Just thinking about Brooks’s first birthday makes me so emotional! Did you feel this way too with your baby’s special day? I thought to myself, once he’s one he won’t be my baby anymore. Spoiler alert, that’s not true!
Family and friends would ask me what we were going to do for his birthday and I kept saying I just can’t think about it yet. It was a month before his birthday and I was finally ready to start planing this special day. I went straight to Pinterest typing in preppy, sweet, baby boy themed parties…Well, really the only theme that kept reappearing was Peter Rabbit so I went with that. It turned out to be so much more than just a theme. Once we told our families, we remembered. My mom had the original Beatrix Potter Wegdgewood china from when I was a baby that my grandmother had brought back from England. She also had books, music boxes, and other figurines from when I was a baby. When we told my mother in law she had the same items from when Michael was a baby. It was so special having these sweet memories out on display throughout the house for the party. In fact, I kept the house decorated for a whole month!! From there everything else came together and can’t wait to share more of the details with you!
The Invitation
Given our current environment (thanks COVID) we decided to invite our immediate family only to celebrate. My parents came in from Charlotte, NC, and my sister, her husband and their three babies came in from Winston Salem, NC. Michael’s parents drove in from Nashville, TN. Even though we only invited family, I knew I still wanted it to be special and send out invitations. Another one of my sweet friend’s baby is 3 months older than Brooks and I absolutely fell in love with her invitations. I called Bailey, the talent behind Piper and Finch, and asked if she would work with me to design an invitation for Brooks. Y’all, how did I get so lucky? She answered the phone and said yes! She designed the sweetest invitation for Brooks and I will forever keep a copy in his baby book! I had one of the invitations framed and on display for the party. If you’re looking for a custom invitation for an event, Bailey at Piper and Finch is your girl!
Capturing the Day
Once we decided on the theme I knew I wanted to hire a photographer. I also wanted our family to put away their phones and truly enjoy the party. Mission accomplished! We hired Irina, who I had met at my sweet friend’s baby shower and I fell in love with her. I told Michael that we could do our family shoot and capture Brooks’s first birthday party in the same day! It was everything I had envisioned and MORE! If you’re in Atlanta and looking for a photographer that’s amazing with kids then she is your girl!!
The Cake
I decided I wanted to focus most of my attention on his smash cake. My mom ended up making us a homemade carrot cake for everyone else to enjoy! I reached out to a local bakery recommended to me by some of the neighborhood mamas. They took my vision and ran with it and did an amazing job! Brooks enjoyed picking off the little fondant carrots and eating them. He played with the icing on his cake and dug in a little, it was so sweet! It was his first time really having sugar. We shared a slice of carrot cake every morning for the following week…mainly because I wanted it, but he wasn’t upset about it either!
My sister graciously agreed to make these beautiful homemade custom sugar cookies and they turned out so good! Not only are they beautiful they taste amazing! She also made these beautiful cake pops! They are defiantly a crowd favorite!
The Details
I went back to Pinterest and gathered some inspiration to show my mom and she brought the vision to life! She has a gift for doing that! It was all so perfect and everything was done in advance, so we got to enjoy our family that traveled into town for the weekend! Waking up slowly the morning of Brooks’s party, getting ready with my little sister while the babies slept, it was all so special.
Gifts
Brooks was so loved and I’m sharing his favorite toys and items from his birthday!
Our Family
This was a day I will never forget! Having our families in town to celebrate was so special. Thank you again for capturing this day so perfectly, Irina! I’ll treasure these photos forever!
Brooks, one year ago today you made us parents and taught us a love like no other! Your sweet, calm, content, and playful personality brings so much joy to our lives! We love you beyond words!
Inspired, Maryashley
Photos by Irina Chepko