11.28.2016

Happy First Birthday Charlie! An Airplane Birthday Party


You hear it all the time: "My how time flies when you become a parent!" and "don't blink! It goes by too fast!" This past year I have found myself continuously echoing those very same sentiments as we've watched our baby boy turn into a curious, mobile, and sweet one year old.

Watching Charlie grow, learn, and become his own little person makes my heart swell with pride and love; however it is also met with a tinge of sadness knowing that with each new development we celebrate, he gets further from the itty bitty little dark haired boy we brought home from the hospital on a crisp November night.

And that's how a "time flies" first birthday party came to be to celebrate our sweet baby boy's first year. A year full of adventure. Happy Birthday to our precious, curious, and loving little Charlie Bear!


This was such a fun party to plan and celebrate. Below are some photos from Charlie's special day with family and friends. It will certainly be a day we will always cherish and remember!






The airplane and "happy birthday" banner  is one of my favorite things we incorporated into the party. I love how it turned out! A huge thank you to my Uncle for building the background, as well as my parents and friend Renee for helping me make this a reality!

On the mantel we displayed little treasures from Charlie's first year, including his first Bible (given to him by his great Grandmother), cloth crib shoes, two week hand prints, and infant silhouette.







The dessert table was filled with delicious sweets and treats for everyone to enjoy! We framed a poster-sized world map for the backdrop and used a vintage suitcase for the cake stand. My mom, Eddie, and I iced all the cupcakes at 6am the morning of the party and we considered ourselves quite the experts after watching youtube! ;) 


 


How adorable are these airplane cookies?! I didn't get to taste one but heard they were delicious :)




One of my favorite parts of the party was this array of pictures of Charlie over his first year. I added small tags to a few pictures that depicted special events. It was so neat to see how much he has grown and changed!



We used chambray table linens coupled with centerpieces of Charlie's one year pictures and small galvanized airplanes (that are actually Christmas ornaments!).






A special thanks to my mom and mother-in-law for cooking a delicious lunch for everyone! A traditional southern cuisine was served...bbq chicken, homemade mac & cheese, chicken broccoli braid, garden salad, and mom's famous baked beans!


Charlie's great-grandpa special-ordered a small white smash cake for the birthday boy to dig into on his special day. Charlie dug right in without any prompting from us, and seemed to enjoy all the sugary goodness!







After a few bites of cake, he rubbed two handfuls of icing in his hair, which he promptly told us he didn't like, haha!



There was so much icing in his hair that we had to wash it out at the party! ;)


We were so happy that so many of Charlie's friends could celebrate his special day with us! The kiddos decorated cardboard suitcases with vintage travel stickers, an activity even the littlest kids enjoyed!





The kids also flew glider planes down a paper runway outside, and we chalked off where they landed to see whose flew the farthest. Even the adults had fun with this one ;) We were so thankful the weather turned out to be gorgeous!





We were so incredibly thankful that so many of our friends and family could join us in celebrating Charlie's big day! One thing that has surprised me about parenthood is the joy in seeing Charlie develop relationships with people we love.






















Happy Birthday Charlie Bear!

Photos by the talented Devin Purgason 
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2 comments :

  1. Hello! This is the most precious first birthday ever!!! Love all the little details. And I apologize if this is a repost. I tried to comment but I didn't see it go thru! I wanted to see if you were looking to part (aka sell) any of these items. Even the Charlie sign!?! My son is also Charlie! No worries either way but figured I would ask! Again...such a perfect time flies bday!!!

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