Ellen’s First Birthday Party

May 8, 2012 By Rae in For Moms, Little Ones 2 Comments Tags: Baby's First Year, Ellen, Hungry Caterpillar Party

Do I say it every month?  Pretty sure I do, so maybe I should say it again… I can’t believe that my sweet baby is nearly a year old!!  Her official birthday is May 15, so I have a little time to come to grips with this.  But, not much.  I will be in Paris on her birthday, and she will be in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I am sure I will cry.  I am counting on it.  For all three of Claire’s birthdays, I was sure I wouldn’t be emotional, and then, the flood gates opened at the exact time of her birth or when I was putting her to bed or just checking in on her before I went to bed… whatever, I cried.  My girls are growing, and I often wish I could freeze time.  I love them both to pieces.  Ellen has brought more joy to my life than I ever could’ve imagined.  I wasn’t confident that I could love another child as much as I love Claire, and then… I did!  Anyway, I am going to try to put together a post of her first year portraits all in one bundle, BUT… I am waiting until we return to take her one year portraits.  So, be patient with me.  But, for now… here are some images I captured of Ellen’s Very Hungry Caterpillar party we had for her this past weekend.  Happy viewing, friends!

a few notes and credits…

the girls shirts were made by the lady at Celebration Etsy Kids.  She bundled them for us and sent them super fast!

all of the paper products were designed by Neatnik Creations on Etsy (if you don’t see a trend, you will soon!)- I printed and assembled them.  Chris assembled the DIY playdough kits for the kids.  :-)

the decorations on the cake were made by Modern Luxe Events on Etsy.com (if you use them, give them tons of time and if you have a special request, be sure to contact them more than once- we had a minor mix-up which resulted in the M&M caterpillar, no big deal)

all of the fruit was purchased at Produce Junction in Glenside… you may laugh at that, but seriously, everything but the plums was bought there in BAGS for $9.  I went to the local grocery store around the corner and paid nearly half that for just 5 plums.  No joke.  BUT, don’t bring your kids to PJ; there aren’t really carts.  Bring cash.  My mother-in-law always goes here when we have parties and she needs fruit/vegetables.  They also have plants.  :-)  Plug over.

I was/am pretty much obsessed with the cake.  I do wish the caterpillar had made it onto the cake, but oh well.  It was very yummy, too!  It was buttermilk pound cake (with orange extract instead of lemon, since I didn’t have lemon) with a buttercream frosting.  (I did get the recipe for the icing from allrecipes.com, but I have modified it twice and still think it is too sweet for my tastes).  Anyway… here are some people pics!

Ellen loved the cake, too.  I cut into tiny pieces (whaaaaat?!  why?!) because I thought it was too dense to smash… Ellen proved me wrong.  She took the chunk I didn’t cut FIRST!

Claire picked out a $1 book from Target to give to Ellen.  She couldn’t wait to give it to her because she REALLY wanted to “share” it with her.  ;-)

Sweet girl and her daddy… opening presents.

Uncle Timmy trying to get Ellen to walk… Claire can’t wait!  She’s our little cheerleader.  I am counting on her for when Ellen is ready to potty train.  ;-)