Up, Up, and Away. Deacon turns 1 today!

On April 14th we celebrated Deacon's 1st birthday at my parent's home.  It was a nice central location for those who were coming to his birthday party.  Family and friends came from Texas, Washington, and Idaho.  We had a blast celebrating with those who love Deacon!

The theme was hot air balloon...old school style with the red and white stripes.
Decorations and Set up:
Eric and I made the invitations through publisher.  I made a "Happy Birthday Deacon" bunting that hung above the food table (which was way easy and fun).  Also, I made Deacon and Eric matching polka dot (red and white) bowties (again, way easy).  I decided I didn't want to feel left out, so I made a bow for my hair (sky blue); I also made three bows (red, white, and sky blue) for each of our little girl party guests.  I bought two white table cloths and painted on red and sky blue polka dots for the drink and food table.
Food:
We (mom and I) started off by making about 75 sugar cookies from a secret Everson family recipe.  Then prepared the dips, dinners, and breakfasts for family.  Also, mom and I made three different kinds of cupcakes: strawberry (Deacon's favorite food), coconut lime with a lime curd filling, and white chocolate raspberry.  Deacon's cake was also strawberry.  I give all frosting credit to Eric's sister, Ryan, who came into town with her husband, William for the special occasion.  She did an incredible job.  Ryan, Mcgraw, and I frosted the 75 cookies with a white background, red piping, and a brown basket weave.  Also on the spread table...fruit kabobs with an orange fruit dip, blt pinwheels, chips with fresh salsa and guacamole (thanks Pat and Graw), and fiesta ranch dip, and cups of cherry jelly bellies, cinnamon bears, and swedish fish (all red of course).
Drinks:
Mom and I made strawberry basil lemonade (this was my favorite), raspberry lemonade (a Wellman drink that I love), and a blackberry lemonade.  Yum.

Now for some pictures.

 Drink Table

original polka dot tutorial

original bow hair clip tutorial
hot air balloon cookies for guests to take home
mason jars of different sizes for drinks with red and white paper straws
"Hot Air" book for guest book
Deacon etched glass made by my dad
little girl goodie bags in the back with hair clips attached

 Birthday bunting above I just kind of made up what I was doing as I was going along.

 my dad made the little cake stand to the left and i painted it red 

 original bowtie tutorial

i will be making a lot more of these in the future for Deacon...and Eric too (if he'll continue to wear them)

 frosting idea here (i didn't think we'd have enough time to do the red, white, and sky blue)

 grandma and grandpa

 auntie graw, uncle pat, and banks

 mama, daddy, and deacon

 uncle william, auntie ryan, and deacon

 auntie beth, uncle ryan, and deacon

 ichecha (grandpa), amuma (grandma), and deacon

banks, kassi, ella, and deacon

I can't wait for his next birthday...I said I wouldn't go all out like I did this time but...we'll see.