How did this HAPPEN???

My BABY is turning ONE!?!?  Already?  I thought you had to wait a whole 365 days for that!?  What?  It HAS been 365ish days??  Seriously?  Good grief...

We had Taylor's first birthday party on Monday.  The theme was

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The whole party was based on the story by Eric Carle and all of the food that the very hungry caterpillar ate.  Of course we had to change the caterpillar to a "she" for our little girl!  If you are not familiar with the story, sit back and enjoy a little story time!

"In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf. One Sunday morning the sun came up and pop! Out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar."

This was the invitation I created. The first circle has the first paragraph of the story with Sunday changed to Wednesday because Taylor was born on a Wednesday. The second circle reads, "One year later, our tiny caterpillar grew into a beautiful butterfly!..."

"He started to look for some food. 
On Monday, he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry.
On Tuesday he ate through two pears. But he was still hungry.
On Wednesday he ate through three plums. But he was still hungry.
On Thursday he ate though four strawberries. But he was still hungry.
On Friday he ate though five oranges but he was still hungry."

I used all of the fruit from the first five days of the caterpillar's journey and made a fresh fruit salad.

"On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake..."

To make the cake, I used a bundt pan. I cut the round cake in half and the cut one half in half again. The dirt is crushed Oreos.

"...one ice cream cone..."

This may look like an ice cream cone but it is not ice cream! I wanted it to last the whole party so I used the skills I learned from Buddy on Cake Boss and froze some cream cheese icing. Then, I scooped the icing out with an ice cream scooper and it looked exactly like a double scoop of vanilla ice cream!

"...one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami..."

"...one lollipop..."

I used a Styrofoam block wrapped in gift wrap for the lollipops to stick in.

"...one piece of cherry pie..."

"...one sausage..."

"...one cupcake..."

This was Taylor's special cake!

"...and one slice of watermelon."

"That night he had a stomachache!"

"The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better."

"Now he wasn't hungry anymore -- and he wasn't a little caterpillar anymore. He was a big fat caterpillar. He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He stayed inside for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and... he was a beautiful butterfly!"

The butterfly "Thank You" card!

The party was a huge success!  Taylor was constantly on the move.  She was lucky to have her big sis there to help her with the presents. 

Gramma J and Grampa Max got her a Little People farm.

We took Jaden to Target and told her she could get Taylor any toy in the whole store and this is what she picked out for her sister.

Good choice!

Uncle Matt and Stephanie got Taylor a snail with a mirror on it.

We were happy to have so many of our family members come celebrate with us! 

Jaden and Great-Grandma Pat reading The Lion King.

Gramma J and Grampa Max helped get ready for the party... Thanks so much, Mom and Dad!

Taylor loves her Great-Grandma Pat and Great-Grandma Ina!

Mike, Jaden, Myself, and Taylor

We always have a signature frame at the girls' parties so we can remember everyone that came to celebrate.

Gramma J made Taylor a signature plate that she will have to remember her first birthday.  Jaden had one of these at her first birthday too.

Abbey made Taylor's birthday hat.

I'd be lying if I said I planned this all by myself.  I couldn't have done it without my lovely assistant, Jaden.  She even made some wonderful decorations!

 

What first birthday party is complete without the cake?

Luckily Taylor had Jaden on hand to blow out her candle.

Have at it, baby!

What's a girl to do with SO MUCH cake?

Sharing the love... er... cake!

The only things sweeter than birthday cake are these two girls!

It was a GREAT party!  It's not over yet though... Taylor doesn't officially turn one until tomorrow!  More fun to come!

I will eventually be linking this party to all of these parties!