Birthdays are a BIG deal at our house! To me, it's another year that God has granted us with our children and that's something I don't take lightly. Each year is an extreme gift! I also have it deep within my soul-to Party Plan! I guess I took this from my grandmother, who was a caterer for many years...and my mother who has always been crafty! So, with that being said, you must understand that I do spend a lot of time preparing for the kid's parties...by skimming the internet, making notes, sketching cakes, making little do-dads to give it an extra special touch!
Prayer: The forecast was calling for 70% chance of rain last week. We prayed over the weather…and the next day the chance of rain went down to 30%…and the next couple of days, it went down to 20%…God heard our cries for no rain…b/c it was a nice day!!
Prep: Since the party was going to be in our backyard at our home…there was a lot of prep that had to go into making it presentable! Jamie worked in our yard for days…raking up leaves and pine straw…our dog has literally used our yard as a digging hole and it looked pretty ‘Ruff’…(no pun intended…hahaha) Trace and Marci also helped with the yard and with the house work. My hubby went to the grocery store and helped with cooking…it took teamwork. I’m making it sound as if we are pigs that live in a pig sty, but we live busy lives and our schedules conflict…most of the times, Jamie and I meet in the middle, literally(since he works nights and I work days)…but we make it work!
Party:
The invitation ordered through www.etsy.com/shop/allisonpowelldesigns or www.allisonpowelldesigns.com or find her on facebook for 5% off orders! She was very accommodating and sent me several proofs until I was 100% satisfied!
We put this at the front door so that guests would know to come to the backyard!
All the balloons were purchased at “Shop Sweet Lulu” on www.shopsweetlulu.com and you can find them on Facebook also!
My 7 year old, Marci, helped me paint pumpkins to match the party colors!
Red M&M’s…”Who gives a Hoot for Candy” and Blue Koolaid, aka “Owlicious Punch”
All of our accent labels and banners were created using the Cricut Imagine! My mother-in-law helped me get all of these little do-dads cut out. They sure gave the table extra color! All of the food labels have owl fun-puns…I’m a sucker for play on words…so enjoy 
“Hoot Hoot Hooray for Veggies” and the “Whoo la la Marshmallows” were a hit! (dipped in almond bark with sprinkles-easy peasy)
We took a picture from each month of her 1st year to make a “Watch-me- Grow-Garland”
This idea was taken from the “Polka Dot Market” on Facebook…they have everything polka dot and have some amazing things…check it out! My mom was able to actually make this garland to give Paige’s highchair some pizazz for smash cake pictures! 
This was our “Memory Table”…I had scrabooks of Paige’s 1st year out for all to see! My sister-in-law, Kyleigh, made her picture frame…isn’t it precious?!!!! I love it!!
Her 1st birthday photo shoot pictures(taken by Melanie McKnight Photography in Hot Springs, Ar) were supposed to be hung from the branches of a small “tree” that I picked up from the yard, but the wind was so ferocious that the tree wouldn’t stand in the designated vase…so the pictures, instead, were sat around on the memory table.
*Find Melanie McKnight Photography on Facebook or www.melaniemcknightphotography.com She is very talented!
I skimmed the internet for months, looking at examples of cakes. I took my favorite characteristics of each cake and combined them into one. I sketched it out and handed the task over to my friend, Amy Lauterbach! She did an amazing job, didn’t she?! My favorite part are the big fondant balls that accent each tier!
The pom poms were made by my crafty mother…she saw a tutorial and did a great job! The huge, gigantic balloons were ordered through “Shop Sweet Lulu” also. I heart these big balloons! You should’ve seen the ladies’ faces at Albertson’s when I took them in to have them blown up! …better yet, you should’ve seen Marci and I trying to get them into the back of the Tahoe! It was very comical!
“Night Owl Munchies”
“Paige’s 1st year…That’s a Wrap” Spiral Tortilla wraps
Owl Goody Bags, also created with help on the Cricut and punches!
“Thanks for coming to my party! Owl love you forever! ~Paige”
We painted these terra cotta pots with our party colors and chalkboard paint…another idea from the “polka dot market” on facebook! Popcorn coated with Almond Bark! Yummy!
Amy Lauterbach, Karrie Morse, and Paige……….. Paige and Daddy!
I thought it would be cute to dress everyone in our family in Owl theme shirts…Trace and Jamie got “Hooters” shirts, Marci found an owl shirt, earrings and ring and necklace that had owls on them…and I found an owl necklace and ring too
My mom…aka Nonnie and the little girls of our family!
All the kids loved playing on the play set!!
Maddie and Mylie Jones, my sweet twin nieces! They will be TWO next month! Aren’t they sweet!!!!!
Mandi, Harrison and Iliza Cruz……….Kyleigh, Maddie and Mylie Jones
Kemily Estes and handsome Chandler!……Scooby and Jamie!
Trenton Morse…told you the marshmallows were a hit!
The Haynes’ Family: This family meets a lot of requirements to us…Michael is my bosses’ son…Allyson and I work together at Dr. Haynes’ office and are great friends….Beau and Paige go to the same sitter and have a lot in common 
and Whit has a serious crush on Marci!
and Whit has a serious crush on Marci!
SMASH cake time!! She didn’t do too much smashing…but she did enjoy that blue icing!
Paige and Alli were having a serious conversation! LOL
I’ve got to tell you about her outfit…there are better pictures in a previous blog post, including her 1st Birthday Photo Shoot….it was made by “Stinkin Cute Designs” Shea Anderson Lieder is very talented! She’s almost to 9000 fans on facebook, and when she reaches that goal, she will be doing a “giveaway”! She can also be found at www.stinkincutedesigns.com She saw Paige’s birthday shoot pictures and asked if she could include them on her facebook page and website, so don’t be surprised if you see Paige lurking around when you check her out
Beau and Paige…they are 2 of a kind! They are both short,they’re both busy bees, neither of them are bigtime sleepers at night…and the list goes on. Speaking of short, at Paige’s 12 mo check up with Dr Wright, she was 27 1/2”…7th percentile…and so was Beau at that age. Paige weighed in at 19 lb 6 oz…she’s a petite lil stinker…but those legs are chunky enough for me to pinch them daily!
Small Group kiddos………….Cousin Alli Clayton
Judy Forand made Paige’s bling bow!……….See how big that balloon is, compared to Paige?! She was tickled at Mylie bouncing it!
At the end of the day, I felt it all came together nicely and was a wonderful party…it just seemed as if something was missing…
This morning when I was getting ready for church, it hit me…Family…we usually have lots of family at our parties..but this year, everyone either had prior engagements or issues that prohibited them from coming. But, let me tell ya, I’m thankful for my family that was here and our friends, that are like family, that could come and celebrate this occasion with us!
Happy Birthday my sweet Paige Naomi Clayton!
We love you more and more each day that you grace us with your sweet personality!
