In some ways, I truly can’t believe that our baby is already one, but in some ways it feels kinda like she’s been here with us all along. Her little life has been a miracle from the very beginning and she’s brought more joy, more laughs, and more smiles in this short year than some people do in a lifetime. I am so thankful to be her Mama!

For her 1st birthday, we did a small ice cream themed party in our church fellowship hall and it was simple and sweet (pun intended). We played oldies music and drank strawberry lemonade. For the ice cream cone bunting over the food table, I just free-handed my own ice cream scoop, cut it out, and used it as a template to cut out the rest of the ice cream scoops on colored cardstock. Then, I cut up a brown paper bag and taped those pieces onto the back so they’d resemble ice cream cones. My Mama made her cake and it was as delicious as it is beautiful. It was alternating layers of orange and strawberry cake with homemade frosting topped with a delicious, fluffy homemade marshmallow fondant.

To eat, we just had little snacks like peanut butter sandwiches, goldfish, animal crackers, popcorn with M&Ms, cupcakes, and cake balls. Then, we did an ice cream bar with toppings and syrups. To make things easier, we pre-scooped the ice cream, put the ice cream balls into a container, and stuck them back in the freezer until it was time (an idea I got from Pinterest) and it worked out really well!

If you’ve never done it before, it’s really hard to plan a party, decorate, keep (both of) your children happy, make sure you’re talking to everyone equally, get pictures of the decorations, remember who got your child what, and also get a photo of everyone in attendance. So, unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get a picture of Harper with Landon, with her Mimi and Papa, with her aunt Alley and uncle Tyler, with her cousins Gretchen, Addie, and Payton, or even one picture of Harper with Landon, Grayson, and me! I guess we’ll try to do better next year!

Everyone spoiled our girl with all kinds of wonderful gifts! It felt kind of like leaving a baby shower when we were loading up the car! I couldn’t believe it! We are just so thankful to everyone who came to her party when it’s such a busy time of year and I know they could have been anywhere else. Our girl is so loved by so many and it just makes my Mama heart feel like it could burst! This weekend has just left us feeling really, really thankful.

Now it’s time to gear up for a cowboy themed birthday party in less than two weeks because our big boy is turning THREE!