Bubble First Birthday Party

On Saturday, June 9, we had Tyler's first birthday party. I don't think I could've asked for a better day. The weather was absolutely perfect - comfortable outside for June and overcast. We had a GREAT turnout, too! I think I counted 20 kids and 34 adults, many from our neighborhood.

I decided on a goldfish and bubble themed party. I knew I wanted to do a bubble party (who doesn't love bubbles!?), but when I found this cute invitation on etsy, that's how the goldfish theme began! The only disappointing thing was the orange...I knew Russ would not be a fan. I coaxed him off the ledge saying we were only using orange because of the theme! Ha!

So, I started planning and shopping for party decorations...

• Etsy became my fast friend - I got the party favor tags, the cupcake cake toppers and the photo banner clips all from the same person. I just sent her the invite, she matched the theme and everything came already assembled! The felt birthday banners and Tyler's crown also came off etsy and I am so pleased with both of them! I know we will use them for years to come!
• I stressed at first about the cake and I wanted to get a themed one made. But after I priced ($75) and booked someone, I thought about it and decided to just get the cupcakes from Sam's. I got a smash cake and 40 cupcakes for under $30. I think they looked and tasted great, so I was happy with my choice! Plus, they had a fish theme!
• I had a local gal make Tyler's t-shirt to match the theme. I found a picture of what I wanted, sent her the invite and she did the rest!
• I had fun picking up the remaining party supplies at places all over town to match our theme.
• I did all snack food because our party was late afternoon. I tried to incorporate fun snacks that kids like that coordinated with the theme - orange puffs, lots of different kids of goldfish, gummy worms, sweedish fish, orange slices. I was so worried we weren't gonna have enough food and there was PLENTY!

Yes, those are goldfish "swimming" in a
 bowl of York blue and white pieces. Ha!

We had a FedEx Office display in the fan zone at the
Richmond race where you could print your own message
on a Denny poster. I am going to get it laminated and send to
Denny to autograph...Tyler may think it's cool later! Ha!

Smash cake!

Sam's had the fish rings for toppers - how fun!

The photo collage on the table was such a thoughtful gift from Tyler's awesome babysitters, Kelly and Micky! The got all the pictures of my blog! They are also the reason I have all these pictures of the party...I think they took over 400! These girls are the sweetest sisters ever who also happen to love Tyler to pieces. We could not be more thankful for them!

I had such fun putting together the monthly photo banner that
hung above the cake table. I loved looking at the pictures to see
how he changed.

At the same time, I was also exploring Pinterest for bubble party ideas and supplies that would entertain a wide age-range of kids (under 1 - 7 years old). 

• I loved the idea of setting up inflatable baby pools with bubble solution with easy access for the kids. We did 3 and I just bought lots of different bubble wands for kids to try. We did have 2 little friends fall INTO the bubble pools, which was to be expected....that's why I told people to bring a towel! Ha! 
• We had 2 different bubble machines that were the biggest hit, I think. They were super cool and will provide a lot of entertainment fun through the summer, too. I also picked up a few bubble "guns" for the older kids. 
• We attempted to created the 'human bubble"...where a kid stands in the middle of pool and you use a hula hoop to make a bubble around them. Russ had about a million attempts and got it to work a few times. 
• I also found these giant bubble sticks with rope in between that made HUGE bubbles...they were cool, too, but only certain people seemed to master it.
• Something that was not bubble related, that proved to be lots of fun for the kids, was the mister that we put up around half of the garage. The kids LOVED going through and somehow managed to get soaked and muddy! The adults liked it, too.
• The kids also loved taking turns on the swing and playing on the playset in our backyard.

Preston had so much fun!!

Bubble machine fun!

Alex was the best at making the huge bubbles!

Entertaining the little guests!

Emery loved the swing!

Lana needed all the wands.

Case demonstrating for Maggie

Alex as a "human bubble"

Evie taking a turn.

Maggie was a champ at making HUGE bubbles!!

Ally sneaking some fruit!

Keller's little booty was COVERED in mud
 after crawling all through the mister!

Bennett playing in the bubbles

Lana is a little collector! She was hoarding
 all the bubble wand party favors!

Kate and Elisha

Justin and Bennett

Soaking wet from playing in the mister!

Nicholas playing on the slide!

Checking out the pool fence...we have
several friends that have little ones and pools.

Runyan showing off his hula hooping skills!

Tyler and Michael waving goodbye!

Taking a break for some milk. We could not
have pulled off the day without Granna!

Case is showing off the only picture of the
party favors - they were bubble wands!

Katherine telling Tyler to smile for the
camera...didn't work so well!

Preston running through the mister!

Micky loving on a goldfish-eating Tyler!

The Simpson family joining the fun!

When it came time for cake, we all gathered around and sang. My only regret is that we didn't have someone videoing, because the look on Tyler's face was priceless...he was so confused at all the people staring at him and singing. It was not the first time he'd ever had cake (he had cupcakes Thursday and Friday before), but he wasn't really into it. In fact he started fussing for me to pick him up until I fed him a little cake. (I should also mention that he is cutting a tooth, so he was clingier than normal.) He did eventually eat some, but mostly the icing which he smeared all over his face!

Blowing out the candles!

Slowing down. Did not make much of a dent in the cake.

Tyler with Aunt Elisha!

Getting cleaned up afterwards!

Carter enjoying a cupcake.

The cake seemed to energize him, so he was happy and smiling the rest of the party!

No, son, you can't have beer yet. Though Daddy was proud!

I really had fun putting his party together! (I wonder if Russ would say the same??) I did it over time so I didn't get overwhelmed and  it wasn't all that expensive, surprisingly. I don't know that I will ever top this party and that is fine. I didn't set out to make it super elaborate...I just wanted something fun that Tyler and our friends would enjoy and remember. We had a blast and I think our friends did, too. I can't believe our baby is ONE!! Here's to many more birthday celebrations!