On Saturday night, I put Lucas to bed for the last time before he officially turned one year old.
By the way, Jay totally gave me a hard time for wanting to take a picture of him with the flash while he was sleeping because he was convinced it would wake him up. Pretty sure it almost did, but I don’t regret getting a pic of him on his birthday eve!
On Sunday morning, we woke up to rain. Buckets and buckets of rain. For a good couple of hours. Lucas’s party was set to start at 12, and while the weather forecast was saying that the skies were going to clear up, it was certainly cutting it close.
By about 11am, the rain let up, the clouds dissipated, the skies turned blue. I could hardly believe it. So we scrambled like mad to get everything set up outside! I didn’t take as many photos of everything as I had hoped, but ahh well…what are ya gonna do?!
For Lucas’s decorations and invitations, I got all of the printable items, as well as some customized pieces, from The Lovely Apple Etsy shop.
They were absolutely AMAZING to work with and their work is just incredible. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for party decorations.
Their printable party pack came with a ton of stuff, including water bottle labels. They may have been the most tedious to do (I just bought a case of water, ripped off the old labels, then printed/cut/taped on the birthday labels), but as crazy as it sounds, I think they were one of my favorites!
I tried to throw some fun touches in here and there with our nautical theme, including goldfish, Swedish fish, and silverware wrapped in “life savers” and twine.
We had “Ocean Water Punch” (1 gallon blue Hawaiian Punch, 1 2L Sprite, 1 64oz. white grape juice), with some mixers on the side for the adults. I also created a time capsule where everyone could write Lucas a note for him to read on his 18th birthday.
However, thinking about the fact that he will actually be 18 some day boggles my mind so we’re just gonna skip right past that.
We had plenty of food to go around, and both my mom and mother-in-law were huge helpers in that.
For desserts, we had sugar cookies with royal icing (which both of my parents helped me with on Saturday – whew, talk about a job!) which tasted just like the store bought ones. No joke.
For the kiddos (and some of the adults!), we had ocean water Jell-o cups with orange slice “boats.”
And, of course, there was cake!
We went ahead and gave the birthday cake another try…
He contemplated…
But that was about it. Gah!
Outside of a couple small bites of the cake and some of the raspberry filling, the child wanted nothing to do with it. Especially the frosting…he is not a fan.
Then again, I guess I couldn’t blame him. Who’s want to sit all alone in their high chair when they have their friends over to play?!
I’m kicking myself for not getting a better picture of it, but I got Lucas the cutest shirt from RyleighRoo (you can see a full pic of it here) for his special day.
Speaking of cute…a water table full of babies?!
Doesn’t get much sweeter than that. 
Our party was slated to end at 3pm and right about 2:50pm, the thunder started rolling in so everyone got out of the pool and started heading back home. By about 3:15pm, the skies opened up and the storms rolled through. I couldn’t believe it…the entire window for our party was bright blue, sunny skies. To say we got lucky would be a major understatement!
It was an absolutely great day, we all had a blast, and were all equally pooped by the end of it all.
So now, with the madness of party planning behind me (and an almost complete bathroom!), I’m hoping I’ll finally have some time to get back to some normalcy…a little more time for blogging, some more time for workouts (umm yeah, gotta re-do week 4 of T25 since that never happened!), hopefully some meal planning, and maybe even a little down time. Woo Hoo!
Next time I’ll come by and gladly eat his slice of cake for him! Looks like he had a blast. So much fun when you can have other kids right around his age with him!
I love this party theme so much. It is adorable.
I though I’d chime in on the whole not liking cake thing. I actually really disliked cake up until very recently. I’d eat certain types, but birthday cake was out. The reason was because it was too dry so I could usually eat a small amount IF I had it with ice cream to moisten it up. Maybe that would solve your problem?
Until and unless he develops a taste for it, I guess that’s more cake for you :)
Such a cute party theme! I love all of the details and the cookies and cake were gorgeous. I’m so glad the rain let up so everyone could celebrate- what a relief!
such an adorable theme and party! amazing the weather turned out, too! william has a mobile that is red and blue nautical theme! you did a great job with the decorations! happy birthday, lucas!
Adorable! Looks like a great time. Happy birthday Lucas!
Happy birthday to Lucas!!! What a cute party and delicious-looking spread! Glad it went off without a hitch!
