A Special Birthday Celebration

Hi!

One week ago, Layla turned 1! I felt such joy to honor my little girl’s first birthday. She had a very happy day. With everything going on in the world, celebrations are a bit different now. I believe they can be just as meaningful, memorable, and joyous. I wanted to share some of the things I planned for Layla that made our day extra special, as many of you have kindly reached out and told me that you’ll be celebrating your children’s birthdays soon!

Pick a theme. For Layla, I was inspired by flower power! She wore a fresh flower crown, the cakes were adorned with edible flowers, her highchair was decorated with a paper flower creation… it was easy to gather fun floral items and made our celebration look festive!
Buy flowers! There’s something lovely about having nature inside the home and the colors are truly uplifting every time you lay eyes on them! The farmers markets have amazing wildflowers and local beauties (I ordered mine from a farmers market favorite, Bud & Blooms)! They are often very inexpensive compared to pricier bouquets from specialty shops!
Select a sweet birthday outfit (or outfits) for a special photo shoot! Some claim that babies won’t remember such a young birthday. I personally love seeing my pictures from my first birthday! I look so happy being held by my mama! I wanted Layla to have great pictures and I planned her dresses months ago! She wore two dresses. One was by Coco and Ginger, which has really amazing bohemian dresses. I selected a white dress embroidered with gold accents (to match her delicate yellow gold teeny tiny peace sign studs)! Her second dress was a gift from her Meme! It was by Laura Ashley, whose fabrics decorated my childhood bedroom! I liked the symbolism of bringing that back to Layla!
Make a homemade cake and put the recipe in your child’s baby book or memory box. Can you imagine how special it would be to bake the cake with them when they’re old enough or even if they bake the cake one day for their own children?
Have a “pool party!” We set up my son’s blow up pool, threw in little shovels, buckets, and balls, and the kids had a blast. So simple, but they loved it!
Pizza parties are a forever win! Layla had her first bites of pizza for dinner! Pizza is one of those “favorite” foods so it was fun to mark the day with her first! We ordered a gorgeous large pie from Favale in Ramsey, NJ! Simple and delicious.
Start a tradition. For this special birthday, it was very clear to me that my gift to Layla would be to start off her jewelry collection. I made a grouping that she can wear in her wee age now and throughout her life. One of my favorites is the yellow gold and ruby “L” letter charm. Her birthstone is ruby and it’s such a sweet piece that can be worn so many different ways, such as on a chain as a necklace or on leather as a bracelet!