it's almost "bee-day", again

It's hard to believe this was one year ago... not only is Miss Bee going to be TWO at the end of the month but it's also been a year in the making to get this post done!  Since we're knee deep in planning Miss Bee's 2nd year bash I thought it was high time I got on showing you what we created for her first birthday.

As a Memorial weekend baby, Miss Bee is fortunate to have a long weekend that coincides with her party most years... however weather for us at that time of year can be kind of unpredictable.  Last year we lucked out and the weather was overcast but no rain! Yay!  Keep your fingers crossed for this year, will ya?  With the nicer weather most of the party was held outside but the cake table was in the dining area... and if you were wondering, the party was at Miss Bee's house.

The colors and mermaid theme were inspired by believe it or not, a diaper!  Miss Bee's parents use cloth diapering, the kind that come with super cute covers and this one was a mango-ish orange diaper with mermaids in purple, teal/aqua, pink... so you can see where these colors came from.

I made the tissue tassel like like I did here and the "ONE" letters came from Target.

A cute aqua basket held sugar cookies and a tin beach pail from Target was filled with salt water taffy, the same taffy we used at Miss Bee's parents' wedding.  Little paper bags in purple, pink and aqua were provided for guests to fill up and take some candy home.

The sugar cookies were made by yours truly and packaged as party favors to take home as well.  I used Pinterest and Etsy for inspiration in the sand dollars and starfish designs.  The sand dollar is actually a flower cookie cutter but works well for these.  Of course there were "plain" sugar cookies for enjoying at the party as well.

The mini cupcakes and the tiny little cake for Miss Bee were made by the same bakery that Miss Bee's parents used for their wedding.  She did a fabulous job on creating the colors!  And of course, it was delicious... if you're in the Seattle/Kitsap area you should pay her a visit!

A food table was set up outside.  My daughter and son in law have a nice covered patio... great when the weather is fickle!

A cluster of balloons waiting to go home with little ones, tied to the cutest little wooden Adirondack chair ever.

Another view of the food table... I bought these tissue fringed garlands online at Shop Sweet Lulu after seeing this idea to mimic the idea of water and waves... perfect for a mermaid party.

And we can't miss showing off the birthday girl!  She wasn't walking by her birthday but she was an expert crawler and puller-upper... her she is visiting with "P-pa" as she calls him now (my husband)... don't you just love the tutu?  Her outfit was coordinated around the cutest mermaid t-shirt, which you can't actually see here!

And a close up of the table includes one of her favorites, goldfish crackers!  The tin pail holding the napkins was actually an Easter basket from Target and the Ariel toy was an early birthday gift.

Little paper nut cups (also from Shop Sweet Lulu) for the crackers were perfect for little ones to fill up and snack on... and you know it's not a party unless I have paper straws!

Another shot of the birthday girl... and a little better view of that t-shirt.

Finally a smile from that serious little face.

And her infamous "cheese" look... which she still does by the way!

When guests started to show she looked a bit uncertain as to what was going on... good thing mama was there!

The menu was perfect for kids and a Memorial weekend... hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and all the fixings!

There were a number of littles at the party, so cute to watch all these one year olds interact!

Then the big moment... cake time!

Miss Bee was pretty unsure of the whole cake thing...

It took a lot of encouragement to even get her to touch the cake... I'm sure the people all standing around staring and taking pictures didn't help!

The first move...

Thinking she'd pick it up...

Only to have all of us react with oohs and aahs, which stopped her in her tracks!

But finally she gave it, or at least the frosting, a try.  And seemed to finally enjoy it!

Even going in for a full on bite right out of the cake!

If this doesn't say "Happy Birthday" Miss Bee, I don't know what does...

So in one short year we went from this little baby...

To this little girl!  Still so serious... but with a wee bit more hair than last year!

photo credit Ashley Vos Photography

Looking forward to spending another birthday with my Bee this upcoming weekend.  This year's party theme won't surprise most folks... but you'll have to wait to see what it is... and I promise, it won't be a year in the making this time!