Allie's 1st birthday party- the details- part 2

Part Two - Food & Dessert

I wanted to serve food for Allie's 1st birthday that I haven't done yet- at least the general idea, I always have fruit & veggies. Since Strawberry Shortcake owns the Berry Bitty Cafe, I decided to serve cafe/deli style food (even though I'm pretty sure she only serves dessert & smoothies).

I made two signs because initially the cafe menu was going to be bigger. Then I just decided to print it up rather than writing it on the poster board and it needed that extra something- so two cafe signs it was.

Lunch
Maggie & Allie's Berry Bitty Cafe served: Turkey sandwiches with white and honey wheat rolls, pasta salad, potato salad, tossed salad with toppings, cantaloupe soup, quiche (tomato & onion, broccoli & cheddar and spinach), chips, dip & plum salsa, strawberry pretzel salad, veggies, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries & oranges. I forgot to take pics of the drink station but we served kool-aid (orange, lemonade and tropical punch) & water bottles. The food labels were included with the printable pack I found.

Dessert Table
As I mentioned in the last post, my dream would be to have a table for each character, but that's just not realistic, so I had one dessert for each friend and several strawberry items. Plum Pudding is the only one that didn't make it on the dessert table, I couldn't think of any yummy plum desserts, so I made the plum salsa for her.

Dessert was also included on the cafe menu and is listed individually below with pictures. I like to elevate the cake on a box so it's the focal point/higher than my cupcakes stands. I wrapped a couple other boxes to give more dimension to the table plus added some water bottles and the plates & napkins to complete the table.

The Cake

Though it's not the most favorite dessert, it's still the focal point for me. As usual, I had a variety of ideas, including strawberry's hat, but in the end, decided on a two tier cake. The bottom was two round cakes, stacked, iced and covered with white fondant then pink and green polka dots- this was Maggie's layer. The top was a strawberry, at least as close as I could get and keep it stable. It had pink icing, with Allie's name and the seeds piped on, plus fondant leaves on top with the candle. Both were homemade strawberry cake- more dense than a strawberry flavored cake, but still yummy with the fresh strawberries in it.

The Cookies 

These also take a lot of work and need a sub-category of their own. I start the sugar cookies several days before the party by making and baking the cookies one day and icing them another day; I keep them fresh in the freezer after they're completely dry and ready for stacking. I did 1's and 5's plus strawberries; I didn't think it was necessary to try and fit in other characters. These were enough work but maybe I should consider doing more in the future, they're always a favorite and the first to go. 

The rest of the dessert table included two more strawberry desserts- shortcake (not pictured) plus ...

Strawberry Gooey Butter Cookies

Cherry Cheesecakes for "Cherry Jam"

Orange Creamsicle Cake Bites (cake pops without the stick) for "Orange Blossom"

Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Icing for "Raspberry Torte"

Blueberry Muffin Bites for "Blueberry Muffin"

and Lemon Bars for "Lemon Meringue"

Dessert is probably my favorite part of putting birthday parties together (though decorations are such a close second, it's hard to really distinguish). So I very much enjoyed putting this table together. I was surprised by some desserts- like the lemon bars going and having so much strawberry shortcake & cheesecakes left and not by others- like the cookies and cake bites going quickly and having tons of chocolate cupcakes leftover. Still, I love how the dessert table looks and tastes. :)

Allie's baby dedication

This past Sunday Allie was dedicated to Jesus at our church! We vowed to raise her in the Word and to dedicate her life and our training with a faith in our Lord and Savior. Her dedication was the day after her and Maggie's birthday party, so it was a busy weekend indeed. It was also my SMIL's birthday. Since the dedication fell the same weekend as the birthday party, my cousin, Rachel was still in town so I was very happy to have her at the dedication along with my parents, aunt Patti & uncle Don, plus Daniel's parents & siblings.

The dedication part of the service was much shorter than the one at Hunter Street with our other three kids, but there was a reception afterwards with food, pictures and a gift. We received a jar of marbles that represented the weeks we have with Allie from birth through graduation. It's meant to show the short amount of time we have to influence our children, particularly in an age where a belief in Jesus is not a popular one. The jar came with instructions to take out a marble per week plus certain ones for milestones- like birthdays, accepting Jesus, graduation, etc. It's really neat, I should take a picture of it. Thanks to all who came out to share our special day with our baby girl!! Love you Allie and I pray you will grow to learn and know Jesus and accept him as your personal Lord and Savior.

Allie's 1st birthday party- the details- part 1

Part One- Decorations

I cannot believe my baby girl is ONE year old!! And this is my last 1st birthday party- at least to plan for my own children. Bittersweet. I thought Jake was going to be the last, but God had other plans. So I had to do the big party since I did with all the others. I chose Strawberry Shortcake for the theme because I've always wanted to do one. Maggie wanted to be included, so we did a joint party- though it was more about 1- Maggie wants a sleepover for her actual birthday, so the celebration will continue for her, no worries. Anyway, I had a lot of fun getting this Strawberry Shortcake party together and I think my beautiful girls loved it too!!

My dream for SS was food and decor for each character. Of course dreams are bigger than reality so I had to scale things down a bit. Still got something for each character, had plenty of food, a dessert table and decor to boot. It was still a big to do for my girls.


