I waffled back and forth between dinosaurs (because we call Chase our little pterodactyl thanks to his high-pitched baby squeals) or a “You Are My Sunshine” theme which hit close to my heart since that is the song I sing to Chase to settle him at night.
(For those who asked, I bought my romper off Amazon for $20! If you are tall like me – I’m 5’8’’ – I’d size up because it’s a bit short. It’s also available in a bunch of different colors and patterns. I also wore this Free People bralette underneath for a little more coverage in the chest area.)
There’s something about the moment I start singing “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray” that makes Chase’s whole body relax and my eyes fill with tears. It’s a song that means a lot to me when I think of Chase and I knew I had to go in that direction for his party.
My sister helped me settle on a color scheme – yellow and mint green – that felt playful, bright and happy and once we had party colors in mind, it was much easier to get the ball rolling and start with the party prep! In the weeks leading up to Chase’s birthday party, I spent a lot of time crafting, browsing Minted, Etsy, Amazon and Zulily and purchasing little odds and ends to add to the party décor. (I’ll try to link to most of our decorations throughout the post, but if I forget or overlook something that interests you, just let me know and I’ll report back!)
One decision I made very early on in the party planning process was to cater the party and oh my gosh it made everything 10,000 times less stressful. Our local Whole Foods was kind enough to provide all of the food for Chase’s party as well as his gorgeous smash cake and an assortment of mint green, yellow and white cupcakes that I topped with the cutest sunshine and mint green one-themed cupcake toppers I purchased from Etsy.
(I highly recommend Pleasant View Parties Etsy shop! I asked if they could customize mint green one-themed cupcake toppers to go along with the adorable sunshine cupcake toppers featured in their shop and they did a fantastic job. They are affordable and the turnaround time was also crazy fast!)
I had no idea that Whole Foods catered until my friend Brittany used them for her daughter’s second birthday party and the food was so fantastic! Everyone raved about the spread we had for Chase’s party and we went with finger-friendly fare, including an assortment of wraps, chicken satay skewers (the BEST!), a cheese tray that got absolutely demolished (the candied pecans were so addicting!), fresh fruit and veggies and the best tortilla chips in all the land paired with three different delicious dips.
I kept our table decorations simple and opted for a mini polka dot mint green table runner instead of a table cloth. I paired fresh sunflowers with baby’s breath in glass jars we already had and placed a small assortment next to a framed picture of me and Ryan with Chase on the beach that said “Our Little Sunshine.”
I placed mint polka dot wooden utensils I bought on Zulily in white and mint green mini buckets I found in Target’s dollar spot!
Though the food was a definite hit, Chase’s beautiful smash cake stole the show. We placed it on a mint green milk glass cake stand, topped it with a O-N-E burlap banner my mom and I made (inspired by Pinterest, of course) and loved the look (and taste) of it!
I worked with the sweetest woman in charge of Whole Foods’ bakery to come up with a vision for the cake and said I wanted something that looked natural and not too overdone. We went with a vanilla cake topped with buttercream frosting and adorable sunshines and mint green polka dots around the outside edges. I was absolutely thrilled with how the cake turned out! I also love the fact that Whole Foods colors their baked goods with natural foods (the green comes from spinach, the yellow from turmeric, etc.), so their beautifully colored frosting isn’t packed with creepy ingredients and artificial colors or flavors.
Ryan was in charge of stocking up on beer while I handled the pineapple mojito sangria and non-alcoholic drinks.
(I nabbed the above blank drink tags, two You Are My Sunshine prints and You Are My Sunshine stickers off Minted and they made sticking to our theme so easy! I added the stickers to cups, utensil tins, etc. to keep the theme alive throughout the party.)
One thing I didn’t realize until after the party is that Ryan and Ross thought it would be hilarious to pack the coolers and drink bins with good beer and some not-so-good beer as a sort of “beer roulette.” All the guys got a big kick out of this and we joked that we were apparently hosting a college tailgate… (Yes, we actually had a couple cans of Natty Light on hand at our son’s first birthday party. #Classy)
Since I have a giant sweet tooth, you know my favorite part of the party food was dessert! When Ryan and I first moved to North Carolina, we discovered the Nothing Bundt Cakes location in Birkdale Village and quickly became regulars. I knew I wanted to have an assortment of their unbelievably tasty mini bundtinis for everyone to enjoy and they were, without a doubt, the most talked-about food item we served at Chase’s party.
I ordered an assortment of flavors – double chocolate chip, red velvet, lemon and white chocolate raspberry – and we had to laugh when we saw some of our friends taking a couple to go on their way out. They’re hard to resist and you can’t have just one, that’s for sure!
