October 16th dawned gorgeous, sunny, & cool. The PERFECT weather for a harvest-themed birthday party. & crisp enough for the birthday boy to wear farmer overalls.
Harrison was a trooper, although he only took one hour-long nap. He was a great little buddy while I made an epic failure out of individual “pies” – I had this brilliant idea of cookie-cutting pie crust into leaf shapes, then “stuffing” them with pumpkin pie filling & baking. Darling, right? Except the pumpkin pie filling baked out completely, leaving delicious flakey leaf-shaped crust. So Harry & I popped in some cookies last minute thanks to Pillsbury:
so much for everything being homemade.
My daddy came by early to help me set up the tables & bless him, he took Harrison out in the stroller for an hour. Seriously, THANK YOU, Daddy! I would have never been able to get things together without his help. Nate & his dad went & grabbed balloons, the BBQ, & sweet tea while I stayed busy slicing my thumb wide open on a tin can with less than an hour to go before the party. I am so smooth like that. Thankfully, The Momma was there to bandage me up quickly before I either a) passed out or b) began screaming that I would never host a party ever, ever again.
I kind of love the theme, though. Everything was orange & brown & straw. Bales of hay provided seating, mums & pumpkins scattered the lawn.
Menu
pork barbeque
hushpuppies
baked beans
pigs n’ blankets
cookies
candied apples
Goldfish for the kiddos
lemonade
sweet tea
amazing fall brews
So nothing too crazy, as it was that weird before-dinner-&-kinda-too-early-to-serve-too-much-food hour.
His “Happy Birthday” banner, lovingly made.
with curse words.
We pulled out some of Harrison’s favorite toys to share with his friends. I think the ball pit was the biggest hit – the kids were begging to be thrown into it. Literally. & we had ladderball for the adults, although I’m not sure it was played, despite Nate running out to get new balls. Or tossers. Whatever they’re called.
Harrison was so social. He walked around & greeted all of his guests – he definitely takes after me in that area. Which is impressive because he basically spends all his time with one of five people – me, Nate, Sister, or my parents. Poor kid has never even had a playdate.
I freaked the hell out about a week before the party when I realized….I didn’t have a cake. At all. My neighbor had offered to make it months ago, but then we never touched base & BAM! it was October 10th & I had no plans. I planned to simply swing through Cafe Carolina, grab some cupcakes, & haphazardly throw together a smash cake when my neighbor called. ”Hi!” she chirped. ”You still need me to make a birthday cake?” OH THANK GOD. I told her to knock her socks off with a fall thing, pick the flavor, & show up with it. I’m surprisingly low-maintenance when it comes to cake. I think she did a gorgeous job & the cake was absolutely scrumptious.
Best part? I didn’t have to make it.
WIN.
This? This is all for me? Another cake?!
Harrison was surprisingly very shy with his cake…I had to dip his fingers in & with lots of encouragement, he finally took a bite. I’ve seen so many of my friend’s kids just PLOW into their smash cakes, & with Harry’s huge personality, I was taken aback by the fact that he was just so prissy with it. He kept holding out his hands to me so I could take a bite & lick off the frosting, which was absolutely adorable.
(I hope I never forget how adoring his face is when he reaches up for me.)
Our friends were so incredibly generous for our little boy’s first birthday – he got a Radio Flyer wagon, two riding toys, Megablocks, & pretty much every Little People dump truck known to mankind. & new books! Oh, the books. If you don’t have Hippos Go Beserk or Knuffle Bunny, run out & get them STAT.
So despite a baking failure & me slicing my thumb open (guess I’ll have the scar to always remind me of his party?), the day was a complete success. I didn’t cry once & we all know that I was more at risk for breaking down than the birthday boy. It really felt like a celebration of both Harrison & his parents – we made it!
Congratulations on the successful party. You both look beautiful in that last pic.
that party looks wonderful! and i love your shirt in the last picture. Harrison just keeps getting cuter!
Oh the shat we do for our wee ones…and the thing is they’ll never remember…LOL
Seriously though, you did a great job with everything! Way to go Momma!!
PS. I have that top too
Congrats on the great party and a late Happy birthday to the big 1 year old. Oh and I’m glad you didn’t cry because I cried through your whole post. Probably doesn’t help that my “baby” will be 1 in 3 weeks.
Awwww, I love it all! The details and colors were just perfect. I say it’s a mama WIN even though you almost lost a finger, which by the way, totally sounds like something I would do.
We’re having a fall themed baby shower next weekend for my sister. I think I’m gonna try to make a banner like that one only with the baby’s name!
You’re such a good mama. Don’t you ever forget that.
That looks like an awesome party. I love the fall theme and I absolutely love the banner. How did you make it? We are having Jack’s birthday at a local gym, since it’s going to be November and with the weather so unpredictable I was worried about having too many people crammed in our house. I am happy that it is somewhere else, but figuring out how to decorate this gym is giving me a headache! We are doing a monkey theme! Glad to see you all had such a great day!
