Will came up with the theme for Victoria’s first birthday party over dinner in Amelia Island in May, after I had been trying to come up with the perfect idea for months. We were thinking about her favorite things and what she would choose if she could tell us what she wanted. Our top two ideas? Dogs and fruit. And thus, the “Puppies and Pineapples” theme was born. When you have a pool and a July baby, a pool party is pretty obvious, so the pineapples were an easy choice. But this kid does love dogs and fruit.
We had beautiful weather for her July 28th celebration and were so blessed that lots of family was able to make it from out of town, including all five grandparents, my brother and sister-in-law, my aunt and uncle, and two cousins. And we had plenty of dear friends in attendance too–our pool and our hearts were full! We kept the food super casual: Will grilled burgers and dogs, and we had chips, pasta salad, fruit kabobs (of course), and lots of cake and cookies.
I got most of the decor from Hobby Lobby and Oriental Trading Co., and my creations were super last-minute, but this is basically how I hoped it would turn out!
The cookies were just perfect–made by a lady in our neighborhood who is obviously very talented. Pippa, pineapples, and the pool! One of my other favorite details was this birthday sign with stats from her first year that I ordered from Etsy. This kid took 13 flights and visited 14 states before her first birthday!
While we had a lot of the family together, we opened a few presents before friends arrived, starting with our baby announcement reveal! We had Victoria open a “Big Sister” dress while everyone watched. 🙂 I wanted to tell everyone the night before so that her day could just be about her, but my parents’ flight was canceled, so we hope she’ll forgive us.
I could never get these balloons to face the right way for a picture! Next time, I am tying them together.
The water table was a HUGE hit with the little ones. Victoria could be out there for hours!
Once guests arrived, I didn’t really take any photos until we went inside for singing and cake cutting, but it was the most fun day! We are so thankful so many people we love were there.
The lighting wasn’t great for photos at this time of day inside, but we had the sweetest singing and cake smash. Although there wasn’t a lot of smashing. She ate her cake with a spoon! She really loves using utensils. I think she wants to be big like the grown ups.
Dads taking a much-deserved break at the end.
It was so fun to catch up with family and celebrate our little July baby’s first year of life. She’s our greatest joy, and sharing that with the other people we love is a sweet gift. I already can’t wait for next year!
