Since Hez's birthday was at a park, I didn't feel the need (or desire!) to do any organized sort of game. But I did want something fun for everybody to do, so I decided to construct a photo booth of sorts. It was pretty inexpensive, the frame is just a few pieces of PVC and the fabric is some sort of fake cheap velvet. I used iron tape to make a simple curtain to hang from the frame, no sewing required! The one thing I was worried about was sunlight shinging through the back since the fabric was so thin, but I clamped a piece of black-out fabric I already had to the back.
But I wanted more than just a red curtain, and since nobody seems to sell large circus font letters I decided to make them myself. The actual project was easy, but incredibly time consuming. First I cut out two of each letter and used strips of poster board to make some 3D letters.
Then several layers of paper mache.
Then some spray paint.
Then a little gold paint for details.
And once I set up the tripod and camera I ended up with this! 
Next to our 'photo booth' was a bucket full of props: the barbell from his invitation picture, top hats, big glasses, mustaches and clown noses...most of which was from the dollar store. I did a vintage effect on all the photos too.
But I wanted more than just a red curtain, and since nobody seems to sell large circus font letters I decided to make them myself. The actual project was easy, but incredibly time consuming. First I cut out two of each letter and used strips of poster board to make some 3D letters.Then several layers of paper mache.Then some spray paint.Then a little gold paint for details.And once I set up the tripod and camera I ended up with this! Next to our 'photo booth' was a bucket full of props: the barbell from his invitation picture, top hats, big glasses, mustaches and clown noses...most of which was from the dollar store. I did a vintage effect on all the photos too.
Chalk was a hit, and he colored the sidewalk and his mouth.
I think I may try to have Hez decorate a wooden egg every year as he grows, it would be cute to see them all lined up years from now. So since he isn't quite coordinated enough to actually paint an egg, we did a little tie-dye action. One coffee can, some craft paint and a wooden egg.
Little bit of each color...
Drop in the egg.
Shake it up...or roll it.
And that's it! Nothing fancy, but it came out cute and the baby got to be a part of it.
And the colors are nice and springy too!
Cutest 'green' eggs ever...
I almost want to leave them up, they make the light look way cooler.
Static electricity!
This time around, he actually blew out the candle! Insanely adorable.
But still no frosting mess!
All the goodies...cupcakes, licorice (which I've apparently misspelled!), lollipops, a bucket of toys, stick on mustaches, peanuts and lots of balloon-animal balloons (with a little air pump too!).
Elephant Peanuts! I took a sharpie to an old burlap sack I had lying around and filled it with peanuts.
Cupcakes in all sorts of flavors: vanilla, peanut butter-chocolate, red velvet, German chocolate and even gluten-free vegan. And I kept it simple with the decorations by gluing scrapbook paper onto toothpicks for little flags.
Next to the dessert table was another table with two buckets. And a beloved stuffed animal of 
The other bucket was filled with little party favor bags for all the kids, tied with a little "Thanks for coming to my party!" tag.
I stuffed the bags with a box of old school animal cookies, play dough and a little circus animal and then it was up to the kids to fill it with whatever else they wanted from the 
A somewhat last minute thing I thought of (since we're frequently browsing our soon-to-be-closed-
Here's a view of all the tables at the park. It was such a nice day for a park party, although the wind kept blowing away all our balloons!
Unfortunately, I totally forgot to get a picture of the table set-up I did, so here's a lame 'practice run' picture that was set up on my dining table. I'll admit, I'm a little 
Popcorn buckets for the table, decorated with colored duct tape.
And whoever sent back their RSVP tickets got their name thrown in a little raffle to win a 
And the best part of any one year old party has to be the cake...or the mess of cake! But this guy is as clean as they come and most of the mess on him was from us trying to encourage him to dig in. He did get a little into it when I gave him his spoon (he's very into feeding himself right now!).
And after a minute, he just froze. So many friends and family singing and cheering him on just got to him and he didn't cry or anything, he just looked down in a blank stare and wouldn't move or look at anybody. Pretty cute, and a sure sign that there wasn't going to be any cake on the face today!
But it did make for a very simple clean up...guess we didn't have to undress him 
I've still got some more pictures from the party, namely the photobooth! But I think I've reached my picture limit for one post so they will come later! Also, I wont post anybody's pictures without them being cool with it, so if you don't mind that your photobooth picture gets posted I'd love it if you left me a comment! They are insanely cute!
Happy First Birthday Hezekiah! I'll save all the sappy stuff for the baby book! 
This guy loves his bike and always has the biggest proudest smile when he's riding on it. 
Rule is...if you help make it, you help eat it. And he happily obliged.
And here's the after! Taking down the closets made the hugest difference, and raising the ceiling and adding can lights really opens up the space too! Oops, I still need to put the air vent cover on! I opted out of a dishwasher (I know, I know!) for more cabinet space and Eli was able to put in a gas line so we could use our gas stove. The original stove was on the left side of the kitchen, and we also moved the fridge to the spot that was previously a closet. 
The before view from the dining room: 
Rather than keeping the same set-up with the snack bar (don't know if that's the right name for it), I choose to have a large extended countertop with lots of drawers facing the dining room. The drawers are smaller/shorter...only 12 inches deep rather than the standard 24 which would have been too deep for the space. They are perfect for storing all of my baking things, linens and some tableware. And the extra big counter space is awesome for rolling out cookies! I have shelves to hang up to the left of where the last upper cabinet (above the cake stand). Just have to do it! 
I have a 
And here's extra storage we were able to create by hanging a few shelves. We keep a few small appliances and Hez's food, dishes and bottles here for easy access. And under the shelves is a perfect spot to tuck away a trash can.
I couldn't put cabinets above the fridge because of the attic access door, so I keep two big baskets on top that usually hold things like paper towels and wine. If the attic access looks like it's falling, that's probably because it sort of is. It still needs to be nailed in, so it's just kind of sitting there right now.
The biggest thing we have left is the backsplash. I'm not looking forward to spending the money on it, but am trying to keep an eye out at Home Depot for clearance tile. I picked up some little subway glass tiles for the bathroom for around $2.50 sq/ft and would love if I could find another deal like that, but it might take a while since the kitchen needs quite a bit of tile! I think eventually it might be cool to hang something in front of the little shelving nook, but as long as it stays uncluttered I'm not to worried about it. I also need to finish the teapot canvas painting, I started them when Hez was just a newborn and still have to do some final painting on it. At least it's hung up?