Oh the party turned out so gorgeous! Love the theme and all you did with it. It looks like it was a very special day indeed! Teva was super prissy with her cake too, which surprised me……those kids, they never do just what you expect! Ha!
Fun! My mother-in-law started a tradition of giving the parents a bottle of champagne at the children’s birthday parties so that the parents could celebrate having made it another year as parents (and all the trials and tribulations along the way). I think it is a great idea!
so cute!! my shower was this time last year and we did a similar theme. it’s weird to think this time last year, i didn’t have a baby and the whirl-wind that the last almost year has been! you look radiant, by the way! and i just LOVE fall in NC!!! happy birthday harrison!!
I don’t know what a “hushpuppy” is to you (“y’all”), but to me it’s when you sneak into your bf/dh’s bed while he’s sleeping, “hush” him when he starts to wake up, and then….um….well, the rest is rated R.
What I’m saying is, your menu made me giggle.
The party looked gorgeous! I’m glad it was a success!
Happy Birthday Harry. The party looked great
We are planning our first birthday party now. The stress is definately getting to me…need to remember to just have fun
Adorable! Everything looks perfect! The last picture of you with your baby boy is so precious.
Looks lovely!!!
One more month for me :-/
Absolutely beautiful party!
Beautiful pictures and such a gorgeous day. Absolutely love the fall theme. Babes in overalls I don’t think there is anything cuter and your shirt is the perfect fall color! I might have to borrow some of these ideas for next years 2 year old party!! Also you are a better woman than I…”all food was homemade” you rock! xo
Happy Happy Happy birthday to Harry! We were so very sad to miss the fun!
What a beautiful party! You did such a great job with everything. I am planning my little guys party as we speak. Just wondering how you did the letter for the birthday banner? Did you just cut them out by hand? I’ve been looking everywhere for big letters without spending too much. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing the pics. I’ve already told you that my Benjamin’s birthday is coming up, but I didn’t realize they are both blond haired blue eyed boys! And…congratulations on pulling it all and holding yourself together! You have made quite an accomplishment. I’d hang that last photo on the wall for everyone to see. It’s totally beautiful!
Wow. You amaze me Blair. You’re a mom, you work full time, and you pulled off what looks and sounds like a bad ass party. Good job!
He’s so adorable.
Question: Do you plan on having another baby anytime soon?
The party looked fantastic! Love the theme and the menu. Sorry about your finger though.
Yay!! So happy you guys had a great party. Harry is too stinkin cute in his overalls! That last pic of you guys is great too, you look fantastic!
“twicethesparkle” is my new hero.
And your party is adorable! So are you. Super photogenic, eh?
Love the overalls! We have the same but with an elephant in the pocket – there’s just something about little boys in overalls that is TOO CUTE. Congrats on the party! That was way better than my half-assed dog/birthday theme.
Oh, and I didn’t cry at my son’s party either, but on his actual birthday? Tears! So many tears.
everything looks awesome! I got 4 weeks to plan the big first birthday, and I haven’t given it a thought yet. Um…better get on that!
We made mini pies the other day. Try using mini cupcake pans to cook them in. You could stick a crust leaf on top.
Such a cute theme! I can’t believe he’s 1 year already… why do they have to grow so fast??
Congrats on a wonderful party, momma! And we SO have that same high chair! Only yours looks WAY cleaner than ours. Happy birthday, Harrison!
Harrison is suuuuper cute. What a little man. I die everytime when I see a wee one in overalls. Pefect choice for his party.
You really did a great job making his first party awesome!! Come plan River’s party for me? November 18th! Yes?! ::nodding head convincingly.::
Congrats on the super cute party!! Cant believe how fast one year went!
You made me cry! You look so happy in that picture. I love it!
The party was gorgeous. I will be stealing some ideas for next year when DS #2 turns one!
nice work on the party! Martha would definitely have swooned
my son was surprisingly fussy about his cake, too – i made sure to make electric blue icing so it’d be extra messy, but he only wanted to nibble pristinely at the cake part. whatevs.
btw, i also cherish the little faces my son makes when reaches up for me – i really hope i remember those faces when he’s an annoying teen.
The photos don’t do the party any justice. Everything turned out so awesome!
So glad it was a hit! Happy Birthday little man!
If I remember correctly, Harrison’s wife consumed like 6+ mini pies. She thought they were kick ass.
You did an amazing job! All that food looks delicious and what a great theme for a party! Happy (belated) birthday Harrison!
What a fun, great looking party! The menu makes me hungry…for hushpuppies!! Glad you had a great day with your sweet boy.
Hey Blair? You’re an AWESOME mom.
I LOVE it all! Wow! And that look on your face in the last photo? Made me cry in Starbucks. xoxo
I love the fall theme. Birthday parties are so much fun to plan but you are soooo tired afterwards. Looks like you had a great time:)