Aaralee's Polka Dot Party!

This weekend we celebrated Aaralee's first birthday party with some of our closest friends and family. Can you believe that on Wednesday my baby will be an entire year old?!

Let me start by saying that I realize that going over the top for a birthday that a child is vaguely aware of and will never remember is a bit ridiculous.  In all honesty, we could have simply not even acknowledged the day and she wouldn't have known any different.  I took these facts into consideration for all of 3 seconds before making the decision to go all out on her party. You only get the chance to host a very first birthday party for your very first baby once, right?  

In my teenage years I took charge of my younger brothers birthday parties each and every year.  I'd obsess over tiny details and couldn't wait to one day host parties for children of my own.  I'm fairly certain that I began brainstorming ideas and browsing Pinterest when Aaralee was only a few months old.  

Every party needs some sort of theme, but finding something that really interests a 12 month old is a bit of a challenge.  I could have thrown a cell phone or cookie themed party, but instead I decided upon polka dots. Who doesn't love polka dots?! They are bright, colourful, and probably the easiest theme that I could have ever chosen.  I threw in some pinwheels for added fun and set off to planning the big bash.  

The past few months have been spent gathering ideas and crafting decor, meticulously planning out every single detail... details that would likely go unnoticed by most guests but that were of great importance to me.  As the day grew closer I took on more and more projects because apparently I'm an insane woman.  I even took on the challenge of making her birthday cake despite the fact that I'm what you might describe as "baking illiterate"... and guess what?! It was not only edible, but everyone was surprised when we cut into it and the discovered hidden polka dots.  Maybe I can do this domesticated thing after all!

Everything came together perfectly and our baby was overwhelmed with sugar, cake, gifts and love.  She has stolen so many hearts in her 12 months of existence and that was very evident on Saturday.  Best of all, it was a warm and sunny day, a stark contrast from the first snowfall that we woke up to this morning.  

So without further ado, I'll leave you with some photos taken by the talented Sarah Mavro Photograhy. Ryan and I relaxed and left our cameras in their bags while she captured the day, and we are so thankful for the great photos!