1st Birthday Party Planning...

I cannot believe that I am even writing about Jacks first birthday. My little guy turned 10 months Friday! He is getting so big so fast. It amazes me what a difference a few months makes in the capabilities and personality of Jack. So here we are, two months away from his very first birthday, a very exciting celebration!

So the planning begins.... Because of my boredom I ordered his invites way early and they turned out super cute! His party will be a few days after his actual birthday. Since we are an Italian family, well we have a big immediate family and we've decided to keep it at just that plus a few friends, otherwise we'd be throwing a party the size of a small wedding. Somehow though that still gets us to 40 some odd people. I guess thats a good thing right? Lots of people to love Jack! We have decided to take advantage of the fact that his birthday falls in one of the nicest months, May, and will do a full out BBQ. No not your typical hot dogs and burgers. I'm talking brisket, ribs, chicken, baked beans, cold vegetable salads, grilled corn..... YUM! And yes, fingers crossed that the day will be as beautiful as our beautiful boy!

Our theme colors are blue and green to match his invites. For fun I will fill fish bowls with blue and green colored candies, with baggies to fill to take home of course! First off, finding candy in a single color and in a bulk size that is not too big or too small is not so easy! I've found everything from individual sized to 10 lb bags.... now what in the world would I do with a 10 lb bag of jelly belly? So eventually I found that through Amazon, I have plenty of options so that is on my to do list. Then of coarse there are balloons and tablecloths.

Most importantly..... the birthday cake! We are going to order it from Carlos Bakery, yea the "Cake Boss" guy on TLC. Bummed to find out however that we may not be able to get a tiered cake because they need a few months notice, but we will see if we can get them to do it anyhow. If not we will do a single giant round cake with some awesome fondant decoration! Either way I'm sure its going to be adorable!  We figured we'd splurge on cake since we are keeping the party simple with at home cooking.

I love planning parties and this one is incredibly special because it is our first baby's first birthday. I really can't believe that nearly a year has passed since that little guy made his appearance. That 3:00 am wake up call on May 12, 2009 really doesn't seem so far away. That day my life changed, I was a mom! Everyday since then Jack has brightened my life and this celebration is a day to remember how lucky we are and how thankful I am for my little family of three.

I will of course keep you posted as the planning comes along....