Baby's first birthday party-Girly Campout theme

Ocoee's big day started off badly. She had a fever due to teething and the sky was gray and dark. But it turned out to be perfect. The sky turned bright blue and cloudless and after a nice long nap Ocoee rallied. She wasn't 100% but she enjoyed all the attention and celebrations.

The theme for Ocoee's birthday party was girly campout. This was because Ocoee's favorite thing to do this summer was camping out. We had a gourmet s'more bar that was a huge hit! Lots of different chocolates and 8 different types of gourmet marshmallows. The marshmallows were made by local Marshmallow guru, Marshmelanie, who you can do custom orders with. She was great to work with and the marshmallows were super tasty. We had toasted coconut, spicy chocolate, raspberry, chocolate, original and strawberry banana among our choices. There were three different types of graham crackers as well.

Each kiddo got a goodie back with all they would need to make gourmet s'mores at home. YUM! I think the adults liked this s'more bar as well as the kiddos.

Another thing we had was a photobooth. I purchased some cute fabric, taped it to the wall and set up a chair. Then I used my ipad with the best app ever, Pocketbooth. The photo app allows you to order printed version of the strip mailed to your house. I picked some of the best ones to order and use in the thank you notes for our guests.

I also ordered cute photobooth props off of Etsy from IttyBittyWedding. The props made the whole event more fun. For the kiddos I purchased wooden masks props at Joann's that were like coloring pages on wooden sticks that each kid got to color and use in the photo booth.

One of the highlights of the party was the launching of the wish laterns. We hiked over to the park and each of us launched a latern that carried a wish for Ocoee. The laterns were insanely fun and pretty. They went really high into the air and burned for a long time. This was hit with the kids for sure. We will have to do this again, maybe for new years when Ocoee is older.

Hubby and baby checking out the photo booth before the guest arrive. I love the background fabric.

The banner that went down the stairs was made by me from scrapbook paper. Each pendant held a photo of Ocoee from each month this past year. The trick was that the photos were out of order and the game was to have each guest put them in the correct order. This was really hard but our friend Staci won with 5 correct guesses. I will have to hang on to this in Ocoee's memory box.

Ocoee's cake was made by me and is a carrot cake decorated to look like a campfire. The logs are piroutte cookies and the flames are fruit leathers I cut out to look like flames. The icing was piped on and the top is sprinkled with sliced almonds. The recipe is from here.

Outside we had a few hay bales and our tent around the fire pit for the perfect s'more roasting area. We will use the hay bales for the chickens after the party.

 We had a chili bar, pink lemonade, hot cocoa and other yummy food to keep bellies full and spirits festive. For adults, hubby  brewed a keg of homebrew beer, called OOPS. Stands for Ocoee's Oatmeal Pumpkin Stout. We picked these ingredients because oatmeal and pumpkin were here favorite things at the time of brewing. We also had plenty of wine of hand for cheers all around.

The banner that says Happy Birthday was purchased off Etsy from Paisley Greer.  The banner was really well made and will hold up for several parties. The puffs hanging from the ceiling are from Martha Stewart and were put together by my wonderful mother in law who was in town to celebrate Ocoee's birthday and lend a hand with all the planning.

We used a Dr. Suess book for all the guest to sign. The book will be a great memory for Ocoee when she grows up.

The teepee above was purchased from Kate at Moozle Home.  Kate was great to work for. Not only are her teepees one of a kind, extremely great quality and adorable, she also was able to get the teepee finished and shipped to me in record time. She was very kind as I stressed and fretted the big gift arriving on time. I was thrilled when the teepee arrived the day before the big event. Ocoee was immediately inside playing. Perfect gift for girly campout.

On the computer played a video I made of Ocoee. We took a photo each Sunday at the same time for a week by week view of Ocoee growing up. Some were in Hawaii, Tennessee, California, Seattle, Portland and Seward. In her first year Ocoee has hit 5 states and lots of Alaskan adventures.

Above Ocoee is wearing her uber cute birthday hat from Dainty Couture off Etsy. Can you tell I LOVE Etsy. I say those who can't craft, buy off Etsy! This will go in her keepsake box as well. She didn't wear it for too long but it was adorable when she did. She had her own little cake to smash or eat, but in the end decided to do neither. She picked the whole plate up and licked it, sat it down once everyone oohed and ahhhed and was done with the whole business. For once she didn't feel like getting messy. Go figure.

The decor and food were fun but in the end it is the people who make a party. Ocoee is lucky to be surrounded by amazing people who, as hubby put it after the party, are just quality folks. We have our one year doc appointment tomorrow so stay tuned for stats.

I can hardly believe Ocoee is one. As I laid her down for bed after such a big exciting day, my eyes filled with tears as I felt the rush of joy I have experienced in the last year. The love she has filled me with radiates through my life. What a blessing she is.


Happy Birthday Ocoee.

Love Mommy