Baby Elise's 1st birthday!

Elise modeling her birthday onesie & tutu.

Birthday parties.  There's so much made now about babies having blowout birthday parties to the point that they are hyped almost as much as a Sweet Sixteen party.  I have to admit, I felt a lot of pressure (most of it put on by me) to throw Elise a great party, not that she'll remember it or anything like that.  I knew that I wanted to keep it somewhat low key,and somewhat low budget, so I decided on inviting just immediate family and our neighbor who adores Elise and has watched her on several occasions. 

I have become a Pinterest junkie, so finding cute ideas and themes was easy.  After looking around, I knew I wanted to do a sock monkey theme.  I also knew that because of my work schedule and other events going on prior to her party, I wasn't going to be able to hand make or design all of Elise's decorations.  Etsy has many people who design invites, thank you cards, banners, food labels, and favor tags based on almost every theme available.   After conversing with the designer I chose Designing for Peanuts and she priced out a package for all my needs.  She made pretty much everything a breeze and was a great communicator.  I would definitely consider using her again whether it's for another birthday or a birth announcement. 

Smash cake and party hat!

Finding pink plates and utensils was easy.  Target and Party City have very reasonable prices for both.  Luckily Elise wasn't messy when eating her smash cake, which the hubby was kind enough to make as I was running around cleaning the house like a mad woman.  I'm thinking a tarp or an outdoor cake eating near a hose reel may be necessary for any other 1st birthdays we may celebrate in the future.

The menu consisted of pulled pork (I used a pork shoulder that was ten lbs. and was under $15 at my local grocer), baked beans, broccoli slaw, potato salad, orange fluff, and banana bread.  I did go crazy at Trader Joe's and bought quite a few banana products; banana chips, apple banana squeeze apple sauce, flattened bananas, and we made dark chocolate covered frozen bananas to serve as a treat before cupcakes and ice cream.

My pork got rave reviews.  Everyone was under the impression I slaved over it all day.  My secret?  Ten hours of slow cooking in the crock pot with chicken broth and a few grinds of Trader Joe's African Smoke grinder.  Once the ten hours were up, I let the shoulder cool, cut the fat off, then shredded the meat.  The morning of the party I put the shredded meat in the crock pot again with a bottle of our favorite bbq sauce and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. The best part is we had leftovers and it always tastes better the second day. 

I think she had fun. :-)

So all in all, birthday party, great success.  Is it bad that I'm already browsing Pinterest and getting ideas for next year?

It's crazy what a difference a year makes.

Elise being a ham bone.

Sweet baby Elise will be a year old in just a few days.  I can't even remember what life was before she came into our lives.  The past year has been a whirlwind of activity; late night feedings, crazy looking diapers to change, learning how to use the breast pump and trying to make time to pump at work, and just getting to know Elise.

This past weekend my mother watched Elise and the one night that we didn't have anything planned, I didn't know what to do with myself.  I watched the Olympics on the tele, but honestly I was bored and wanting my baby back at home.  I'm sure in time I will appreciate time apart and just some "me time" but for now, I'll take all the baby talk and messy diapers I can!