First Birthday Time

I may have cheated a bit on that 11-month photo -- that's still 5 days away. It's crazy that Ada's first birthday will be in a month. That it's been almost a year since I gave birth. And in that year, so much has happened. Changed. How much Ada has grown. How much we've grown together as a family.

I haven't started any real birthday planning yet. I suppose this post is almost selfish in that way. An excuse for me to outline my ideas.

#1: Location: Our house. We're having a low-key gathering versus a large party. Partially because November is cold. The summer afternoon park parties of my youth won't be Ada's reality, unfortunately. And our home can't accommodate lots of guests.

Besides that, we'd rather not have a blowout with her being so young. I don't think she'd enjoy a room full of 50 (or more) people. OK. I don't think I would enjoy that either.

#2: Time of day: We debated this one. We're doing a noon party and saying it "ends" at 2 pm. The reason for the end time? Ada's nap schedule. We don't want to overwhelm her, but if she's doing OK, we could probably hang out a bit longer.

#3: Cake: I'd like to recreate my own first birthday cake -- at least in aesthetic. It was a small, round cake. Yellow, I think, with some white piping. A few strategically placed animal crackers as decorations. I might add some rainbow sprinkles for flair.

Oh, and I'm thinking chocolate. I am hoping to make a lower-in-sugar cake, but I'm not going to fret over it too much. I want the rest of the guests to enjoy it, too.

#4: Decorations: There are so many creative ideas I've come across. We're definitely on a budget, so I don't think we'll do anything particularly extravagant or pin-worthy. However, you'd be surprised what Stephen can do with streamers and balloons.

I'll have to report back on this one once I wrap my mind around it better. I don't think we'll go for any specific theme either. I feel like that would require to much coordination both in planning and with supplies.

#5: Food: We're doing pizza, cider, and a few other small snacks. Nothing too elaborate or finicky. I don't feel like cooking a ton either because every party we've ever hosted had left us with way too many leftovers. People seem to like pizza and cider. Can't really go wrong.

That's where we are at the moment. My parents mentioned making a slideshow to me today (that's sort of a family tradition), but we'll see if I get time to do that. I've bombarded the invited guests with enough photos on Facebook this year, I'm sure they've seen them all! Overall, we're just looking to have a good time with good people that Ada knows and loves.

I know many of you are also gearing up for first birthdays. (How did this happen?!) What are you planning? Any special family traditions? Any suggestions for sticking to a super tight budget?

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