First Birthday Party Ideas {Personal Reflection}

 I won't lie...the day Noah was born, I held the most beautiful bundle of joy in my arms, looked at him, and I had a passing thought of his first birthday.

 Maybe it was because I love birthday celebrations so much--it's kind of a passion of mine. Maybe it was because I was desperate to think of when I could next celebrate this sweet baby boy's life. I remember that while the thought of him turning 1 passed through my mind, I didn't want to think about it a moment further, because I wanted that precious moment of holding my very newborn baby to never end. I couldn't imagine what it would be like a year later. I knew it would be amazing, but I couldn't fathom anything sweeter than what I was experiencing right after his perfect birth.


As the minutes, hours, days and weeks passed by, I tried to stay in and live in the moment, soaking it all in. I am so glad that I did. I feel like it has gone by entirely too fast.


There have been times that I would daydream about that milestone day, often while rocking Noah sound asleep in my lap--thinking of the day that Noah entered our world, and how we would celebrate it. It just didn't seem possible that any cake or party hat could properly help us show and celebrate how truly amazing this little boy is, and how spectacular it was exactly one year ago when we were blessed with meeting him for the first time.


As I have come to terms with the fact that the moment of his birth has come and gone, I see now that the magnificent memories will remain with me forever--and since then, each and every passing moment has been just as amazing!!!


Each and every new moment of time has given me the opportunity to get to know our sweet little boy more and more. We have connected and bonded and I have fallen in love with my son even deeper (I didn't know how that would even be possible).


So far, Noah's celebrations (other than our wedding), have been the most meaningful...whether it was his Baby Dedication, Helmet Party....and I am starting to feel the excitement about his First Birthday.

The last few months the event designer and planner in me knew I had better get moving on getting this party together. I have been sketching and writing ideas for his birthday, creating lists of everything and anything that makes me think of Noah.

 Ryan has been a huge part of it all, since he is a MOST amazing and loving husband and father and is excited for this milestone celebration as well. Part of me thinks that while we are going to do everything we can to photograph and capture the party for Noah to look back on, and make the day all about him, it is us--the parents--who will be "feeling" it most.


As Noah grows older I know he will experience the joy of his birthdays more and more, but this first one, I feel, is a gift to us, to create and celebrate our love of this sweet life!


So here we are now. We have decided to have two special celebrations.


 The first will be on his birth date, a celebration with our immediate family: Ryan & I, Noah {of course dog Henry and cat Gracie will be present, too}. We will have a small home made birthday cake I will bake and decorate, sing the birthday song, and remember how we became a family of three exactly one year prior. Personally, I am excited about this super-intimate, ultra low-key celebration!


The following day we will have his first birthday party with just grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We decided to keep it family only to...

1) Minimize too much overstimulation for Noah

2) Give those beloved family members as much one-on-one time with Noah as possible, since we know how much they adore him

3) Keep the guest list smaller, allowing more budget for the party I have envisioned.


And we know that we will be inviting dear friends (especially new ones Noah will make!) as he grows older.


I have found first birthday parties can easily turn into "second weddings" in terms of the size and scale of the events, and knew if I personally went down that road (a wonderful one for many, I love big first birthdays!), it would cause more stress and heartache than any of our family wanted to go through. That isn't to say a large-scale party causes that, it just means (without going into detail) that for our family on that day and time--and with my event designing background and personality--it is best in our specific situation, to keep it smaller than our wedding.


This party has been such a joy to plan up until this moment, and I feel that much of the excitement and fun is yet to come.


 I am making many of the goodies for the party myself, as it is something I enjoy and feels special. I will also be working with some of my most beloved friends--designers, vendors--to create amazing things for our sweetheart Noah and his special first birthday.


Excited to document this party planning journey on the blog!

Would love to hear about your first birthday party experience, too!