The invitation
Always fun for me to create! Not necessarily a decoration, but I wanted to include it. This template was somewhat "easy" to come up with once I decided to literally look to Strawberry Shortcake for inspiration. Pink polka dots from her skirt and green & white stripes from her leggings. I usually do photo cards, but wanted card stock so I could have a back this time. I wanted to include instructions for the birthday time capsule (I did this for each kid's 1st birthday) and also gift ideas. I considered putting "no gifts please" on the invite, but knew grandparents and such would want to give regardless, so I also added some gift ideas. I love how it turned out.

Balloons, fireplace & centerpieces
It would not be a party of mine without balloons! I picked polka dots, 1's, 5's, a Strawberry Shortcake pack, the big #1 and strawberries. I really wanted these strawberry hanging lanterns from Oriental Trading, but spent more at Party City than I thought I would and had to forego that expense. SO I grabbed a pack of red polka dot balloons and added my own leaves- wah lah, strawberries! I used my window as a fireplace decoration again and added strawberries I cut with my Cricut, plus an autographed picture of Strawberry herself, framed, and Maggie's doll, all flanked by balloons, of course.

These centerpieces were really easy to put together. I found the printables on a blog a couple years ago and downloaded the files. I just print everything, cut it out and glued the box together. Then added the circles to sticks with tape and set them in the box with tissue paper. 

Banners, door sign & hanging decor

Allie's photo banner- one picture for each month. Birthday banner made with pink polka dot & green/white stripe paper to coordinate with the invite

The large #1 had a leak in it. Party City tried to rig it, but the air wouldn't hold, they couldn't replace it since I ordered it online. I was really disappointed

Time Capsule, Favors & Water Bottle Labels

 I've done a time capsule for all of my kid's 1st birthday parties, so had to do this for Allie as well. People can bring notes, memorabilia, anything to add for the kids to open when they're 18. They've each had an animal to sign as well- the boys had a dog and Maggie had a bear, so I got that for Allie too. Then I found these cute 1st birthday butter mints at Party City in the party colors.

Found these labels on the Strawberry Shortcake website so I just had to print them out an attach to a baggie. I also added a sticker on back to thank guests for coming. Each bag was filled with strawberry twizzlers. I wanted strawberry jam as favors, but wasn't able to make that happen.

 I love water bottle labels, they add such a cute touch and are really easy to do. This time I made circles, cut them out and attached to card stock cut to size. 

Decorations are one of my favorite parts of my kid's birthday parties, I really enjoy putting everything together and seeing what I can come up within a certain budget and sometimes with items I already have on hand (like the strawberry doll & window. ) Hope you enjoyed!

End of an era

Last Tuesday we said goodbye to Daniel's car- his Pontiac Grand Am- a car he's had for the entirety of our relationship and a little while before that. We went on our first date in that car, brought Jake home from the hospital, drove it to numerous destinations. It was a sad day. We've been together for over 12 years, so he's had the car 14+ years. The end of an era indeed.

The Grand Am was on it's last leg for a couple years, but we kept putting off buying a new car. In fact, for at least a year now it's been on its last toe. Then in April, while I was in Canada, it officially died. We knew we would donate the car, but he didn't want to get rid of it until I got home and last the week before last I finally made the call. The tow truck was able to come last Tuesday and we said our goodbyes. Everyone was sad, all the kids love daddy's car.

Goodbye old "friend"

Allie is ONE!

Happy Birthday Alana Kathryn!! Oh, my sweet little Allie. My precious sweet pea girl. I can't believe you're already a year old!! It's your very first little girl birthday! 12 months, a whole year! Golly. That flew by. Feels like yesterday I held you in my arms for the first time. Oh, I love you my sweet baby girl. Your birthday party is next weekend, so I'll follow that up with another post but here's all about Allie at 12 months:

• As expected, that second bottom tooth popped through shortly after the first, but you still only have those two teeth. You're working on more, especially those top two, so I expect to see them soon
• You're still cruising and standing in the middle of the room but have not yet taken an  independent step. You're thinking about it, but them plop down on your bottom and crawl instead. :) 
• Wearing some 6-9 month and some 12 month clothes, depends on the outfit. Still wearing size 2 diapers
• Pretty much done with baby food and eating almost all table food. You really like lots of foods but fruit and potatoes are your favorites so far
• You still don't drink a ton out of the sippy cup, but mostly play with it. I may have to put a little juice in there to encourage you. Maybe once you're weaned completely, you'll care more
• Sleeping is still good- bedtime around 7:30/8:00 (sometimes 7) until about 6/6:30am and  you still take a morning and afternoon nap, each a couple hours
• You love to shake your head "no" and definitely understand the word. We're showing you how to shake your head "yes" too
• Your words are getting more clear and have up to your list
• I love watching you play- the door/house in the playroom is a favorite of yours and you love tearing things out of places (like a toy box) but also putting them in (like coins in the piggy bank)

Overall, you're such a sweet, happy, tiny little baby girl and we just love you!! I'm so grateful God knew you needed to be a part of our family and chose me to be your mommy. Happy 1st birthday sweet pea precious!!!