Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Girl!!

“For you have been my HOPE, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you . . . I will always have HOPE; I will praise you more and more.”  Psalm 71:5-6, 14
It’s hard to believe but a week ago, Sunday, March 13th, we had the privilege of celebrating Alexa Hope’s 1st birthday. And it was quite a celebration indeed. Even with the time change and twelve guests, Alexa was a perfectly sweet party girl. My dad commented that perhaps Alexa knew the day was all about celebrating her. She sure performed as if she got it and it was a delight reflecting on Alexa’s life and God’s goodness & faithfulness throughout her journey. Chris and I created a slideshow we shared with our family at the party depicting this journey. Unfortunately, the music we used is copyrighted so we are not able to share it on the blog. Well, I guess we can but it won’t have any music. Regardless, here’s what you wanted to see. I’ve tried to share the birthday images in the order of Alexa’s big day.

THE PARTY OUTFITS . . .

It may be silly, but I thought it was important for Alexa to have a “party” dress. I remember we always had a birthday dress, so Alexa should have one too. Thanks Mimi for sponsoring the dress. Everyone loved it!


Mommy & Daddy heading to church with our “little” one-year-old. She’s holding string cheese in her hand. It’s her favorite.


Once we got home from church, Alexa changed into her party tutu and personalized tee handmade by Martisha Green (check out her stuff on Facebook). Thank you sweet friend. Alexa looked adorable! Here she is showing off her outfit with Ama.

Loved this sweet pic of her feet. They were kicking like crazy when she tasted her cupcake. The girl loves her empty calories.

THE DETAILS . . .
Although the invites didn’t really match the birthday party colors, I used bright scrapbook paper of various colors for the base and then attached vellum with polka dot brads. Every person received a different colored invite.

We didn’t have a theme but used red and white polka dots for the cake & decorations. We were able to use Grandma Kennedy’s beautiful cake stand and Nonie’s (my grandmother’s) green glass plate. Grandma Graf’s candy dish held treats on the coffee table.

Perhaps Alexa’s favorite thing at her birthday party were the red and white balloons.

The delicious homemade red velvet cupcakes were created by the loving hands of Ama. Heart sprinkles garnished the top.

Mimi and Pop provided the red velvet cake from Sooner Legends. It tasted amazing and it was HUGE!! It was four layers and was about 7” tall. That’s a lot of cake! The pink “1” cake topper was the same one we used growing up. My sister and I always had a pink number on our cake as a child. 

EATING THE CUPCAKE . . . Once the family arrived (including both our parents, my sis and her family, and Denise & Karis Mills), we opened gifts & ate the yummy birthday cake. Here’s the video of Alexa trying out a red velvet cupcake for the first time. She was a very big fan of the icing – just like her Mommy! And she didn’t seem to mind all the flashes from the cameras one bit. She’s used to the paparazzi.

Clear proof that Alexa takes after her mother - enjoying butter cream frosting

Here’s a visual of Alexa’s first cupcake eating experience.

Getting ready for the cupcake with her “You are special today” plate.

Ohhhhh . . . I like the candle!

This is great . . . can we do this everyday!?

Just waiting to dig in . . .

I’m not so sure about this.

Oh wait . . . this is much better than squash. I love it!!

Hmmmm . . . what else should I eat!?

That was great. I love turning one!!

OPENING THE GIFTS . . . Here’s a video and some pics of a few of the gifts Alexa received. Thank you so much for all the spoiling. All of her gifts were just perfect.

Alexa having fun opening presents.

Checking out the cool cars from Mimi & Pop. Mommy always had Hotwheels growing up too.

Trying out her famous “pillow flop” on the teddy bear pillow pet from Mommy & Daddy.

Enjoying a great Eric Carle book from Great Auntie Janet and Uncle Tom.

A very cool wooden puzzle from Ama & Opa featuring different types of door locks.

Checking out her Noah’s Ark from my late grandparents and Alexa’s great-grandparents, Nonie & Paka. They had purchased the same Noah’s Ark for my niece when she was a baby. Thanks for such a meaningful gift Holly! I know they were celebrating with us on this special day. They just had the best seats in the house.

THE AFTER PARTY . . .
Alexa sans tutu chilling with her cousins, Rylen & Layton. They are watching Layton play a video game.

A very special guest, my lifelong best friend, Denise Mills who brought her newest addition Karis Hope (Alexa’s newest cousin). Denise was also present at Alexa’s birth so it was very special to have Denise with us. She traveled from Colorado Springs to join us and see her family as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a great pic of Karis. I’m so sad!

The leftover red velvet cake wrapped up and ready to freeze. Look at the banana as a reference to the size of the cake. Dessert anyone!?

A fitting way to end the party with Pop wearing Alexa’s tutu!