SWEET P turns ONE!

Signs of fall are everywhere. The air is crisp. The leaves are changing, and darkness sets in earlier in the evening. And all of the bloggers have done posts on fall fashion and autumn decorations and of course pumpkin spice everything. That means I am waaaay behind on posting about a "summer" themed first birthday party and Sweet P's 12 month update!

Sweet P at Eleven Months
Sweet P at Ten Months
Sweet P at Nine Months
Sweet P at Eight Months
Sweet P at Seven Months
Sweet P at Six Months
Sweet P at Five Months
Sweet P at Four Months
Sweet P at Three Months
Sweet P at Two Months
Sweet P at One Month

The Sailor and I went from having a baby to having a little girl with a big personality in a matter of a couple of months. Sweet P's developmental changes and growth have been nothing short of amazing to watch. She toddles around investigating and inspecting details-- she is curious about everything and immediately notices anything "different" in her surroundings whether it's a new toy in her bin, a band-aid or fresh vase of flowers added to the table. Pip is a social butterfly and we're fortunate that she's such a happy baby who adjusts well in nearly every situation. When in a new setting or meeting new people, Sweet P is reserved but immediately babbles, smiles and plays within minutes of feeling comfortable.

She waves, gives hugs and kisses, does "so big," points and chats, "reads" books by turning the pages and looking at pictures independently, says "momomomom," "dada," "uh oh," "cat" and "(ba)nana," which refers to any food. She's eating almost all solid foods with the exception of nuts, kernel corn, grapes, hotdogs, fish and honey. Her favorites continue to be pasta and sauce, pickles and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Not together! Pip eats mostly finger foods and often piles it on a spoon and then takes it off and eats it piece by piece. Whatever works! 

Much to Mom and Dad's delight, Sweet P found that she loves the sand and beach. When we went on vacation to Cape Code in June, she didn't even want to stick her toes in the sand. But this month, she played for hours in the sand. We also went on another hike on Labor Day weekend. Pippa loves being in the backpack carrier and pointing to the trees, birds and wildlife while being carried through the woods. At her year check up, P was 28.5 inches long and weighed 19 lbs. 

Pippa is deeply loved, and we were so excited to celebrate her first birthday! For P's party, I wanted a "summer" theme that also reflected her fun personality, and she just so happens to loooove watermelon. Added bonus-- it's pink and green, my favorite color combo and also our wedding colors.

We had Pippa's party at my father in law's home right on the lake, so I wasn't tempted to go overboard on decorations. Most of the party was held outdoors on the boathouse, and no balloons, streamers or other razzle dazzle can compete with the spectacular views of the surrounding lake and mountains! 

For the decorations inside, I ordered printables from Chickabug and printed a 12-month photo banner and a name banner on cardstock. The banner was hung with hot pink grosgrain ribbon from Hobby Lobby and followed the directions from Chickabug on spacing and taping each of the pennants. Everyone had a blast looking at the photos of Pip growing through the baby/infant stages. 

The party hats were a DIY I pinned. The pink hats came from Amazon and the green rick rack also came from Hobby Lobby. This is one of those craft projects that screams "quick and easy," and the hats actually were fast and simple to assemble. 

Like the hats, I just used a sharpie on hot pink bags to make the favor bags. I had a scalloped hole punch that I strategically placed to make a perfect "bite" on the side of the bags.

The Sailor put together the menu and the food for the party of course. For apps, we maximized access to summer produce and a great little farm stand nearby. He prepared a crudite platter with Green Goddess dressing; crostini topped with ricotta, honey, prosciutto and fresh arugula; and avocado tartare with toast points. 

We just had simple burgers and sausages served with pasta salad, fruit salad, the usual picnic food for lunch. And no birthday party is complete without cake! I mentioned here that I did a trial run of the watermelon cake that looked "so easy" on pinterest. Disaster-- thank goodness I did a test first! Our favorite bakery, Dolce and Biscotti, came to the rescue and did an incredible job on the real cake served at the party.

Sweet P was a trouper throughout the weekend full of activities. The love that we have for her is indescribable, and we were so happy to be able to celebrate the little angel that brings so much joy to our lives!

Sweet P at Eleven Months
Sweet P at Ten Months
Sweet P at Nine Months
Sweet P at Eight Months
Sweet P at Seven Months
Sweet P at Six Months
Sweet P at Five Months
Sweet P at Four Months
Sweet P at Three Months
Sweet P at Two Months
Sweet P at One Month