fancy festivities

Lila is now ten months and 21 days old. Basically a grown up. I guess my friend Lauren puts it best:

Agreed Lauren. She asked if I could take a picture of her applesauce during dinner and post it for her baby friends on Facebook. If you have noticed, 10 months 21 days is dangerously close to 12 months. The big ONE. When all mommies cry, all babies smash cupcakes and everyone repeats to each other that it seemed like just yesterday you were waddling around wearing your husband's t-shirts and no wedding rings because your hands were so swollen. Ahhh, those were the days.

Planning a first birthday party is no joke. This will be the party with one million pictures. All your other baby friends will be comparing it to their own recent or upcoming soirees. There will be multiple blog posts with approximately 127 pictures for family and friends across the country. So much pressure.

After much thinking, lots of conversation with Lila (she is very opinionated about her parties), we decided to go with a Fancy Nancy theme. Because this girl is all about the fancy. As apparent by her 30 bows to choose from every day. Many thanks to my friend Casey and her amazing photography skills (Casey Martinez Photography) for Lila's fancy shots. She also took some amazing family photos that I will try to show this week.

And thanks to the worst Santa visit ever, we had a $20 Shutterfly credit I used to order her adorable birthday invitations. Now comes the hard part...what does one actually do at a first birthday party? It's not like the kids care about whether or not I go with "fancy lunch foods" (flower cookie cutter PB&Js, croissant au hot dog, fruit kabobs)...but isn't that kind of over-achiever mommy moment what makes us great?

What did you do at your child's first birthday party? Do you have any great ideas to share? Thanks in advance. Or as Fancy Nancy would say, Merci Beaucoup!

So I put my hands up, they're playing my song

And the butterflys fly away

Nodding my head like yeah, moving my hips like yeah

And I got my hands up, they're playing my song

I know I'm gonna be ok

Yeah, it's a party in the USA

~"Party In the USA" by Miley Cyrus

Reprinted from my weekly column at Southern Mommas