As many of you know, my daughter Madeline had her first birthday on June 11th! It was such a special day, celebrating our girl who is truly a gift from the Lord after we prayed for so many years for a baby! We started the celebration off with Dashing Dish Blueberry Pancakes, in unicorn shapes of course! And we spent the morning doing some smash-cake pictures at home, using a giant Dashing Dish pancake as a smash cake, since it was the morning after all! ;)

For lunch we went to Panera with her cousin and Aunt Em, and since the rest of my family was out of town for her actual birthday, we decided to keep things low key on her actual day and celebrate with the rest of the family later.

We spent the day doing what one year-olds do best, taking naps, and making a Target run to get a new toy! :) For dinner we had our family birthday tradition, Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Kabobs, and a Greek salad, and pita bread with hummus on the side. For dessert I made my Banana Bread Snack Cake into a cake, which Maddie loved! She wasn't quite sure how to "dig in" so we helped her out a bit, and figured this was good practice for the big celebration! :) It was the perfect day

This past weekend was the day we got together with family and friends to celebrate Maddie. We honestly had no idea how she would do considering she tends to be a bit more on the meek and gentle side...

But to our surprise the crowd of about 30 people didn't overwhelm her at all! In fact, it put a big smile on her face to see everyone she loved gathered around to see her!

I on the other hand was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect from a one year old who had skipped her entire second nap and was running on very little sleep! (All I could think was melt-down!!!) But, I prayed so much about this day, and God is so faithful, and the entire evening turned out perfect, including Maddie's temperament, which could only of been God's grace! I was one thankful momma!

Maddie was all smiles, and the entire celebration was simply magical! We had to do a unicorn theme of course considering her room is decked out in all things unicorn!

We also carried the pink, gold, and ivory colors of her baby shower and nursery into the party! Her outfit was a gift from my parents when she was a newborn; And it fit and matched perfectly for her big day!

We kept the party fairly small, inviting family and close friends, which turned out to be about 25 adults and 5 kids. I went back and forth with inviting more friends, but at the end of the day for her first birthday, I felt it was the perfect size gathering!

While people were greeting Maddie I had her scrapbook on display for people to look at, which was her entire year of pictures so beautifully gifted to us by my sister Emily! Talk about a priceless gift!

I hung a banner with each monthly update picture I took of her over the course of the year, as well as favor boxes and a guest book for people to write something special for Maddie to read one day.

For dinner we had the party catered by Sage Brush, a local authentic Mexican restaurant.

And for dessert, I made a dessert bar filled with cookies and treats which of course, I had so much fun making and planning!

A wonderful family friend Geri Yost made her adorable unicorn cake and smash cake! I of course had to bring the birthday girl some healthy food to fill up on before trying some sugar for the first time!

And of course, she absolutely loved it! :) She wasn't shy about diving in after getting her first taste at all!

After cake we watched a slide show filled with all of the best memories of her first year, which was played to the the theme song of "Slow Down" by Nichole Nordeman. Talk about a song that will make any momma cry! Next we opened gifts. Maddie was beyond blessed by the people that love her so very much!

One of her favorite gifts was the Pottery Barn kitchen and pink riding unicorn from her aunties! :)

It turned out to be a beautiful day, filled with so much thankfulness to our Faithful Heavenly Father! He is after all the giver of every good and perfect gift! Thanks to all who wished our girl a happy birthday! It was a happy day indeed! xo Katie