daphne {first birthday party!}

To start, I wanted to give updates on Daphne’s stats since she went to her wellness check-up last week.

Daphne’s check-up went so well and she was happy and interactive with the doctor. She is generally pretty social and friendly, but sometimes gets stranger danger, so we never know. I really don’t like to try to get the kids to “perform” for other people, but it is always nice when your kids actually show their doctor things they can do (rather than just hearing us say that she is doing those things). Her doctor was happy with her growth (she is right at the top of the growth curve!) and impressed that she was walking so well. All-in-all a great check-up!

D’s stats:

• weight: 24 pounds, 9 ounces (95 to 96%)
• length: 28.5 inches (50%)
• head circumference: 46.2 cm (75 to 90%)

We knew Daphne was gaining weight but since we don’t have a scale, I had no idea what to expect. And she is almost 25 pounds!

And here are E’s 12 month stats for comparison:

• weight: 21 pounds, 12 ounces (60%)
• length: 29 inches (60%)
• head circumference: 46.8 cm (90%)

I am so surprised by the weight difference in these girls! It has been a long time since E was this little and I remember her being a pretty big one year old! But the head difference, not so much. Eloise always had such a large head!

And onto Daphne’s birthday party since that is what you are really here for, right?

First things first, a party theme. Not totally necessary but I find it a nice way to start thinking about the party. I always head to Pinterest for inspiration and I immediately settled on flowers months ago; specifically Rifle Paper Co. I haven’t done anything girlie or pink for either of the girls, so I had a lot of fun with this one! And if you know me, you know I am sort of obsessed with Rifle Paper Co.

Conveniently, Paperless Post, which is my go-to for party invitations (the event tracking is amazing!), had Rifle Paper Co. invitations. I chose this invitation and updated the wording to work as a party invitation. Sadly, Paperless Post doesn’t offer printed invitations anymore, but I did print one version of the invitation (and will make a lined envelope) for Daphne’s keepsake box.

There were tons and tons of ideas that popped up on Pinterest that worked with this theme, but I really tried to keep things simple. And since we are still in early March and fresh flowers aren’t quite in season (and are really expensive) I opted to go with felt flowers. I wanted felt flower wreaths, a swag for a birthday flag, a swag for the weekly pictures frame, and a bouquet, but as I started pricing things out from some Etsy shops, I quickly realized it was going to be so expensive! So, I found a few good tutorials (linked below), ordered some good wool felt, and taught myself how to make felt flowers! They definitely weren’t perfect, but it was a super fun project for me to do, albeit it took me hours (and lots of The Bachelor) during naptimes.

And for all of the rest of the decor, I tried to keep it simple. As I have mentioned before, first birthday parties are for parents, and I will be the first to admit that I throw birthday parties for my kids because I want to. I LOVE throwing parties and having a house full of family and friends, so we will probably always do birthday parties!

And my tip for food and drink (again, to keep things simple) is to not cook anything. Daphne’s party was right at lunchtime, because that was the best time for her, so I ordered two sandwich platters and served other lunch-type stuff that was kid friendly: veggie puffs and sticks (healthier than potato chips), sliced strawberries and blueberries, and carrots and snap peas with hummus. I did make an exception to the “not cooking anything” though by baking a cake for Daphne (I used this sugar-free cake recipe which is basically just banana bread), cupcakes for the rest of the party guests (an organic box mix from Whole Foods and pre-made frosting), and baked sugar cookies (ready-to-bake Annie’s cookies).

Plus, we had the most beautiful and sunny weather for the party which made it so much better!

I will list more party details below (there’s a complete source list at the bottom of the post) but here is a slew of pictures. Thank you so much for my brother-in-law Ben for being our party photographer!

{A fun flag on the front door to greet party guests!}

{We did a time capsule for Daphne and had everyone leave her a note. I am also including some party decorations and birthday cards, as well as some printed pictures. We plan on giving it to her on her 18th birthday. And that is a recipe box (which was so on-theme).}

{We did a Dol (a traditional Korean fortune-telling) with Daphne just like we did with Eloise. I had everyone vote which one she would pick and then drew a winner after she chose.}

{Daphne’s weekly photos all printed out. This is something that we did for Eloise too and it is one of our very favorite things in the house. I didn’t think we could make it thru another set of 52 week photos, but having this poster made it so worth it!}

{Eloise and her Aunt Sarah.}

{Daphne’s new trick… but, it was her birthday party, right?}

{Setting out the Dol items.}

{Daphne is a master squatter. She has SUCH strong legs!}

{After only a bit of hesitation and a lost party hat, she pretty confidently chose the rice! An abundant life for Daphne.}

 

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{And then she chose the stethoscope and then the gavel, so being a doctor or a lawyer may be in her future too!}

{I think she was a little scared about everyone watching her and singing.}

{She wasn’t sure at first, so I gave her a taste of frosting on my finger.}

{And Eloise took a turn offering a taste!}

And here are so many cake photos because I just couldn’t choose! Daphne, you are such a sweet girl!

{She was pretty happy with the cake, but it took forever. Seriously, 20 minutes after this photo was taken she finally started devouring the cake!}

We were so happy to celebrate Daphne’s first year with our friends and family. It meant the world to us to have everyone there and really see this amazing community/village that we have built for our family. Thank you to everyone who has supported us during this past year!

And here is Eloise’s first birthday party.

Happy happy FIRST birthday Daphne girl!

M

Party sources: Rifle Paper Co. invitations: Paperless Post // felt flowers: DIY (see instructions here) // felt: Benzie and Co. // birthday flag: custom from The Petite Flag Shop // recipe box (for time capsule): Rifle Paper Co. // weekly photo poster: Social Print Studio // party hats: DIY from Rifle Paper Co. wrapping sheets // framed floral print (white frame): Rifle Paper Co. // framed floral print: Rifle Paper Co. wrapping paper in Target frame // ONE cake topper: Etsy shop // Daphne’s dress: Tucker + Tate via Nordstrom // Daphne’s bow: Hadley Girl // moccasins: Freshly Picked // Happy Birthday banner and ONE banner: Rifle Paper Co. // cake stand: Crate and Barrel (old; similar) // letterboard: Letterfolk (from D’s weekly pictures) // gold D card: painted by Grammie

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