holden's first bday party!

my sweet holden crew turned one back in november. such a fun day to think back to exactly 365 days prior and where i was, what i was doing and the craziness that changed my life that day. november 7th will always be one of my best memories. the day i met my sweet boy.

i scoured pinterest for months gathering ideas and then i got my diy on. i didn't go crazy and certainly don't think my party was the best of the best, but i had fun getting everything ready. having our closest friends and fam all in one room to celebrate the most important lil guy in my life was overwhelmingly fab.

ok, on to the fun stuff!

for the front door, i wanted people to get an idea of the theme right off the bat! i made a little life preserver wreath from a tutorial i found online. i hung it with a navy blue ribbon since it was a beefy wreath and wouldn't fit on the hanger. simple balloons, the O N E letters are from michael's (spray painted them white) and the framed anchor is just a couple pieces of scrapbook paper. i used a cricut for all of the shapes & letters!

the food spread! i wanted to keep everything festive with red, white & blue! i found the sailboat fabric at wal mart & just threw it down (rough edges & all - who cares?!)! 

i loved the idea of having a personalized fancy smash cake for holden and then i thought about spending serious cash on something like that & decided it was craze. opted for a giant homemade funfetti cupcake instead! borrowed the cupcake pan from a friend & went to town! i also made the regular cupcakes in the back (funfetti & red velvet). i ordered the cupcakes picks online & they made it so fun! i also made some simple white choc covered pretzels & threw on some fun sprinkles!

these brownies were such a hit! found the recipe on pinterest, but it's a betty crocker (old faithful). they were so yummy and even better leftover (kept them in the fridge). have this recipe saved in my 'pinned & tried' board for quick reference! :)

i thought it'd be fun to have a newborn pic and a recent pic of holden since many friends of ours didn't meet holden til he was a couple months old. got the frames at faithful target - nate berkus, my fav!! the crate that the one pic is sitting on is from michael's. was just raw wood and i spray painted it. wouldn't recommend this project cause it was a pain in the butt!!!!

the 'holden is one' banner is one of my fav details! it took some time, but the cricut made it SO easy. i found a tutorial online & searched high and low for good scrapbook paper. if i ever make a banner in the future, i plan on buying the paper online. WAY more options!! it's all hanging on a navy blue ribbon. how perf that my MIL's kitchen was red, huh? 

the OCD part of me hated that his high chair didn't match the theme, but i slapped a lil banner on it and it was fine! thought this would be cute for all his smash pics!!

like a week before the party, i was racking my brain on what i wanted holden to wear. one night, we stopped at a restaurant by the mall for dinner. there was like a 45 min wait, so we ran over to h & m and then this shirt called my name! :) it was the only one and it was just his size. said 'above board' on the back and had anchors on the front. i was in love!

up until this point, holden really hadn't had much sugar. no cookies, ice cream, nothin! i don't think he knew what to think of it! ps-can you see just how big that cupcake is! it's like the size of his head! also... hello, thighs!!!!!

here's holden, his bff ben & his future wifey emersyn! 3 pees in a pod! also, this pic shows their personalities to a T!!!!

i'll end with one of my fav pics! my parents drove the 9 hours to come be here for his party and they brought all sorts of goodies, including this trike! holden was IN LOVE with this thing! i'm hoping his legs will be long enough for him to ride it this summer!

holden's party was such a day of blessings. standing in a room with people that i love and that love my baby... what more could i ask for?