Ava's Girly First Birthday Party

As I have mentioned before, I have been planning Ava's birthday party for quite awhile. My idea going into it was simple, girly, and I wanted it outdoors. I loved the idea of a garden party but when I thought about doing a party at home, in our yard, I knew it wasn't going to work out. Our yard is big, but it's not quite the setting I was looking for. I wracked my brain trying to think of the perfect place and I randomly thought of this place called Case Mansion. It's a local, historic mansion that is absolutely beautiful. It once belonged to Theodore Case, who invented sound for movies. Luckily the owner agreed and I crossed my fingers for good weather so we could have that outside party I envisioned. 

I went to Etsy for the invitations and I found Royal Blue Party. The owner, Angela, worked with me on a sweet and simple invitation and I loved it. I didn't want too much of a theme but the flower border with the pink was perfect. 

While setting up the party, there were a couple hiccups. I expected things to be a little easier, so we started later than we should have. The wind was a little excessive for a little while so the tablecloths kept flying. I didn't like the way things were set up originally, so of course I decided to take everything off the table and start over. As I was doing that, I broke the cake stand I made for Ava's smash cake. I was totally bummed but I had to move on. We used the china I bought from Salvation Army and I loved what it added to the table. Lucky for us, the day was beautiful, and all we could see were blue skies.

Since her party was at 2, I decided to just have a desserts table with cake, cherry pie, and cheesecake. I also made chocolate dipped pretzels, some fruit kabobs, and some fresh strawberry topping for the cheesecake. Ava's smash cake was made by my talented friend Maria Giacona from La Dolce Vita and it was beyond perfect!

Baby besties, Mila and Ava. They were born two days apart, in the same hospital. I've been so lucky to have a mama friend who's gone through the journey with me this time around. 

My outfit: Dress-Lauren Conrad
Ava's outfit: Dress-Carter's, Shoes-H&M, Crown-Olivia Ann Collections, Sash-DIY

She opened presents like she knew what she was doing, it was so precious.

We couldn't get many pictures with Braxton. He was too busy with either the cotton candy or the lemonade.

I found her high chair about a month ago and I got it for only $15. It originally was a light wood...I sanded and painted it all by myself, which I'm pretty proud of. I made the little "ONE" banner with doilies, a sheet of glitter card stock, and ribbon.  

We gave out cotton candy as little favors, to add onto all the other sweet stuff we had. Braxton helped pass it out to everyone, which helped us make sure that we wouldn't forget!

It was such a wonderful day and I want to thank everyone who came to celebrate with us. I can't believe my little girl is going to be one tomorrow!