Hailey's Snow Bunny 1st Birthday

So, Hailey turned ONE! Almost six months ago. However, I wasn't blogging then & since I am now, I wanted to share some of the details of her birthday party.

I should preface this with a couple of things. 

1. I always start out planning with the intention to keep things simple. 

2. It never stays super simple because I have fun getting creative with it (while doing my best to keep a budget). 

3. One of my closest friends helps me A TON. She is WAY more creative & talented in this area. She's an incredible party/wedding/event planner & I'm lucky she's my friend & willing to help me execute my ideas. 

4. I paired down the amount of pictures in this post from 378. Yep. Three hundred, seventy-eight pictures. Can you imagine if that had happened pre-digital photo era? That would be almost 16 rolls of film. Thank the LORD for digital cameras (and by digital cameras, I mean my iPhone).

5. Hailey had a really rough start to life (you can read about her birth & the start of her NICU story here). It is only by God's grace that she survived & I am eternally grateful. The whole first year of her life was rough for a variety of reasons. It meant more than I can put into words to celebrate her on her first birthday. So, if it looks like I really went all out, it's because I did. Not because I'm a perfectionist (though I do tend that way), not because I'm super mom, and not out of some desire to show off. I went all out because I wanted to celebrate all that God had done in the first year of my sweet Hailey's life.

We went with the theme "Snow Bunny" for Hailey's February birthday. I loved being able to use some Christmas decor & some Easter. The colors we used were pale pink, mint, gold, & white. 

Wrapped silverware is super simple to do & so much
easier when people are getting their food! These are
the kinds of things my sweet friend who helped me
teaches me ;-)

These little bunny sandwiches made me so happy!

Hailey's smash cake

I bought bunny printouts for the kids to decorate.
It was an easy, low-maintenance activity.

"bunny snacks" for the kids

The birthday girl & her grandma

For favors, each kid got a wind-up bunny

We had guests write a little note to Hailey.
By the way, if you haven't read "Someday",
you definitely should!

Photos of Hailey from her first year

Hot Cocoa Bar!

Hailey was upset because I wouldn't let her
play with the candle lighter. Mean mama.

Emma "helped" Hailey eat her cake. 

This sweet girl EXUDES joy!

4 Generations: Grandpa, Hailey, Great-Grandma, Mama, Emma

Hailey with her Auntie & Uncle. I love how Hailey is giving
my brother the stare down here.

Sisters <3

Let's ignore my face here
(I'm the worst at candid photos &
really I should've edited it out, but I'm leaving it because real life.)
How adorable is my sweet, excited daughter?!

Cousins!

Mommy & Daddy with our sweet, joyful Hailey

And that is how we celebrated how far God brought Hailey & our whole family in just one year. She is now a healthy, joyful 17 month old with zero health issues. That feels nothing more than miraculous.