Since birthdays require copious amounts of cake, we also had a large lemon bundt cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes on hand for the adults to enjoy – the same cake my mom and sister ordered for me at my baby shower – and it was just as fantastic as I remembered.
And now for the BEST part of the party… The people!
I cannot begin to express how much these women and their little ones mean to me. Without family in the area, I was nervous about finding a quality support network after Chase was born and feel incredibly lucky to have everyone in the above photo in my life. They are some of the most kind and thoughtful people I’ve ever met and going through motherhood with all of them has been an absolute joy. I don’t know what I’d do without their support, our almost-daily playdates and the wonderful connection that seems to come along with sharing the ups and downs of parenting.
Our guests began arriving to celebrate Chase’s first birthday at noon and we tried our best to clear out our family room and remove our coffee table to create a big space where babies could crawl around and play with a myriad of Chase’s toys that we had on hand.
Before the madness:
In the middle of the madness:
We also had a kiddie pool, water table and bubble station set up outside along with towels and sunscreen that The Honest Company kindly sent our way for the kids who preferred to splash around and enjoy the summer sun.
One thing I didn’t realize before having a baby is that one year old birthday parties don’t tend to last all that long! Babies get tired quickly and naptimes often dictate party duration, so by 4 p.m., almost everyone had already headed home and Chase was a solid hour into his afternoon nap. (The ability to put Chase down for a nap at our house during the party was a serious plus.)
The only regret I have regarding Chase’s party was that we ran out of time to do his smash cake when everyone was around. The babies were playing so well in our family room that I didn’t want to break up the fun to do his cake and by the time we would’ve been ready to sing Happy Birthday, Chase was more than ready for his nap.
“It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to!” Poor birthday boy!
I knew a cranky baby would not make for smash cake success and after my Aunt Laurie said, “You do what is right for your baby,” I knew she was right, so Chase waved goodbye to his party guests and spent the last hour of his party happily sleeping away in his crib. (We had him on display on his baby monitor so he was still part of the fun. Ha!)
Though all of Chase’s baby BFFs were gone by the time he awoke, our family was still around and so we made sure to strip Chase down and sing Happy Birthday to our favorite one-year-old before he dove into his sunshine smash cake.
I think it’s safe to say Chase LOVES cake.
He cracked all of us up when he had to tap out for a water break before diving back in…
Once we had the birthday boy all cleaned up and we shared some bites of his cake, we spent the rest of Chase’s birthday party celebration day opening gifts, reading books and playing with new toys before Chase crashed hard.
I hope Chase enjoyed his first birthday and felt all the love that was coming his way!
We had so much fun celebrating our favorite little boy.
Happy FIRST Birthday, Chase!
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That picture of Chase with his arms up over the smash cake is a keeper! It looks like he and everyone else had a great time and I love the theme choice. So sweet and special.
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Thank you, Michelle! That pic is my fav! <3
That would be a fun pic for Chase to recreate some day as an adult!
Happy birthday to Chase! Gosh the first year goes by so fast, doesn’t it? Breaks my mama heart!
Hi agree, Whole Foods cakes are the best and the cake designer is so sweet there! For the past few years, my girls have been designing their cakes and she is so awesome to work with. They are 6 & 7 and have a blast drawing their design pics and presenting them to her. This is a tradition I plan to continue! And with baby # 3 that I have on the way!
Everything looks beautiful, Julie!! You got some amazing photos!! I know babies won’t remember their first birthday, but it really is all about getting the photos. I hope mine loves her cake as much as Chase did! We’ll see.
I can’t believe Chase is already one! I loved all of the decorations and colors you used too. The picture of Chase in the bow tie is so adorable!!
Thank you!! <3
Chase’s first birthday party turned out so cute! I loved all of your decorations and it looks like Chase really had fun 🙂
Your pictures always turn out SO well. I would love it if you could reply with what camera you use! 🙂
Thank you, Jenna! These pics were actually ALL snapped by my sister and brother in law… They are waaay better with the camera than I am. I always forget what kind of camera they use, but I’ll report back!
That is the cutest theme and party! It makes me excited for when I have kids! And smashing that cake, totally never knew that was a thing but I bet they love it!
What a special birthday celebration!! Chase is so loved. 🙂
Happy birthday Chase! I am expecting our little one in a couple weeks, also in an area without family. Do you have any advice about how you met a great group of momma girlfriends? Thanks for your input 🙂
Hi Heather! I am actually planning to do a blog post about this because I’ve had quite a few people ask! To briefly answer your questions, I found that getting out of the house and going to activities geared toward babies (Gymboree, library story times, swim class, etc.) was such a great way to meet mamas with little ones who are of a similar age (and also on a similar schedule)!
