A Garden Party | Annalee's First Birthday

We had the perfect little garden party celebration for our sweet Annalee last Saturday. The forecast was calling for a total wash-out, so we were ecstatic to actually see some sun! 

We kept the party simple, with just a couple close friends and their kiddos. But we had to cover the basics... invites, smash cake, party favors... and lots of fun party decor! 

 Karli from September Farm designed the most beautiful invitation for us. 

I decorated her seat with flowers from the Dollar Store and cutout letters using my Cricut.  

A few party treats... including mini cupcakes from Sweet Treats Bakery.

Of course, no first birthday is complete without a #1 balloon!

And of course, a monthly collage. My how you have grown little one.

Her lamb cake. A good story on this one coming soon! 

Fun in the ball pit!

...and pony {or zebra} rides! 

So excited to see the sun!

Party Favors!

Thank you to all of our friends for celebrating with us! We are so lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful peeps. Thank you for helping us raise the sweetest, most curious and happy little girl. She is so full of life - and we owe that to so many of you. We love you sweet girl! 

Happy 1st Birthday! 

________________________________

Invitations by Karli Bell at Sept. Farm
Party Favors from Number 1 Lollipops by Rosebud Chocolates
Rosebud Napkins from Ikea
Garen Party straws from Kolme
Spritz Party Hats from Target (similar)
Lamb Cake from Sweet Treats Bakery in Lexington, Va. {cake mold by Nordic Ware}
Number 1 Balloon from Amazon
Chalkboard from Ikea
Cubby Pop-Up Play Tent and plastic balls
Annalee's Party Dress - My Favorite Things in Franklin, NC
Annalee's flower headband - Walmart (similar)

5 Years | Traditional Anniversary Gifts for Him

We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on Saturday - complete with a birthday party for our sweet little one - and leftovers on the sofa and an early bedtime for us. It wasn't fine dining or a trip to the islands, like we had planned, but truly was the perfect way to celebrate 5 wonderful years of marriage. 

We got to celebrate our most precious gift to one another, Miss Annalee, and were surrounded by our Lexington friends, who really are like family. 

We do like being creative with the "traditional anniversary gifts" to one another, so today I thought it would be fun to re-cap what I have given Jesse over the past 5 years. 

Year One | Paper

Men's Map Cufflinks using our wedding location and our honeymoon location.

Year Two | Cotton

Virginia State Pillow  | Southern Proper Cotton Pickin' Beau

The perfect throw pillow for our sofa and a fun little gift for him to wear to work.

Year Three | Leather

A Leather Sunglass Strap was the perfect gift for J. Part of our gifts to our wedding party were "Tracy & Jesse" sunglass straps... if that tells you how much we love them.  I guess you can say we're sunglass strap peeps. We love a good pair. 

Year Four | Fruits & Flowers

I got a little creative with the fruits and flowers for year four. 

Banana Cufflinks | Flower Pocket Square | Key Lime Pie

Year Five | Wood

I found the perfect little re-furbished end table for our living room at The Urban Farm Girl in BV. 

Cheers to 5 wonderful years babe!  I love you!!

Celebration re-caps:

Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4

Beach Baby | 9 favs

We are headed to the beach in just a few short weeks, so I thought it would be nice to put together some of our favorites for the ultimate "Beach Baby."

1. Easy Up Beach Umbrella  |  2. Cotton Towel  |  3. Babyganics Sunscreen  

 4. iPlay Swim Diaper  |  5. SwimWays Toddler Float  |  6. Mini Pops  |  7. Polka Dot Flamingo   

8. Baby Banz Retro Sunglasses  |  9. iPlay Sun Hat

What are your beach favorites for toddlers?

Swim Lessons for Annalee

We started swim lessons last week at our city indoor pool. The lessons are super simple, basically just getting the babies used to the water. It has been really fun watching her learn to float, kick and splash around.

Our good friend, Miss Hadley joined us as well. 

Swim buddies. 

Swim lessons also wear us out. Like so... 

It's been so cool to see how much she has learned in just a week. She has started kicking and laughing and squealing when she jumps off the side - I love it! 

A Family Weekend in DC

We had a fun little family weekend in DC! The hubs was there for work, so Annalee and I make the short trip up on Friday {I forget how close we are sometimes}, and arrived early afternoon to visit with old friends and get in a good late afternoon nap.

Girl is a road trip champ. And likes her sunnies too...

Friday night one of my sistas {AOII sisters that is.} came to watch Annalee, so I could join Jesse for an adult night out.  But first, a family cocktail and photo op.

On Saturday we ventured into the city for Annalee's first trip to the monuments.

It was the most perfect day in DC. Complete with a DC hot dog for lunch.

We had a great day, until an afternoon storm snuck up on us. We ducked away into the American History Smithsonian to watch it pass.

We lasted about an hour and couldn't take the "crazy" anymore. I guess we really are small town peeps. The museum was really cool, and they had a great kid friendly area where we let Annalee play for a bit, but we just weren't digging a history lesson that day.

Instead we headed south to Alexandria for a cocktail and dinner waterside at Blackwall Hitch. What a cool place. The bar had great little lounge where we parked the stroller and let Annalee play. We snacked on a variety of apps - crab dip, yellowfin tuna, and sautéed shrimp - and called it an early night. We were all ready to head back to the hotel.

The view right outside our hotel at sunset.

The hubs and I shared dessert and cocktails in the room after little bit went to bed, and it was really nice just to sit and chat. No laundry to be done, no dishes to clean. No pressure to do anything but just relax. It was so good.

We ordered breakfast to the room on Sunday and enjoyed a quiet morning together before hitting up the rooftop pool for a quick morning swim. Our girl loves the water!! A swim lesson recap coming soon, I promise!

Our view from the pool!

On the drive home Sunday, we took a long stop at Target - where I spent my Mother's Day cash - and picked up an assortment of goodies.

Pineapple Beach Towel  | Catalina Slides  |  Gold Fig |  Sacha Lichne Rose

Did I mention how much this little one is eating these days. Last night she basically had a cheeseburger, fries and a side of fruit for dinner. Ok, really ground beef and sweet potatoes mashed up with little bits of fruit. But she owned it! 

O yes, she also wore her first ponytail last night. Just for fun.

Cheers to a great {party} week ahead! Annalee's first birthday and our 5th anniversary is Saturday.