Isabelle’s 1st Birthday Party!
This past Saturday Isabelle turned ONE! And we had a fabulous time celebrating this little lady.
It is so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that an entire year has passed since we first met our sweet girl. No doubt, it was the fastest year of my entire life. Ahhh those newborn snuggles are just the best, aren’t they? But then those itsy bitsy babies grow and start to giggle, develop a sense of humor, start to explore the world, and it’s just amazing to watch.
Isabelle loves nothing more than to be wherever her brothers are, trying to keep up with them. She is super sweet, loves to give little snuggles, and has the best wave. We loved throwing her party and celebrating with our family.
Now, let’s chat about the party!
The Decorations
Isabelle isn’t “into” anything really yet, so I went with a simple pink and gold color theme for the party.
I snatched up a Happy 1st Birthday banner and the plates and napkins from Party City (everyone LOVED the plates – they were heavy duty plastic vs paper), as well as the photo garland that I used to display pictures of Isabelle from each month for the last year (ahhhhh, I can’t believe how little she was such a short time ago!).
Since there is a massive helium shortage (which I didn’t know about until I tried to place a balloon order!), Party City didn’t have any, so I got our balloons (an assortment of light and dark pink) from our local grocery store’s floral department.
[source: dinner plates / dessert plates / napkins / banner / photo garland]
The Food
Since I wasn’t going crazy with elaborate fondant cakes this time around, I decided to do a homemade menu instead of getting food catered, with one exception. My mom, sister, mother-in-law and grandma all pitched in, as well! This is what we had:
- Toasted baguette with cheese and peach pepper jelly
- Veggie tray
- Bowls of chips and pretzels
- Baked ziti
- Fried chicken from a local deli
- Tossed salad
- Roasted red potatoes
The Cake(s)
Since it was Isabelle’s 1st birthday, she got a smash cake in addition to the regular cake we all ate, as well!
For the big cake, I did a two-layer chocolate cake that was filled with vanilla buttercream, then did an ombre-style pink frosting that I decorated using a Wilton 1M decorating tip (see tutorial here).
For Isabelle’s smash cake, I made a 6-inch yellow cake that I decorated with two-toned pink roses using Sally’s tutorial.
I couldn’t believe how absolutely gentle and DELICATE Isabelle was with her smash cake – she’d calmly dip a couple fingers in, lick the icing off, then do it again, nice and slowly. It was so adorable!
In case you’re curious, to fill, crumb coat, and decorate both cakes, I needed FIVE batches of my favorite vanilla buttercream!
[sources: gel food coloring / ‘one’ cake topper]
Extras
I ordered the invitations from Etsy and finally got smart and ordered them PRINTED with envelopes included, which made addressing and mailing super easy (as opposed to the digital file that requires me to get them printed somewhere, find envelopes that fit, etc.)
I also got Isabelle’s outfit on Etsy… I wanted to keep with the pink and gold theme and just could not resist this adorable outfit!
A Few More Pictures For You :)
What a fun party! She is turning into a little lady. Happy birthday sweet girl! It’s fun to see her brothers playing and being with her. ❤️ Loved the pink and gold theme and her outfit! Great menu too and the cakes were awesome. I can imagine her poking her finger in the icing. Too funny! You have a beautiful family! ❤️
You are so talented! Lucky children to have a Mom like you to make their birthdays so special
So original, classy and beautiful. Menu is wonderful, cakes are beautiful..both of them. And omg beautiful baby girl. She is so precious and lovely and mommy looks beautiful too. Of course the boys are beyond sweet with her…a lot of beautiful and lovely going on here😊💕 you are so blessed.
What a Princess❣️❣️❣️ How absolutely beautiful…Isabelle, and her little outfit (I loved the headband!), Mom, the cakes – BOTH were gorgeous! Not to leave out the little dudes….they’re always amazing, as well. You’re going to think this funny, but your family blog is my very favorite thing that I receive 9n my emails, and I can’t wait for Friday’s to come, so I can ‘catch up on the family’ (hope I don’t sound like a stalker 🤣!). Well, when I was clearing off today’s emails, and saw yours, I had checked it for deletion before I actually saw who it was from; then my eyes got big and I got so excited to have an extra email this week! I feel like a long, lost, VERRRY distant great aunt, or something. 😂. But, as always, thank you for sharing your very special world with all of your subscribers.
Just wanted to let you know that the pictures are adorable. Isabelle is so cute, and she is a spittin image of Dominic. They could be twins.
Isabella looks so ADORABLE in that dress! I have enjoyed following her 1st year of life with her trying to keep up with her sweet older brothers! What a fun blessed family❤️ AND THAT BIRTHDAY CAKE..yummy!
Thank you so much, Cindy :)
Oh, my gosh, Michelle – Isabelle is absolutely adorable! Happy birthday to her!
Your decorations, cakes and pictures are awesome, as usual! Thank you for sharing your precious family with us!
Thank you, Robin!
I love those ruffled leggings, wish they were available in adult sizes! She’s so cute, surrounded by so much love! (and cake!)
Happy 1st Birthday, Isabelle!!
