It was a gorgeous day outside, a little too warm and windy to be outside on the back patio, but perfect for in the garage. Therefore, the photos aren't that "exciting" looking as, well, you know, it's a garage.
The theme of their 1st birthday party was Safari Animals with blue, green, orange, yellow, white, and brown colors.
The whole theme and color scheme was inspired by these plates I bought.
Here are the adorable napkins:
And the coordinating invites and thank you cards:
In the invites I asked guests to come wearing a shirt that matched any of the colors printed on front of the invitation. I hoped it would make for fun coordinating photos.
I came up with this awesome banner idea and I'm so proud of how it turned out! I wanted to make a Happy Birthday sign, but also wanted to somehow display photos of how the boys have grown by showing photos from every month. In order to save time, I decided to do both in one. Genius! The photos just don't do it justice. It's so cute! Each is a photo from each month, zero through one year!
A friend offered to make Eli and Will's "smash cakes" as she makes cakes on the side and had an idea to go along with the animal theme. She did an AMAZING job! Not only were they gorgeous, but they were absolutely delicious as well. Thanks, Jodi!
Eli's LION "smash cake."
Will's ELEPHANT "smash cake."
The other two cakes she made:
The MONKEY
The TIGER
Cupcakes with white frosting and brown sprinkles I made. I also made the personalized cupcake decorations.
Decorations that were placed on tables:
The Cake Table
Guests signed their names and wrote a special note in the books, "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss for each of the boys. No special significance on the books. It's just the only two hardcover ones I had that were the same! (Originally I was going to find safari animal books to go with the party theme, but decided this book would be interesting for their entire lives.) I'm going to do this every year for their birthdays. (A special thanks to another twin momma, Nicole, for this awesome idea!)
Banner made by Auntie Emily & cousins, Max & Owen
Beautiful driveway chalk art courtesy of my nieces, Ava & Cora.
I made a 35 minute photo slideshow on DVD filled with photos from Eli and Will's first year. There are over 600 photos in this slideshow. (narrowed down out of the 10,000 or so we have from their first year of life!) I know, I'm crazy, but it was hard to choose from all the adorable photos! We had it play over and over hooked up to a TV in the garage so guests could watch as they pleased.
Here are a few fun photos of the guests of honor:
Check out the awesome "1" onesies I found on mega clearance at Target!
Will went for the ear first...
Still pretty clean...
Eli started with the mane...
Then went right for the face...
Eli says, "Take that, you lion!"
"WOO HOO! I LOVE CAKE!"
We helped them chop the cakes up a bit so they could eat some cake instead of just frosting!
Will wonders, "Are you sure it's okay I'm doing this?"
"Okay, then I'll just keep going!"
So much cake, so little time...
Starting to slow down...
Eli exclaims, "This is the best birthday EVER!"
Eli says, "I. think. I. am. finished. now."
Will exclaims "I conquered this cake!"
"Or maybe this cake has conquered me."
After cake discussion: "I made a bigger mess!" "No, I made a bigger mess!"
After a quick bath, they were ready to open gifts...
The Cox Family
Grandpa & Grandma Cox proudly pose with their grandchildren. They went from 2 grandchildren to 6 in less than one year! So blessed!
Our little family
Whew...a lot of work for a quick celebration but it was so worth it. I had dreamed of this celebration for years. Thanks to our families for coming to help celebrate and make the day special.
Happy 1st Birthday my little babies. I hope you enjoyed your party because I'm not planning on doing anything that time consuming for your birthday for many many years! Well, maybe for your 16th! I LOVE YOU!
