For Maisy’s first birthday we threw a Surf and Turf Birthday Party complete with lawn games, a kiddie pool, sidewalk chalk creations, and dirt cups for dessert!  The only thing that threatened to spoil our fun was the weather.  Turned out to be a little chilly and dreary for so much outdoor fun but that wasn’t going to stop us from having loads of fun!

My family has a history, largely due to my over achieving, super gift giving of a mom, of extravagant birthday parties.  Our most memorable birthday parties included a visit from Belle, a backyard circus complete with face painting and a miniature pony, a visit from Darth Vadar, and a backyard treasure hunt. Since Maisy is just turning 1 I have some time to build my way up and get used to little steps of party planning along the way.  But I did manage a themed dessert, dirt cake, on top of all the minor details like invitations, themed party activities, making sure there were ready drinks and a trash out for everyone, and just enough food to go around but not so much that I would have to eat it for several weeks following.  To me, that equals “party success!”

Thanks to everyone who came out and showered Maisy with gifts and love on her very first special day!  Although it did occur to me that perhaps the mom should be rewarded for birthing the child on that day instead of rewarding the kid for just showing up 😉

Lastly, after everyone (except our lovely photographer friend Ian Simkins) disappeared we took some family photos – my mother’s day gift this year to my mom.  We started outside and relished in the joy of watching Maisy go giddy for the falling droplets then moved indoors to finish it off.