What a little doll! So enjoy watching your lovely family grow and change! It does seem to me that it goes by fast too!
Many happy returns! xoxo
Thank you, Joann! :)
You do such a beautiful job on decorating and your cakes ( envious). Always enjoy reading your comments and seeing the photos. Would love to have your recipe for Peach Pepper Jelly, sounds yummy.
Aww thank you so much, Maytha! I actually don’t have a recipe, it was a jar that my grandma bought! It says “Hot Pepper Peach Preserves” – the ingredients are peaches, jalapenos, cane sugar, pectin, and citric acid. I hope that helps :)
Time went by too fast! You just had the gender reveal, omg I am getting old. Her outfit was too cute! Thank you for sharing, you are the best!
TO CUTE FOR WORDS !!! You are sooooooo blessed girl !!!!!
Oh, Michelle…..Isabelle is SUCH a little lady! She looks absolutely adorable in that outfit; you are ALWAYS so amazing with your coordination of decorations, outfits, food. :) I agree – this year has truly wizzed by. We all remember when you told us you were PREGNANT with her…..which seemed like just a few months ago. Your family is growing so beautifully – you and your husband should be so proud! BTW, I think little Isabelle looks SO much like your second son, Dominic! The resemblance is like….WOW!
Well, thank you for always sharing your life with us. Its wonderful to read your stories and recipes and be a part of your wonderful life. :) Here’s to a memorable 2019 for you all! <3
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Thank you so much for the sweet words, Linda! And yes, Dominic and Isabelle really resemble each other SO much!!
I’ve been following your blog before you even had Joseph…it’s been awesome to watch your family grow before my eyes. Beautiful family!
Oh! How sweet she is! Enjoy your little doll! ❤️
What a grand 1st birthday, Isabelle. You are such a special little lady.
God bless!
Absolutely love the picture of Isabelle with her new dolly & as she’s reading her card. So, so precious…beautiful memories. ;-)
She LOVES dolls! She squeezes them to her neck and snuggles them, it’s so utterly adorable :)
The party looked like a lot of fun and Isabelle was adorable in her birthday outfit! I love seeing pictures of her with her big brothers doting on her and her adoration for them. Sweet!
Can you provide more information about the baguette with the cheese and pepper peach jelly? Sounds amazing.
Hi Heather! So my grandma brought this appetizer… lightly toasted French baguette + Muenster cheese + a jar of hot pepper peach preserves. It was SO GOOD!
Looks like she had a good time. They grow so quickly. I was shocked to read a local article about the helium shortage and no mire balloons that rise.
Precious baby girl !!
All of your children are adorable……even your 4 legged babies!!
I have twin grandgirls who turn 1 in September.
Love the yarn rag doll, where did yo get it?
Hi Pam, My aunt got that doll for Isabelle – it’s from Cuddle & Kind (love their company!): https://cuddleandkind.com/collections/hand-knit-dolls/products/isla-the-mermaid
Oh my goodness Michelle how cute is she!!!! I’ve followed you since forever, even before the boys and now adorable Isabelle. I feel like I know each and every one of them lol. Thanks for sharing them and allowing us a glimpse inside your home aside from the delicious recipes. Now on to the two’s….lol.
What a sweet birthday girl! And that outfit – so cute. Thanks for sharing the lovely photos of the party and your beautiful family.
Isabelle’s birthday party looked like so much fun! She looked darling in her outfit. You have a beautiful family! I started getting your newsletter over a year ago, however a stumbled across your sight about 6 or 7 years ago looking for a tiramisu cake. Whenever I need a great cake, I look on BEB! Thank you for the recipes, sharing your tips and of course the cute pictures you post of your kids!
Great job on the party! Isabelle looks just like Dominic in the photo of her from the side! Thank you for sharing your family with us!
Thank you Elizabeth, and yes! They really resemble each other a lot!
Happy Birthday Isabelle! Adorable pictures! Aww, she seems to love her new doll.
She LOVES dolls! She hugs them to her neck and snuggles them, it’s so so cute!
Ummmm, you nailed it!!! You should be a party planner! She is absolutely adorable and her outfit may be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Ever. Happy Birthday to your sweet girl. I love watching your family grow!!
She is adorable and everything looked so pretty!
So sweet! Love her birthday outfit and the cakes are so pretty! Those tiny ones grow so fast!
What a sweet party and Isabelle is adorable. Thank you for sharing!
She is just adorable!! Love your party decor and the menu sounds delicious! You did good Mommy!!
Looks like a great party! Isabelle’s outfit was so cute! The cakes looked great as did the decorations. Love the pictures.
What a beautiuful party, one that is fit for your princess! Love seeing your party posts! What a beautiful family you have!!
A very beautiful1 year old, but mom, you look fabulous!!!
Aww you are too kind, thank you so much :)
Thank you for sharing! Amazing job & beautiful pictures! Both cakes are beautiful-they both look like cakes you could buy at a bakery!
Thank you so much, Renee :)
Happy birthday Isabelle! Looks like a great party! She looks like she posed for the first picture! What a cutie!