Friday 21 September 2012

Kaitlin's 1st Birthday


I'm back to talk about Kaitlin's 1st Birthday! That was the invite btw..I know it seems amateur, but I'm honestly not good with design and all okay..so I tried my best! Photo was taken at BabyU International Photo studio & you can read about it here & here.

We celebrated Kaitlin's birthday on Sunday, just one day before she actually turned #thebigone! It was a tiny gathering just amongst close friends. Didn't want it to be too big cos Kaitlin doesn't usually do well with crowds...and well during the party, she happened to be having her nap time and when she got up she mostly cranky and afraid, so she ended up crying quite abit.

After everyone left, she immediately went back to normal and started roaming all over the house and playing with her new gifts! Perhaps, next year we would just have a family celebration.

On to the party!

I know it doesn't seem like much, but we did spend a fair bit of time deciding on the theme, the decor and the food to serve, as well as actually doing everything since we did not cater. I wanted to DIY everything instead of buying them from the store..just cos it's my babygirl's birthday and I wanted it to be special.

Theme: Pink Bunny.
Why? Well, since she was born in the year of the rabbit, I thought, why not a bunny theme then. And since she is a girl, and yes, I'm being stereotypical here..so why not pink? Plus, half her closet is already pink..and she seems to like the colour..and it's cousin..purple. So pink should be fine? I don't think she will hate me for this decision 20 years down the road. So there!

For the decor, we made bunny garlands and buntings. I also hung up photos to show Kaitlin's growth and development at each month. Of course, we kept the decor according to the pink theme.


Veggie sticks for starters. We had avocado and hummus dips to go along with them. Not forgetting, bunny eggs! The little pot at the top right hand corner of the bottom image was corn soup.


For the mains, we had sushi rice, ebi tempura and chicken karaage. The sushi rice were moulded into bunny shapes to keep to the bunny theme and we had white and pink ones!


To go along with the sushi rice..or as I liked to give it a fancy name..."deconstructed onigiri" cos well..you know there were no fillings insde..we had crabstick mayo and tuna mayo dips.


On to desserts! Tiny selection cos we figured since there weren't kids around, no point in having a dessert buffet. There were pink and white marshmallows, strawberry pocky and strawberry mochi!


Bunny cupcakes which we baked to add on to the desserts!


For drinks, I specially went to buy these mason jars for the party cos I thought they were oh so cute and preets and filled them up with homemade bandung.

So while we were all eating, babygirl was still sleeping. Once again, she did it! Sleeping though most of her birthday party..during her first month she was sleeping through most of it as well..but I guess you can't blame her then cos well newborns sleep most of the time.

Babygirl woke up..and we got her dressed up for her party!



We wanted to start off the "zhua zhou" thing. We had already laid out the items, but baby girl ended up sitting there and not choosing anything. I guess she was feeling afraid cos everyone was staring at her and she was getting so much attention. So we tried to open her presents next..




Next, it was time for Kaitlin's cake! We baked her a smash cake..well with the intention of having her smash and have fun with the cake and all..but since Kaitlin was feeling out of sorts throughout the party we ended up not doing it. I initially searched for no-sugar cakes to bake but they all turned out really fail, so we just decided to do a normal pink ombre 4-layer vanilla cake with a no-sugar whipped cream frosting. We spent really long..like at least 2 weeks trying to bake the cake, and practice frosting it. Ended up going to quite a few baking shops as well to find the things we needed, cos they all seemed to have sold out on the items..the cake really wasn't an easy one!



I also specially bought Kaitlin a pair of bunny bloomers for her intended cake smashing..it's really very preets though a tad on the pricey side..but I felt birthdays only come once..so why not right!

I also made a cake bunting to go along with the cake and bought this super cute bunny figurine! It's actually part of the Sylvanian toys series..not quite sure what that is..but it's crazy..like they have all these figurines with bunnies and squirrels etc..with like furniture as well to go along with it..and they are not cheap okay! I hope she doesn't ever take a fancy to those cos it will cost a huge hole in my pocket!


Overall, I guess the party wasn't too bad. Things were really done right up to the last minute, and well I only have myself to blame for procrastinating and all. Plus, it was my first time planning a party so I did take away many learning lessons and there really is just so much things that go into it and when you think you are done with it..you actually aren't! 

Was a pity that babygirl slept through most of it and then when she woke up..she was just generally afraid and got cranky..I'm really not angry with her at all for it cos I guess she was genuinely scared seeing strangers around the house, when it usually is just us, and all these people were showering her with so much attention. What's more, we all know how sticky Kaitlin is..so really, I can't fault her. I do feel a little sad that she didn't get to enjoy her party, since well, we really did everything for her. 

I know she might not understand what's going on, or the efforts that we put in and like Lihai said, we could just keep it simple and not tire ourselves out, but I really wanted to do all this for my babygirl. I never know when I would ever have the chance to actually have the time and energy to think up and plan all these and then execute it. So why not now right? I would have regretted not doing this for her, and planning a regular party or even no party at all..Most of all..I'm really glad that Lihai went along with me on my idea and helped me so much though he wasn't really fond of it initially <3 you for being awesome hubster.

To my babygirl, I really hope you liked the party. You were crying through most of it and I am really sorry..and feel bad that you were feeling scared and all..Mommy just wanted you to be happy and enjoy yourself. Next year, we will keep it simple..or perhaps we will do whatever you want if you can communicate to me what it is :) Happy Birthday my sweetheart..you turn ONE! Big girl now and you have so many huge things ahead of you. This past year has been great and you make motherhood such a rollercoaster ride, but it's all so worth it. You only turn ONE once, so enjoy it! Walk, run, jump, laugh and enjoy being a toddler! If you fall, I'll be there to pick you up and sayang you :D Sorry, those "I love you's", cuddles and kisses won't stop, so you'll have to bear with me..I'm really awaiting your first phrase/sentence, your first "I love you" to me and all the insane amount of hugs and kisses from you. Bring it on baby! I welcome them with open arms any time of the day..even if it's in the middle of the night and you feel afraid. Mommy will always be there for you. I wish you only the best, and to always be healthy and happy. I'll always be there holding your hand every step of the way..whether you're one..or sixty years old with your grandchildren..remember that! Happy First Birthday Kaitlin Anne <3


6 comments:

  1. Love the party celebration you did for your baby girl :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting Natasha! Nice to have gotten to know you through SMB! :)

      Delete
  2. Hey yes I second that, so many lovely handmade things. I remember reading this post last year! And I thought I'd commented but I guess not! Well, better late than never. :)

    How did you get the eggs to look that way?

    I hope to at least bake one or two items for any parties I throw this year too. Am quite clueless in the kitchen though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Evelyn!

      Haha first off, thanks for commenting! :) For the eggs, I bought this mould (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bento-lunch-blog/4191206992/ )which is available at most department stores at the kitchen section. Just have to boil the eggs, crack them open and put into the mould and submerge in cold water for awhile. I got mine from Taka, but i've seen them selling at Isetan. Alternatively can try Daiso for these kind of things.

      Haha I'm sure you can definitely do it! I purposely stuck to simple recipes to make sure that nothing really goes wrong. Except for the cake..we baked many many times before the actual day to try and perfect it! Thankfully the husband helped...but I'm guessing that we'll be buying the cakes instead in the future unless he decides to help me out again!

      Delete