dodu: Nina's FIRST birthday...

Well, we did it!! We survived our first year of parenthood. Funny how I look back even after such a short time and just laugh at the things I was flipping out over...however, that being said, I am sure I will repeat that exact same thing next year....guess this mom and dad will always be learning.

We couldn't ask for a better little chica to call our own baby girl! She is so much fun and makes us laugh EVERY day...no seriously...EVERY DAY!!

I knew that this first birthday needed to be super fun, just like this little munchkin...

Because she has had an obsession with her lovey Raffi from nearly day 1, it seemed only appropriate to make that the theme of her first birthday bash! I think I started planning the details of her party oh....maybe 6 months ago. I knew that as I became more and more pregnant, I didn't know how productive this mama would be. Well, it was a good plan. I am like molasses these days (like, needing a rest after getting a glass of water).

Most of my inspiration came from pinterest pics, blogs, you name it. I pretty much ate up all of the creative juices of friends and strangers....and this is what it turned out to be (sorry about some of the pics...things were still getting put together):

Menu

I went for a somewhat color themed menu, but with a real push for Fall-like comfort food! Yummy!!!

Turkey and White bean Chili

I am kinda obsessed with this recipe and make it ALL the time!

Meatballs and marinara sauce

I was going to make my g-ma's famous Swedish meatballs, but opted for Costco

ones...much easier.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

A big thanks to my mom-in-law for whipping these up.

Salad

Out of the color scheme, but giraffes eat leaves :). Thanks to my mom-in-law again!

Veggie Plate with Yummy dip

My sis-in-law brought this...her famous dip is to die for.

Ok, onto the sweets...cause there were A LOT!!!

Cupcakes

Went for the store bought, but was able to customize them JUST how I wanted. It was a very "high maintenance" moment during this whole process.

Whoopie Pies

Shhhh...this is a secret recipe...I cannot divulge.

White/Chocolate chip cookies w/ a touch of Pumpkin

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Chocolate dipped Marshmellows on a stick

This was the first time I tried this and not only was it easy and fun...

they turned out looking FAB!!!

Candy, candy, and more candy

I filled three big glass containers with Whoppers, Caramel Candy Corns, and leftover animal cookies & animal crackers (from the goodie bags).

Goodie Bags

The goodie bags were filled with both animal crackers & cookies and had a tag that read "Thanks for being such a party animal." I was running out of space, so those were displayed in my fruit basket with two tiers.

Activities for tots - big kids

We were expecting a bunch of kids of all ages...another point of stress for this mama. SO...I set up a station for face painting, created giraffe coloring books and got crayons, then of course had the Wii set up downstairs. Well, and of course our chalkboard wall in the kitchen was a priceless piece of art by the end of the party!!

All in all...it was a great party and Nina had a wonderful time...I hope everyone else did too!! We were so happy to see friends and family and enjoy the day together!!