Happy FIRST Birthday Miss Olivia!

I am such a horrible blogger...it's been almost over a month since Livvy's first birthday and I am just now updating about her party. AHHH! Anyway, Olivia turned ONE on November 9 and that night we had Kevin's mom Connie over for dinner and a special cupcake for Livvy. I made baked ziti (a fav. around here) and we went and bought a gourmet cupcake for our birthday girl! She ate so much that night that I thought she was going to pop, instead she puked, lovely I know lol! She had no problem digging into her cupcake at all! She has such a sweet tooth and loves to feed herself. After eating she opened our presents, we just bought her some clothes and a few little things, nothing big. We figured that when she is a little older we will buy her bigger items, for now she has no idea what a birthday is so why go all out? We let others buy the bigger things for her this year.





Above is the card Kevin gave to Livvy, it says "Olivia, A year ago today, I was given the greatest gift I ever recieved. Being your dad has been the best thing I have ever experienced. I love you more and more everyday. Love Dad"...yeah I cried...hard! I am such a sap and both of them make me more of a sap :) I just love my little family!

For her party we rented the Kendall Park Building, a very nice small building with awesome slate heated floors (which were awesome considering it snowed the night before!) and huge indoor grill and tons of windows. I knew I wanted to do a "Fall" themed party because if you don't live in Alaska...November is still Fall haha! We had pumpkins and leaves and all things fall every where!! It was so cute! I made two pumpkin shaped cakes, Livvy's was smaller but perfect for her. I wanted to have a big lunch for everyone but didn't want to do hot dogs or hamburgers (maybe in the Summer) so I decided on a soup and sandwich bar, it was soooo good! We made mooseburger soup, chicken noodle and smoked salmon chowder, with several different kinds of grilled cheese, no one left hungry! The kids did some crafts which turned out so cute! My favorite one was they had to trace their hands and wrists on brown foam and cut them out then glue on fabric leaves to make hand trees! So cute! Livvy tore into her cake and made a huge mess but she had so much fun and totally knew what to do with that cake haha! She needed a bath afterwards so we bathed her in the sink. I think her party was a success and I know she loved it too! So glad that we were able to do such a special party for our very special baby girl!

I took small pumpkins and put in a picture for every month of her life.

Getting ready to blow out her candle!

I had her little shirt made. My best friends cousin makes custom bows and shirts, I emailed her and told her what I had in mind and she came up with this...I LOVE this shirt!! It is better than I could have ever dreamed! If you would like to have shirts or bows made for your kiddos look her up on facebook Avie Lus Custom Hairbows and Accessories (you can click on the underlined link to access her FB page) She is awesome!

She ate so much of her cake! And she shared it with me too :) I love being a mommy!!

I will leave you with this last picture from her Party. This is her "Popeye" look :) She is adorable!HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS!! We love you so much and are so happy we have been trusted by God to be your parents! I am excited to see how much you have changed on your second birthday!

*All pictures from her party were taken by my dear friend and neighbor Katie Cannon Photography