Loved the party theme and decorations. I agree about having food catered! worth it! I also apperciate your beer selection game, sounds like something we would do. We are celebrating our babes 1st birthday on Saturday and doing a Where the WIld things are theme.. Cannot wait!
Such a great party–i love all of the small details of the decor and food! I did not know whole foods catered! I bet they would have a lot of GF options for party food too! I LOVE the picture of him with his arms up with the smash cake haha so cute!
Chase is one lucky one year old! What a pretty party and the “you are my sunshine” theme was so unique! So glad his day was fabulous. I will never forget my little guy with his smash cake. Hilarious!
What a gorgeous birthday party! I felt the same way about my son’s first party, but was so glad that I ended up throwing a bash. We have so many wonderful memories celebrating him with our friends and family.
awww what a sweet day for little Chase!!! Love the theme and all the pictures!!
I noticed that romper yesterday and was hoping you would link it today, SO CUTE and $20, awesome! And of course everything looked amazing for Chase’s Birthday, I love all the small details when I go to a party. I also had no idea Whole Food’s catered or did custom cakes, that is seriously so good to know!
So cute! Happy Bday Chase 😀
ugh, Julie, I was so teary eyed reading this post–everything is SO beautiful and that song holds a special place in my heart as well because its also the song i’ve sang to my 7 month old daughter to calm her down since birth 🙂 It feels just like yesterday that you posted Chase’s birth announcement and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching both of you together throughout the last year (while I was preggo and then having my first baby myself!) So happy you guys had a wonderful day with family and friends–i feel so emotional knowing that my little one will be celebrating her first birthday as well before we know it!
Oh Theresa, I feel ya!! On Chase’s actual birthday (Friday), I was honestly on such a rollercoaster with my emotions. It was a joyful day but also a teary one. It’s crazy how fast time flies and how quickly our little ones grow up! <3
Adorable!
That is the prettiest party decor I have ever seen! It looks like your party should be in like Better Homes & Garden magazine! Well done!!
Ryan’s ‘beer roulette’ made me smile! Glad you had a great party 🙂
Such an awesome (and sunny) day for Chase!
This is amazing! Happy birthday Chase! What a GORGEOUS party, I can tell it was just full of love (cheesy but true!) I’ve been reading your blog since before you and Ryan got married, and now that I’m expecting my first I am enjoying re-reading all of your pregnancy posts! Thanks for sharing with us!
Those drink dispensers are super cute! Where are they from?
I ordered them several years ago off RueLaLa but I’m sure they have similar glass drink dispensers on Amazon!
What a lovely party, Julie! I think Chase will be so happy to look back at these photos when he’s older. (Let’s not think about that yet though!) He definitely had a wonderful birthday. I still can’t believe he’s already one!!
My mom sang that song to me when I was little! It holds a special place in my heart too. I can’t wait to sing that song to my little one soon! 🙂
The party looks absolutely perfect. I’ll have to come back to this post in about 11 months when I’m planning baby T’s first birthday party!
It looks like you guys had such a great time! I was following along on snapchat and everyone looked so sweet and like they were having a ball.
Love the theme, too. Anything that get sunflowers everywhere is my go-to.
I’m going to be hosting an Opening Ceremony party this Friday and need some last minute snacks. Looks like Whole Foods might be the way to go!
Thanks for sharing – & happy birthday to the little man!
XO, Jessica
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You did a great job decorating and pulling the food together! Looks like it would have been a ton of work to do the food all yourself. Getting it catered was a good idea so that you could have a good time too instead of worrying about being in the kitchen the whole time. You are my sunshine is a perfect theme for a first birthday too.
Your kitchen is BEAUTIFUL, the party looks perfect, and so does your sweet little family!
Thank you!! 🙂
What beautiful photos, Julie! A truly great party. And I’m in love with the theme, because that song is a classic. My own mom used to sing it to me when I was little ALL THE TIME! And P.S. Totally hilarious there was Natty Light in the cooler. I hope you remember to tell Chase that when he is older. 🙂
When I was a baby/toddler my mom used to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz to me. I don’t really remember it, but she says she did it all the time, and I believe her because to this day (I’m 31) whenever I hear that song I instantly feel relaxed. An actual physical and mental reaction. It’s really nice and calming, so I just wanted to tell you to keep singing that song! Maybe when he’s older he’ll have the same reaction. 🙂
What a fun first birthday! It looks like the perfect mix of low key baby stuff and adult fun. Was your dad able to come up for the party?
It was a lot of fun! My dad wasn’t able to make it because he actually registered to participate in a half Ironman the weekend of Chase’s party before we selected the date. He was the biker on a relay team and completed the half Ironman in Ecuador on Sunday! We are so proud!
