Rayleigh Joy's 1st Birthday

When Rayleigh was born (4.4.13) I had a list of "firsts" that I was excited to experience with my new baby.  First smile, first giggle, first crawl, first Thanksgiving and Christmas, first steps, first Mardi Gras, and then BIRTHDAY!  Leading up to Rayleigh's first birthday, I had to remind myself "Rayleigh may be growing up quicker than anticipated but she will also be my baby!".  It was an overwhelming process to truly realize that a year had passed but what better way to celebrate her sweet 12 months of life than with a BIG party...and then the planning began.

My mom and I decided with an Easter/Spring theme since this year Easter would be after her birthday.  Thanks to Michaels Craft Store, Dollar Tree, and Hobby Lobby - we got every pastel, egg shaped item you can imagine.  But the biggest tool was Pinterest.  Whenever I find out who invented Pinterest, I am going to attack them with hugs and then scold them for the hours I've spent surfing their app when I could be sleeping at night.

In true Ray girl fashion, we immediately made lists.  List of food, list of decor ideas, list of who to invite, lists of what lists we still needed to make....shall I continue the lists of lists?  But my favorite list was Activities; we decided on an egg hunt (with 144 candy and sticker filled eggs), egg magnet painting station (wood cut egg magnets from Michaels and paint from Dollar Tree), a photo booth (props from Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree), and of course gift opening, cake, and food.  Our menu consisted of chicken salad sandwiches, ham sandwiches, veggies, queso dip with chips, chocolate covered strawberries, and orange salad.  Lest we forget - the favors!  Each child received a personalized bucket (Dollar Tree) filled with candy, eggs, coloring books, Peeps, wooden toys, and more!

The original plan was to utilize my outdoor area but there was a great threat of rain - so Mom and I worked long hours decorating the inside of my house starting 48 hours before the party started.  Just our luck, it didn't rain a drop during her party or the morning of....enjoy the photos below taken by yours truly.  We got so many compliments that this was the best 1st birthday party people had ever attended, how cute everything was, how great the food was....well of course, it was a Ray party :)  And the best part - it was all on a budget, of course!

Click on any photo to view it larger or go into slideshow mode...enjoy!