So adorable!!! Happy birthday to Lucas :)
So glad to hear the weather cleared up and then held out for Lucas’ big day. It’s so hard to plan outdoor events … you never can count on the weather. I love all the little details you included for the party – I would never have thought of a nautical theme for a kid’s birthday party, but I will definitely keep that one in mind for the future. Very cute stuff, and I love that you had Swedish fish and Goldfish crackers haha.
Here’s to hoping you get some of that down-time this week. I was just telling my fiance and my mother this weekend that while I absolutely LOVE summer, it is without a doubt the busiest time of the year for us New Yorkers. We only really get about 4 months of nice weather and everyone tries to stuff in as many events as possible into those four months – no wonder we’re all so busy! I don’t think I’ve had a free weekend since the beginning of May. I’m trying to soak it all in though … because I know that “white stuff” will be here before we know it. UGH.
Oh … and I forgot to say “Happy Birthday Lucas!” Even though I don’t “know” you personally, I feel like I’ve watched you grow up this past year. Thanks Courtney (and Jay!) for sharing his special moments and letting us take a peak into your world.
I cant believe he is one! This means Ford is going to be one soon! I love his party theme, you had so much creative touches. Happy birthday Lucas!
What a fun party, I love the theme! How crazy that the weather cooperated exactly when you needed it to. Looks like everyone had so much fun and, I agree, a water table full of babies is too cute.
I am absolutely in love with your decorations! So many cute details! I love the fishing (are they called…?) bobbins in the drink dispenser! Adorable!
Happy 1st birthday, Lucas!
You really went all out!!! Great spread and love the theme! Cake looks sensational! Lots of new happy memories!
It is so funny that he doesn’t like cake, because to me that is the best part of ANY birthday!! :) Glad you all had a great party and HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCAS!!!
How fun! Love the party decorations! Those cookies though..yum!
Whew….no wonder you were feeling a little overwhelmed last week. Maybe you missed your calling and should be in the party planning business! Holy crow, that was the most amazing first birthday theme I’ve ever seen. Awesome! What a lucky little boy! Happy Birthday Lucas!
I can’t believe he is already one! Happy Birthday Lucas!
I must say you did an AMAZING job with hist 1st birthday party!!! I always loved/admired the Etsy party decorations, but getting all the little details together seem so daunting, honestly! So, a Huge Kudos to you for getting it done! My little Ethan just turned 6 months and I’m already (slightly overwhelmed) thinking about planning his 1st bday. Lol. I think we (moms) sometimes put a bit too much pressure on ourselves to get everything together and have everything go perfectly when usually, if you just breathe and let things fall together in their own time, they usually do, prayerfully. :-) Yea, I’m still working on that “just breathe & trust part,” but I digress. ;-) Happy Birthday Lucas!!!
I love the nautical theme! That’s so cute! And the picture of the three of you with Lucas and his cake is absolutely priceless. You must frame it in your house. :-D
What an adorable party! Happy Birthday to him! :)
Sounds like a great party and I love the theme! Happy Birthday Lucas! :-)
Such a cute party theme! He looks adorable! Happy Birthday Lucas :)
Happy first anniversary of being a Mommy!! :)
Looks like a terrific day! The weather gods were definitely in your favor! Hope you have a great start to the week!
Everything turned out so cute! Great job, Court! So happy to hear the weather cooperated for you too. Too funny about Lucas not seeming interested in the cake! That’ll be a fun little memory to remind him of as he gets older. :) Happy Birthday little Lucas!
Sounds like it was the perfect party!! Happy Birthday to little Lucas!
I can’t believe he’s already 1!!! What a cute party and glad the weather cooperated for you guys! :)
omg this is SO incredibly adorable!! I can’t figure out the theme for Gavin and his 1st is quickly approaching!
Happy birthday to Lucas! Looks like a great party! And I honestly can’t believe he’s one already! I feel like you just posted his birth story!
Happy birthday, Lucas! Looks like a fun celebration!!
I can’t even handle Lucas’ face in the photo of you 3 with his cake!! I literally kept scrolling back up to look at it……at least 5 times! OMG soooooooo funny!
6! ;)
Happy birthday to Lucas!! What a cute party, I love the theme! :)
Courtney, you did a wonderful job with all the decorations, and the theme is adorable! And also…is Lucas human?! Lol, just kidding. It’s just really strange to find a baby/child not liking cake. :P Happy birthday to Lucas and I hope for many more blessed ones to come!
How adorable! Oh how special the first birthday is :-) My son is now three and that’s been the best birthday so far!