do this week!
Happy Easter, everyone!