He only turns 1 once

My baby turned a year old on July 8th. I love a good party and I love to plan so this occasion was heaven for me. I started jotting down ideas and planning his birthday party months in advance. I had a lot of fun creating my vision and seeing it come to life. Hubby thought I went over the top, but I say there is no such thing when it comes to your first baby's first birthday.

I decided on patriotic sailboat decor. I wanted to incorporate red, white, and blue since 1) his birthday is so close to our nation's birthday and 2) my patriotic heart cannot resist an opportunity to stir up some patriotic creativity. I used a nautical theme because it's cute and Waylon is loves the water.

All decor was homemade. I listed references at the bottom of the post.

birthday boy

birthday boy's attire

Guests signed their birthday wishes for Waylon in a book. I love that he has a

keepsake from his first birthday that he can enjoy for many years.

Pictures of Waylon from newboarn to 11 months hung with ribbon

Smash cake

Nothing says patriotic like a good ole bottled Coke

The menu included food you might take on a sailing trip - sandwiches, chips, dips, fruit, and cookies

Little man was a tad overwhelmed by all of the people.

He was not sure about the smash cake.

Uncle Cody pushed his head into the cake when he wouldn't try it himself.

When the crowd dwindled after singing happy birthday he started to get a little messy.

Guess he didn't like being the center of attention in front of a lot of people.

Check out the cake in his hair. Ha!

Riding with Eli in his new wagon

Our sweet friends, the Roddens, drove all the way from Memphis to surprise us.

We didn't think they were going to be able to make it. Such a sweet surprise.

C-man & Waylon

Waylon's friend Anna Banks. He loves her.

Waylon playing in the homemade sailboat.

I love that almost everyone is wearing red, white, & blue. That wasn't planned.

Thank you to all of our friends and family for helping us celebrate Waylon's first birthday.

Having each of you there made it so special.

Invitations: scrapbook paper, skewers, and ribbon - from my craft supplies

Party hat & bow tie: homemade - used this tutorial for the bow tie

Cake/Cupcakes: a dear friend made them for me

Cupcake wrappers & topper: found them on this blog

Smash cake topper: paper straws I had & chipboard number from Michaels

Guest "book:" Toy Boat by Randall de Seve from Amazon

Pennant banner: twine and scrapbook paper from my craft supplies

Large Engineering print: ordered print from Staples and taped it on foamboard

*note: Staples website says not recommended for photos but it worked for my purposes.

Cardboard sailboat: tutorial in Parents' magazine