A 1ST for Everything.
On Saturday our little man turned the b.i.g O-N-E !!! We have an even b.i.g.g.e.r. shindig planned for next month when we're back in Kansas (yes, we're crazy and making 2 international trips in just 2 month's time)...But we absolutely had to plan a bit of a celebration on his actual birthday.
We started off the day with a crib party. Asher has been quite the morning snoozer these days since we're still kind of adjusting to the time difference from our last overseas trip. So he actually did require a wake-up call. We snuck in, filled his crib with balloons and got to be his birthday alarm clock.
Of course, along with any & all mommas on their babe's bday, I was in a super reminiscent state of mind...
Before Asher was born I knew I wanted to do something fun and creative for his monthly photos. As you're well aware, I'm a craftaholic. I brainstormed some ideas and landed on the idea of a chalkboard scene featuring the little babe month by month. I purchased a giant roll of "chalkboard" paper and sketched away. A few months in to these pics, I realized I needed some better chalk -- because all chalk is NOT created equal ;) I wasn't happy with the brightness or smoothness of the and how it was turning out in photos. So I googled away and found THESE! This pack was a dreeeeam come true! They write like crayons and make zero dusty mess. YAY.
For the most part, Asher cooperated & even really had fun taking these pics. He somehow landed in just the right position for each drawing and there were only a couple of months that required multiple takes ;) You can check them all out on instagram too, #ashermurrbymonth.
Okay back to the festivities! I didn't spend a ton of time on the decor, because my brain and craft supplies are occupied with his big Kansas party next month. But there is a papersourcey-homegoodsy type store here in Germany called BUTLERS that has lots of cute party supplies. I stopped in the other day & found some darling loot.
I used part of a roll of wrapping paper as a small table runner & added some stuffed animals & toys that Asher already had to make a playful centerpiece.
And I cut out some of animals from another roll of wrapping paper to make some table confetti.
To be honest, I am not sure if German babies do a smash cake, but I am assuming this is new-ish American custom. I haven't seen many cakes at bakeries here - mostly pastries and breads, so I decided to put my baking skills to the test and whip something up for the party. My NJ family got A a cupcake & sang happy (early) birthday to him while we were there visiting a couple of weeks ago and Asher wasn't a fan of the cake or frosting. He liked playing with it...but not so much eating it. So I was thinnnnking that he might be more into a cake that looked like something he eats on a daily basis - enter Strawberry Shortcake. I figured, surely, he'd dig into a cake made with his favorite fruit, right??
I made a mini version for the baby & a full-sized version for the rest of the party-goers. It turned out deliciously. And I was SO HAPPY I didn't flub the first birthday cake! You can find the recipe here!
Unfortunately, despite ALLLL the strawberries....Asher still wasn't into it! He's a bit of a shy kiddo at times, takes a bit to warm up before he shows his full hammed up personality. So we're not sure if its the cake itself or if it's all the attention that comes with HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...Probably a bit of both.
But either way, he preferred to feed the cake to ME instead of eating himself. Hilarious. And I was more than happy to oblige.
We had our friends, the Pearsons, over for the soiree. It makes us so happy that we have such great friends here in Germany. And they love Asher (almost) as much as we do!
They totally killed it in the birthday prezzie game... turns out Asher's Jayhawk genes have kicked in !!
He's a slam dunking little hooper. Seriously, how cute is this mini bball hoop? (and that baby ;) ?!)
I insta-storied all the fun-filled festivities & probably rewatched it like 25x after Asher went to bed that night. It was such a special day.
I can't wait for Round 2 in KC. Surf's Up dudes...I gotta get to crafting!
ever yours,
lindsey
