My sweet Joy Belle is one! It’s so hard to believe a year has past since I first met this spunky, beautiful, baby girl. To say she’s been a blessing to us would be an understatement. The goal for the week was to make it all about Joy Belle. We spent her actual birthday showering her with attention and sweets. Similarly, I wanted to make her first birthday party all about her. I’m so excited to share photos from her special day!
We had quite the crowd – lots of family and friends loving our girl with their presence and presents. Joy Belle’s party inspiration was mermaids. The menu featured some of Joy Belle’s favorite foods: chicken tenders, mini burgers, goldfish, cheetos, pickles, and watermelon. I created a photo book for our guests to see how much Joy Belle had grown over the year and encouraged them to leave a sweet note for her to read one day. We also asked our guests to paint by number a sign for Joy Belle’s room. One of my favorite party details was the custom, mermaid cake topper Alice & Jay cut for me! It was simply perfect on the homemade, strawberry cake (baked by a sweet friend from church!), along with the mermaid tail topped cupcakes. It was exactly as I’d envisioned.
My dad built the most adorable, kid size tables for the party. (We always intended to keep them for everyday play too!) They were perfect for the kids to color, eat, and play. The mermaid, dolphin, and pineapple shaped, homemade crayons were a hit too!
One of my favorite photos, because it’s so evident that our girl is loved by many!
The plan was for an outdoor get together, with bubbles, coloring fun, yard activities, and a movie – but God had other plans for the evening. Rain moved the party inside. It was complete chaos moving everything inside; but after the initial disappointment, I decided to make the best of it and enjoy the time celebrating our girl. Thankfully the rain passed and we were able to enjoy the cake and cupcakes outside. (Yippee!)
And we had to attempt a group photos with the all of the kids! It was quite the ordeal.
The day couldn’t have been more perfect! I was able to enjoy the party watching Joy Belle soak it all in. She had a blast! She loved the food and festivities, being surrounded by family and friends, and the gifts. (Joy Belle’s always enjoyed opening presents! And she’s a little ham, so she loved the extra attention.) Watching her savor the celebration was more than my heart could handle. I hope I remember the sparkle in her eyes forever. She was literally overflowing with happiness!