Ella's First Birthday! Lemon Themed 💛

I am so behind in updates on this blog. Life has never been busier for us, and I have been struggling to keep up on documenting everything. I will have to retroactively blog about our summer later, as well as Ella's ONE YEAR update! But I couldn't not share these beautiful photos that my good friend Roxana took at Ella's birthday party last weekend.

I had about a million different ideas for Ella's party. I love a good party and joke (although I am not joking) that I had about five totally different weddings in my head that I would have been perfectly happy with, and that Trevor and I should just have a few more so I can throw each party! haha But really, I love everything PARTY. Hence the blog title, Crowley Party! haha As I mentioned earlier, my life has been extremely hectic these days and spare time is very limited. So I turned to two of my friends who run an event and party planning business The Confetti Creative. You guys, these ladies and I are cut from the same cloth and totally trusted them to run the show. They are fun, easy going, incredibly creative, talented, the list really could go on and on. They completely spoiled me by offering to help throw Ella's party. I have always done these shin digs myself and let me just tell you, I don't know if I can ever go back to being a one man show. Having help is LIFE CHANGING! 

I was really sick during a crucial part of the party prepping and having them to just DO IT made this party happen. They have amazing ideas if you lack in that department, but they also have the connections and talents to get whatever you want done. If you are looking for help for anything, something small like a baby blessing, or larger scale like a wedding, they can handle it for you. If your on instagram I suggest following them there. They have adorable posts and are always so witty :)

After committing to about three different themes, I finally landed on LEMONS. I was inspired by our super popular lemon dress from our shop Lunaby. I have always had a love for lemons. I even tried convincing Trevor we should name Ella, Lemon. Any Hart of Dixie fans out there? ;) haha The obsession probably stems from the fact that yellow is my favorite color, or that lemons just taste amazing in anything. Whatever it is, people love lemons, and it made for an adorable theme for the party! Plus, shouldn't all parties be planned around what a girl is wearing? :)

 Lunaby Dress // Mon Petit Shoes 

Having Meg and Andy handle the logistics of the party took all the stress out of it for me. It was amazing! We had family in town for the party, and we were able to just focus on them. I also wasn't busy trying to get me and Ella ready the morning of because they handled the entire set up. It was lovely! Like I said, I can never have parties any other way again, haha. While they handled pretty much everything for me, I purchased the food and made Ella some lemon sugar cookies to match the theme. I love making sugar cookies and look for any excuse to make some! Plus, the royal icing recipe I use from Alison's Cookie Party has fresh lemon juice in them so it was a nice touch to the lemon cookie. I also made Ella a baby's breath crown to wear for part of the party. Right after making it I thought it looked terribly obnoxious, but once we were at the party and seeing it all come together she looked adorable in it. I used this tutorial for it if you are interested. It was honestly super easy and quick! I made it just before we left for the party actually, haha.

We had the party at the adorable Georgell Doll Shop at Gardner Village. Their cottage style shop is nestled right along a pretty pond with ducks and beautiful landscaping. We had the party out on their patio where they often host fairy tea parties and all sorts of events. They were such a pleasure to work with, and the setting was ideal for young girls. Once Ella can really appreciate dolls you better believe I will be taking her back there. Ella's cousins and little friends enjoyed going through the shop and seeing all the beautiful toys they have. It really is a special store that if you are in the area you should stop by and see! It was the perfect venue for Ella's party.

I think what really stole the show of the party, besides adorable Ella of course, were the amazing treats made by Delish By Emmalee Boy does she have a talent! We met at a mutual friends baby shower and when she offered to make Ella's cake and some treats I was so excited because her stuff tastes phenomenal. Her cake and cupcakes were a highlight. I mean, vanilla bean cream cake, filled with a homemade lemon curd, and topped with a creamy vanilla buttercream. 🍋  Pure heaven I tell you! Ella was so funny with the cake. At first she was so unsure of it. Probably because it was taller than her head. But once she got a taste of it she shoved her head right in there! haha It was pretty cute. Ella also really loves to share her food with Trevor and I, so it wasn't that surprising that she wanted to share her cake. She kept shoving handfuls of cake in our mouths! haha I wasn't complaining, seriously Emmalee's treats are some of the best I have ever had. No exaggeration!

All the details of the party were just perfect, and I can't thank Meg and Andy enough for putting it all together for us. It was beautiful. I think the funnest element were the giant confetti balloons! The kids were loving them and I sent them home with a few happy kiddos since I wasn't about to have those all in my kitchen. Although come to think of it, that would have been fun too! We were able to customize the balloons thanks to Paper Crush, an adorable new shop in Lehi, Utah that has too much adorablness to handle. Holly, the sweet shop owner, carries a carefully crafted collection of unique party supplies, pretty paper goods, must-have desk accessories and one-of-a-kind gifts. Seriously I had to restrain myself when we came in to pick some stuff up for the party! Her shop is a must see. We ended up getting the fun huge balloons which she custom filled with our colors and even blew up for us. We also got the plates for the party from her shop. I may have picked up a few non party related things as well ;)

Ella was so adorable opening her presents. She really got the hang of it and loved ripping the wrapping paper right off haha She also hugged and kissed all the stuffed animals and toys she got :) HAHA We can't thank everyone enough who helped us make this party happen, as well as all of our friends and family who came to celebrate our sweet girl. It really was a fun afternoon! It was smack dab right in the middle of Ella's nap time but she was having so much fun she hardly noticed how tired she was, haha. It was a great day! I really can't believe how fast this year has gone by. Our lives have obviously been forever changed by having Ella, she has brought such a sweetness and joy for life that you can't help but be affected by when you are with her. We are pretty lucky to call her ours and I thank God every day that I get to be her mother. Happy First Birthday Ella! The first of what I hope will be a long life full of birthdays! WE LOVE YOU! 💛

And if that picture heavy post wasn't enough for you, I put together a little vlog over on my YouTube channel of the party! Check it out.