Mya and Stella's Ladybug Extravaganza

Sunday afternoon we celebrated our sweet little ladies' first birthday. They don't actually turn one until June 2nd but this was the best for everyone's schedules. We figured what better way to celebrate our little ladies than to have a ladybug party. I had SOOOOO much fun planning their party and I went a little overboard with the theme, I confess. We had 70 people invited so we decided to have the party at my parent's house because our little house just wouldn't cut it. My parents have an amazing house complete with a pool and awesome patio area so it worked out just perfectly. It was about 90 degrees so we really appreciated the space.

When I was planning the party I kept everything very connected to our theme: ladybugs. We had red, black and white everything. I become slightly obsessed with the details. I found these cute little galvanized tubs and glued coordinating sequins and ribbon to them. I used them to hold the flowers on the tables, the silverware and the goodie bags. Sadly, the goodie bag tub got moved and most people didn't leave with them. They were bags of Hershey hugs and kisses that said "Kisses and Hugs....Thank you for celebrating with our little ladybugs!"

The spread...we had lasagna, Ceasar salad, Italian bread, fruit, veggies, ladybug crackers (sitting on a "field" of parsley) and many different desserts. To drink we had pop, bottled water, lemonade, juice boxes (for the little ones) and beer.

The hit of the party was the cake pops that my friend, Melissa made. I had asked her if she was for hire and she said yes right away. I was thrilled because mine would have looked nothing like this if I had tried. They were not only the cutest things ever, but they tasted amazing. Thanks a million, Melissa! I had spray painted a terra cotta pot red and glued ribbon and glittery pom poms to it. The red springy flowers I found at Hobby Lobby.

There were 12 of Mya and Stella's best friends at the party. So for all of our under 3 guests we had loot bags. They were different according to the child's gender and age but some of the things included were ladybug shaped crayons, ladybug bubbles, ladybug wind up toy, a red and white polka-dot pinwheel, bug magnifier, ladybug hair clip in a cute flower box with a ladybug on it, bubbles, a book, and stickers.

The banner that hung outside on the patio. It turned out so cute and now I'm kicking myself for having it say "Happy 1st Birthday" instead of just "Happy Birthday" because now I can't use it again. I'm thinking of saving it and just adding a 2 in front of the 1 for their 21st birthday. LOL I'm sure they would love to have that hanging up in college when they are out partying (for the first time, of course!).

I didn't get a picture of the presents before they opened them, but all of the presents were corralled behind a little white picket fence that I bought and attached little wooden lady bugs to. Here is the after math. They were sooooooo spoiled!

Okay, back to the beginning of the day. Here is our family standing by the metal work signs that my mom bought for all of the grandkids. The balloon says 'It's your day" and the present says "Happy Birthday". She plans to have us use them at our houses on each of their birthdays. So cute! P.S. Of course, the girls wore ladybug dresses thanks to Aunt Shirley!

My sweet Mya in front of her gifts. Mya had a little bit of a rough day. The girls normally go down for a nap around 1 and so we brought them over to my parents' house so they could nap and we could finish getting things ready. They didn't fall asleep until 2:30 and so they woke to a bunch of people and they just weren't quite sure what was going on. Like I said it was hot and there were 70 people so I think she was just overwhelmed but she sobbed at several different points of the day. She just needed to snuggle with Wes or I and then she cheered up.

My girls and Sophie with Nana, Aunt Shirley and Grammy. *Sidenote: I need to take a moment to rave about my amazing family! My Aunt Shirley is such a HUGE help! She always offers to make sure everything is going smoothly. She stayed in the kitchen refilling things, serving lasagna and pretty much anything I needed. If I even came into the kitchen she asked what I needed done and told me she'd do it and I should go enjoy the party. I can't thank her and my grandma enough for all that they did! I know you didn't want your picture on the blog but you look beautiful so I had to include it!

The 3 little ladies of our family. I love these pictures even though not one of them is really great. It is impossible to get a good posed picture so I just appreciate what I can get.

Playing with our friend, Payne Lohman. Payne is 6 days younger than the girls and is cute as can be! Sadly, we have to miss her party next weekend because of a family wedding so we gave her our gift at the party. She got a tea set and a personalized book called My Tea Party. I found the book online and saw that you could add the child's name and age and up to 3 friends. How perfect! I added Mya, Stella and Juliana (our other little friend) to the book. The story isn't the best, but I think the fact that it has her name will make it one she likes to read.

Cake time! I changed the girls into a pink onesie with a big green and white polk-dot number 1 on it so they didn't get cake on their dress. I also attempted to have them wear their pink party hats that said "I'm 1" in silver glitter. They picked at it and tasted a little but nothing much. Stella hates to get dirty so she just poked at it. Mya flipped it upside down and patted it like a drum. LOL I didn't get a picture before they ruined them but my grandma did a great job. She made them little banana cakes with white frosting and red lettering and piping. Very cute!

I love them so much! Look at how adorable my happy girls are!

Cora Josephine! She is the cutest little thing! She sang "Single Ladies" for all of us and did the dance. She is so funny and of course, always dressed perfectly! Can't wait to meet her little brother, Lincoln James, due June 8th.

Carter cooling down with a Capri Sun. Carter is my friend, Jessica's little boy. He is such a cutie and growing up so fast.

My friend, Amy, and her son, Logan having a chat. I didn't notice that his eyes were closed when I took the posed pic. Oh well, it's still cute.

Uncle Taylor and Aunt Amanda watching the girls eat their cake.

Opening gifts.....at this point they were pretty much done. They were going on a shortened nap, and sugar for the first time. It was hot and they were almost past their bedtime. One saving grace for the heat was my dad's Port-a-cool. It is an outside air conditioner. That sucker really works and it cooled off the patio. It is the big black thing in the background behind Mya in some of the pictures. We sat them in their high chairs and tried to move quickly through their presents. They got some wonderful gifts and we are so lucky to have such generous friends and family. Will and Cora were huge helpers and I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it. They brought me gifts and loved opening them and showing the girls what they got. I also have a cute plan for the thank-you notes so hopefully that turns out.

All in all, it was a fabulous day and I was very happy with the way it turned out. I probably won't have such big parties every year but my twin girls only turn 1 once and I had to celebrate this huge milestone in a big way! There were several things that I missed throughout the day, but my sister did a great job taking pictures so check out her blog for more pics!