"Oh what fun! She's a wild one!"
I still can't believe our baby girl is one already! At just 16.5 lbs she is still one of our smallest children, but she doesn't let her tiny little body keep her from doing anything and everything. She seems to have endless energy and has no trouble keeping up with all her older siblings. So far she only has two teeth on top and two on bottom, with a couple more trying to come through which has made the last few nights especially hard since she doesn't usually sleep much anyway. She brings so much joy to all of us and we are so grateful for this sweet, sensitive, funny, active, and wild little one of ours. Celebrating her first birthday was a blast and she loved all the extra attention!
I had a hard time deciding on a gift for her... Being the youngest of eight she has so many great hand-me-down toys already and I'm a lot pickier than I used to be when it comes to purchasing new toys. A Most of her birthday gifts ended up doubling as party decorations including a new teepee which was a hit with all the kids! I even caught our 17 year old in there with her at one point. She woke up to it all set up in the living room and wasn't sure what to think of it at first, but with a little coaxing from her older brother and sisters she realized it wasn't anything to be scared of and started playing.
She had us all laughing as she crawled into the Tnee's Tpee, pulled the flaps down, then stuck her head back out to wave bye bye to all of us before going back in. Her little princess wave is the cutest!
After her afternoon nap we dressed her up for the party. I had ordered a "wild one" onesie from Bitty and Boho and found a cute little tutu and flower crown at a local baby store.
She wouldn't keep the flower crown on for very long...
but it does make a pretty addition to the top of her TeePee!
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| Outside Your Window • Mossy • Backyard Birds of Summer Born in the Wild • Rosalind and the Little Deer • Joyful Colours of the Year Baby Animals • A Time to Keep • You Are My Little Cupcake • When You Were Very Small How Animal Babies Stay Safe • Wild Backyard • National Parks: Wildlife Primer • The Elsa Beskow Baby Book Pastel Rainbow • Wooden Nesting Trees • My Family Rosary Roses • Grimm's Little Flower • Stacking Birds • Ostheimer Wooden Animals |
.: PARTY FOOD :.
I got a little carried away with party food ideas and didn't even get to making all of them...
You can download and print my labels here.
Here is what we did have for the party:
Gluten Free Mushroom Cupcakes
Ants on a Log • Forest Berries
Grizzly Bears • Rainbow Trout
Deer Droppings • Trail Mix
Wild Animals
TeePees
Twigs
Catch of the Day
Not Your Mother's Tuna Casserole
Wild Greens Salad Bar
We also served Spinach and Cheese Ravioli
Water Hole
.: THE BIRTHDAY GIRL :.
.: WILD ONE CAKE :.
I posted all about her little Wild One Birthday Cake here. The cake itself is the Trader Joe's Party Cake. We decorated it with Ostheimer's Baby Forest Animals wearing tiny little homemade party hats and a Wild One Cupcake Topper. I also picked up a Strawberry Cheesecake and baked GF cupcakes.
.: BIRTHDAY GIFTS :.
We picked out some new books for the birthday girl: Born in the Wild: Baby Mammals and Their Parents, National Parks: A Wildlife Primer, Babies in the Wild: Lift-a-Flap Board Book and Wild Backyard. I only wrapped up one of them and the rest were added to the book cart.
She was spoiled with so many fun and thoughtful gifts from family and friends!
One of her uncles sent a birthday card letting her know that his Mass that day was being offered for her! (One of the many blessings of having uncles who are priests. Such a gift!)
A few of her aunts bought her a tambourine.
(Thank you Aunt Mary, Aunt JoAnna and Aunt Julianna!)
My sister Mary brought me back a 40oz Limited Edition Ombre Hydro Flask from Hawaii for my 40th birthday a few months ago and every time I try to drink out of it my baby girl would grab it away from me even though it's nearly as big as she is... So I bought her a 12 oz in a similar color. Before she was even able to get all of the wrapping paper off of her new water bottle she figured out what it was and tried to start drinking from it!
Uncle Brian, Aunt Meagan and their girls gave her a cute little wooden lamb push toy, an Indestructibles (Chew Proof, Rip Proof, Washable) Mama and Baby! book and a darling headband.
My friend Ann-Marie and her family gave her a fun wooden shape sorter.
My brother's girlfriend gave her a stuffed bear and a beautiful blanket she handmade and she also received some cute summer outfits from my friend Lena and the rest of the JOY{filled}family girls!
My Mom and Dad gave her some darling Moccasins! She tried them on and had to walk around to try them out and show them off to everyone. This baby girl is surrounded by so much love!
.: ONE CANDLE :.
After opening all the gifts all she wanted to do was nurse and snuggle. I've always joked that she is "my little introvert" and she was starting to get a little overwhelmed. She wasn't at all sure what to think about her cake and that burning candle up on top... She cried when I initially tried to put her in the highchair but was fine again once I picked her back up so I just held the cake while we all sang to her. We tried to put her back in the highchair again so she could enjoy her cake but she wasn't interested. After everyone had left, we tried again and this time she enjoyed her cake!
All she wanted to eat were the tiny little sprinkles!
Happy 1st Birthday!
