Oh what fun, Beckett turned 1!

I still can't believe we have a 1 year old! We love him more and more everyday!

I started planning his party a month or so before his birthday (seriously, don't plan out much more than that or you'll drive yourself batty!) We knew we wanted to do something 'Curious George-y' but we didn't want to go overboard. Tiny Prints (my fav!) had an invitation that was my inspiration for the party. 

please excuse the awful 'photoshopping'. my laptop with my PhotoShop crashed and im having to supplement!

We used the Main Event: Bright Red Birthday Invitation suite (no longer available.. but check out all their other awesome 1st birthday designs here!).. including the invitations, thank you cards, and return labels and the Birthday Breakdown: Blue Moon personalized stamps. The colors of the invitations were the bread and butter to his party decor. It was a modern touch to primary colors.. a Bright Red, a Bold Yellow, and a Turquoise Blue! I loved how simple it was, but how big of an impact it made!

Since it was his 1st birthday, I went a little overboard. But then again, it's the 1st party he had and I was really thrifty, so whatever! I utilized the Dollar Tree and dollar section at Target, which was really helpful since they had all their red and white stuff for Valentine's Day! We did rent tables and chairs from Big D Party Rentals since we just moved in and don't have a house full of furniture. It was totally worth it!

We ordered Beckett's adorable Curious George Shirt from Monogram4Me on Etsy and Curious George plates, hats, balloons, and cups from Party City. 

I made the tissue paper garland (from Dollar Tree tissue paper!) and made his hat, Happy Birthday Beckett banner, cake banner, and used all my monthly instagram photos of him for a cute little banner to show everyone how much he's grown (we may still have this up because it's so damn cute!). Market Street did the smash cake, cake, cupcakes and food.. and it was SO GOOD. Plus, I didn't have to cook which was a plus! We had crostini, croissant sandwiches, veggies, fruit, hummus with pita and olives, chocolate dipped rice krispie treats that I made. Having all cold food was super helpful too. No making sure that everything was warm all day!

Instead of having a sign in book, we had everyone sign and leave little notes in a copy of 'Curious George and the Birthday Surprise' It'll be a great memento of his first birthday for years to come! I hope he keeps it forever! (wishful thinking, right?)

It was so emotional singing 'Happy Birthday!' to Beckett. I literally choked up as we were on either side of him singing. He's the best thing in the world and we are so happy he chose us! He definitely went to town on his smash cake.. like I said, he definitely has his mother's sweet tooth!

 

Beckett was showered with lots of love and gifts! He was such a trooper and even sat with us as 'he' opened his presents!

For favors, we gave out copies of Curious George Books, bubbles, with some candy. It was so hard to figure out what to give out! I hope they were a hit!

It was such a fun, beautiful day. Beckett is one lucky kid! I can't thank my Mom and Grandparents enough for helping out with everything too! We literally couldn't have done it without you! We love you guys and are SO thankful for you!

We spent his actual birthday doing what Beckett loves best.. eating pancakes, and swinging and sliding at the park! I can't wait to celebrate next year and every year after with this cutie!

...and as a bonus, here's us singing 'Happy Birthday' and Beckett smashing his cake! Thanks to my brother Nic for the video!!

#RoadToArrieta : The Wedding!

The weekend of November 8th, my beautiful cousin tied the knot in the most stunning wine country wedding. My family arrived early, early Thursday morning. It was SO good to finally hug my mom and brother (and cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents!!) after not seeing them for months! We headed into the city before meeting my cousins, grandparents and Uncle for lunch before heading to Sonoma!

Beckett seriously LOVES his Uncle Nic.

Instead of hotels, we all stayed in an the Alexander Valley Lodge- the most uniquely awesome house in the hills! It was seriously beautiful! If you ever find yourself up there with a large group of people, this is the place to stay! I didn't take any photos but these three from the property...

That first night, we all headed to Francis Ford Coppola Winery for dinner at Rustic. It was such a fantastic night. Great wine, good food, family, and some Academy Awards! 

Drinking Sofia at Coppola.. how fun!

We are all laughing in this pic. Our waiter kept saying '1..2..3!' and Beckett would turn around each time! He's looking in all the pics we took! 

Friday was the rehearsal, so we took it easy and grabbed a quick lunch at Shed in Healdsburg. Again, love this place! (Carmen had her rehearsal dinner there and I couldn't wait to go back!) We walked around the square and grabbed a couple a dozen cupcakes at Mustache Baked Goods before heading home to get ready for the rehearsal!

The wedding was at Trentadue Winery and it was just lovely. The lawn overlooked the vineyards which were nestled in lush trees. It was so romantic. The rehearsal went off without a hitch, and we all headed to the rehearsal dinner!

The rehearsal dinner was at Diavola Pizzeria in Healdsburg. It was so good to finally see both sides of the family come together for a beautiful evening honoring a beautiful couple. I even decided last minute to get up and say a few words.. if you know me and my history of speaking at wedding events, well you guessed correctly. I cried before I even spoke a word! CL even got up there too!

We headed home after dinner and skipped the afterparty at Spoon Bar, even though I seriously wanted to check it out. Next time! We got up bright and early on Saturday to get ready for the wedding! I headed to the girls house while CL drove everyone around and my Mom watched Beckett for the day!

How cute is this? My Granddaddy and Beckett having a moment over lunch. Makes my heart smile!

It was a picture perfect day, and everyone was so relaxed. My Aunt Kari had a great breakfast spread with lots of bubbly while we all got our hair done and lunch in the afternoon. 

Everyone was so relaxed getting ready, especially the bride! 

 Opening her gift from her groom...

Her dress was seriously made for her.. it fit like a glove!

I MEAN, COME ON. HOW GORGEOUS!

Once we were all ready, we hopped on the bus and headed to Trentadue to make it offical!

Hands down one of my favorite photos from the whole day!

The evening was perfect and the ceremony was beautiful.

Veronica's vision for the wedding came together seamlessly. (Recognize that handwriting? Yup! That's me!)

This sign was a labor of love! Claudia (my cousin/ MOH) did the artwork around the writing!

It was so fun dancing the night away with my family- even Beckett! He was such a trooper! We all had the best time. 

We skipped the after party (have I mentioned we are getting old?!) and got some sleep instead! Sunday we headed back to the city for one last lunch with everyone before everyone headed back to Texas.I already miss everyone and can't wait to hug them all again in a couple of days!  

my mom took this.. while the car was moving! Go Giants!

 Congratulations to Veronica and Michael.. I wish you nothing but happiness and a successful marriage full of love (and babies!)

...now, who's getting hitched next?! I'm ready for another family reunion!!