Wilson Family Monster Farm: Lola Turns... ONE!

Okay, I've been getting some flack for not blogging since... well, September.
My bad.
I'll get to it, I promise. I know there were some important moments in there... you know, Christmas, Halloween, etc. What I will probably have to do is back date a few entries and just pretend like I never missed them at all. That would be okay, right? ;)
I thought I had better at least post the pictures of Lola's first birthday before Jax turns six on Thursday. That's right, I'm that lucky mom that has kids who's birthdays are a week apart. I'm still recovering from the last birthday party and I'm already behind on planning the next one!

I have given up on trying to accurately articulate the way I feel about Lola turning one. She's ONE. Aside from the usual "how did this happen so fast?!" feelings, I find myself experiencing something new- my last first. She's my last baby, my last first birthday. And as that first birthday comes and goes, so too do the baby years. Honestly I don't know how I feel about that. A little sad... a little proud. Somehow despite all of the odds, we have this gorgeous amazing little girl, that has made us fall more in love with her every single day since she arrived. The day Lola was born was both miraculous and terrifying. I don't know if I will ever be able to get through one of my kids birthdays without being flooded by the memories of NAIT. Jax will be six on Thursday, and I still cannot think about the details of his birth without crying. I'm not sure if any of those emotions will ever just fade away, and in a way I don't want them to. Those memories give me perspective, and they remind me of how insanely blessed we are.

Anyway, on to the details of Lola's party :)
I didn't exactly intend on having a theme, but somehow along the way it morphed into a "Whatever Lola Wants" party. For the five of you that have never heard the famous song from "Damn Yankees" (a famous Broadway musical), let me introduce it to you :)

Let me make something perfectly clear. We did not name Lola after the girl in this song. We didn't name her after anyone. We just like the name. So for anyone who might somehow take offense to this.... it's just a song.

I may have gone a smidge overboard. I had napkins monogrammed and printed with "whatever Lola wants." My amazing sister made some fantastic banners with her fancy cutting machine. A made a torn fabric backdrop and sewed my own striped table cloth. For weeks I scoured Goodwill for beautiful retro glass serving dishes that complimented each other. We had fruit salsa and cinnamon and sugar pita chips. Bagel sandwiches, tortellini and asparagus salad, chips and dip, Izzy's Sodas, and of course cake :) For the kiddos we had PB&J's, cheese sticks, juice boxes, and fruit snacks. Favors were red velvet sugar cookies and candy. I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out, and am so blessed to have so many good friends and family who can come out and celebrate with us!