The party looked adorable!! Did Whole Foods donate all the food for you? That’s awesome if so! What about the bundt cakes? Were those donated as well? I think it’s so awesome you can get so much stuff donated for free.. it makes planning parties that much more fun, right?! How do you reach out to them to get the free goods in return for a blog write up? I want to look into this as my girls get bigger and bigger!
What a beautiful party! There were so many beautiful small touches (the mint runner, the flowers, the flowers, the little signs), that when combined made everything look so great. I couldn’t help but feel the warmth and love from all of those pictures. Chase is one lucky kid to have so many people who love and care about him!
This is seriously the most adorable party ever! Chase is so lucky to have such an amazing family and friends celebrating him!
Happy birthday, Chase! Love the cake smash photos! Looks like it was a fun party!
Beautiful party!
As a cranky fifty-something mom of teens, I never thought I would enjoy a blog post about a one-year-old’s birthday party. But I did! You made it special and unique without going over the top. I had to laugh when I saw the pic of the “middle of the madness” — good thing for the beer roulette, huh? They just opened up a Nothing Bundt Cakes here in Louisville and I’m anxious to go check it out now. I checked their site and it looks like there are so many gift giving options too. Thanks for sharing this little “slice” of your life.
Haha!! Thank you, Monica. Your comment made me smile! 🙂 And yes, Nothing Bundt Cakes is a must-try! The lemon is my favorite and I’m not normally a huge lemon person. So good!
Happy Birthday, Chase! It’s so crazy that he’s already a year old! I feel like just last week I was reading about his birth story. He’s growing up so fast. So happy we all can tag along with you on this journey!
Happy belated Birthday Chase!
I can’t believe he’s a year old already. Time flies! Love the theme and how beautiful everything looked. And smash cake. Way too much fun ?
Love the romper too! Never have guessed it was a bargain buy from Amazon ? Just out of curiosity have you up graded your camera? The photos have a difference edge. A good edge!
Ha! I wish! These were all snapped by my sister and brother-in-law and they’re waaay better photographers than me! 🙂
What an adorable and meaningful party :). Looks like an amazing time! Such sweet memories and great pictures of your family!
where did you get that adorable cake stand?
Minted! I linked to it in the above post. We love it! It’s their milk glass cake stand. 🙂
Sorry should have specified, I meant the white eyelet one with the minis. They are both adorable though 🙂
Oops!! I should’ve figured! I honestly don’t remember where I got that one. I’ve had it for years! If I had to guess, I probably got it at TJMaxx, Marshalls or Homegoods!
You did such a wonderful job planning and preparing Chase’s first birthday party! I am stunned with how beautiful everything looked!
Given the last photo you posted, Chase had a wonderful 1st party and it will be fun to look back at your photos in years to come 🙂
That straw sippy cup! What brand is it? My little man is almost 14 months and I can’t find him a straw sippy cup that he can drink from! does great with regular sippys but can’t figure the straw thing out yet. Looking for one that is easy to drink from.
It’s the Lollacup!!! It’s the BEST! The straw is weighted, so it always follows the water and Chase gets water every time he takes a sip. LOVE it! http://bit.ly/2ag2d8l
What a cute theme! I have never seen that one before.
This looks like so much fun! You Are My Sunshine has a special meaning in my family too, so I connect with this theme! I also connect with lemon bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cake because THEY ARE SO AMAZING.
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Everything turned out great!!! I agree on catering- I cater all my parties now to keep myself sane!
What an adorable party!! I love the theme & decorations; so cute!
And that picture of Chase throwing his arms up during the smash cake session: priceless!
Adorable! Any good gift ideas for 1-year olds?! Would love to see a post about that!
What a sweet party, I love the colors, the sunshine theme, the food, and of course all the happy pics! I had no idea Whole Foods catered. Good to know. I’m 5’9″ with a long torso also, so I always appreciate it when you mention when clothes fit your torso – they’re so hard for us taller girls to find!
Also loving your house/kitchen pics – we’re house shopping, so it’s giving me inspiration! Just like you, I have always wanted a certain kind of kitchen, and I aim to find it or build it! Glad you had such a great party. 🙂
Aw I always sing ‘Twinkle twinkle’ to Sully at night and so I wanted to use that as our theme but when I went on Etsy, it seemed more ‘girl’ themed…so we did nautical theme. You put so much time and detail, Chase is so lucky! Looks like an amazing time! Love all the babies too!!! Our cake smash failed too, my mom got a cake and we have a tradition of ice cream cake in our family and all Sully wanted to do was go to bed…lol .learning experience I guess!