Rise & Shine...It's Donut Time! Amelia & Mae Parker's 1st Birthday Party

Oh friends. There were so many wonderful pictures to choose from from this special day! I narrowed it down, but just be forewarned this post is still a HEAVY photo post! 

Today, I'm sharing all about our girls' 1st Birthday Party! Several months ago (i.e. when the girls were approximately 4 months old) I decided on the idea of either a "Pancakes & Pajamas" theme or "Rise & Shine It's Donut Time". Obviously donuts won. Donuts will always win in my book though!

A big HUGE thanks to Mara for coming to my rescue and snapping all the photos you'll be seeing from this day! I will cherish these forever!! If you're local, be sure to check here out on Facebook at Lish Photography!

My friend Emilee got the girls these books, and we had them on a table as guests came in to sign and jot down well-wishes. 

Throughout the year, my friend Amy took photos of the girls at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. We had newborn photos made by Matt Copeland. I used the same dress for each session, then bought matching frames to document the milestone months! 

We made a fun photo table with the frames, the Chatbooks I have made through the year, and two larger albums FILLED with pictures!  

We posted the monthly photos of the girls next to the photo table. OH how they've GROWN!!

I ordered the cutest banner from the Etsy Shop, Jules & Kenna. I found her on IG some time back and fell in love with all of her custom party decor work! She matched the theme and colors perfectly!!

For table centerpieces, I bought frames from the Dollar Tree, spray painted them white and placed our favorite photos of the girls together through the year at each table. 

I snagged some sprinkle wrapping paper at Michael's while on vacation this summer in Destin and used that as table runners. We filled votive candle holders with sprinkles, added carnations in shades of pink (thanks to the Hail Mary idea from Emilee) and called it a day on tables!

I love love LOVE how these turned! 

For food, we kept it somewhat of a "brunch" theme since the party was in the morning.

We had cereal and goldfish for the kiddos, along with grapes, apples, caramel dip, cupcakes, spinach dip, sausage balls, ham & biscuits, and of course.....DONUTS! 

Stephen's brother's fiance made the cupcakes for us and they were delicious!! 

My blogger friend Heather, made the cupcake toppers. I can't get over how cute they were and how much time these had to have taken her!! You can find Heather's Etsy shop, Oh My Glitter Designs here.

Look at the perfection! I just love it so much! 

Stephen's brother made this donut display for us. In hindsight, I should've just him do four rods. We would've had WAAAAY too many leftover donuts had I tried to fill the 6 rods, so we left two empty and didn't worry about it!  

The party girls arrived and weren't quite sure what to think about they were walking into. 

I adore this photo of my mom and sister. Everyone just loves these girls so much!!

Not to mention the love that our two nephews have for them. It's indescribable. 

Yes we had a ball pit and some other toys for the little kiddos to play with. We kept them all down a side hallway which let them all pretty much run wild and out of the way. 

My loves! 

She's such a big girl!

Their shirts were made from the Etsy shop, Bethanie's Bowtique! They were SO cute and such a great quality!!

Present time! 

It took a few to get them warmed up, but they quickly figured out how to pull on the paper and ribbons. 

My mom and grandpa cheering MP on!

CAKE TIME! We saved this for the very last knowing a massive cleanup would be involved following the grand activity. 

Happy Birthday Dear Amelia...Happy Birthday to YOU! 

Happy Birthday Dear Mae Parker...Happy Birthday to YOU! 

I've thought of a million captions for this next photo. It cracks me up. 

Nobody puts Baby in a corner....and NOBODY touches Baby's cake!

Her side-eye game is strong!

Messy girls.

These girls' daddy....he's a goofball, but he's ours!

I made the girls' cakes myself. I knew a long time ago that I wanted to make them. I didn't want anything fancy, so I could handle that. It was special to me to make them their 1st birthday cake. 

However at 10:30 the night before the party the next morning when I remembered, "Shoot, I've gotta make those cakes!", it wasn't as special as I had originally envisioned. HA. I had forgotten about them all day, but glad I remembered. 

What's a good party without a sink bath to end the shindig? 

Oh these girls. 

We had the best day celebrating Amelia and Mae Parker! So many friends and family joined us because they simply love our girls. It's taken a village this past year to get to where we are and we are most grateful for that village of our favorite people.

Our girls won't remember this day and they won't remember all the details and all the planning that was put into it. But they'll have these photos and our stories. They only turn 1 once, and that's worth the celebration! 

Linking with Stephanie and Erika.