Looking back at Caleb's 1st Birthday Party

I have had the intention of starting this blog for over a year now. So I've been planning this post for quite some time now. Considering Caleb's birthday is in September it's been a while. But I was super proud of how his birthday turned out and really wanted to blog about it. 

Since before he was born he was called Monkey. I have no clue where it came from but it seemed to fit him and his demeanor perfectly.  We opted to highlight this fact and have Monkey themed Zoo party. We rented the party room at the zoo, which came pre-decorated and was actually pretty cute. 

All the tables had animal print tablecloths, there was a felt birthday banner and the room was filled with aquariums of snakes and lizards (that came out to play later) so I had very little to do decor wise. Honestly I could have made cupcakes and been done but I just can't help myself. I used my Cricut to make invitations, a banner and cupcake toppers.

The guestbook was chipboard letters that spelled out Caleb. I painted them a color to match his room and had every one sign them. They are super cute on his wall and when he has out grown them they can be put away in his keepsake box. Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of them but we love them.

 We had tons of mini to-go boxes  left over from the favors at our wedding. So I batted my eyelashes at my Mother-in-law and asked for two trail mixes and Chex mix so that everyone could help themselves to snack to carry around the zoo. We probably should have asked permission for that one, but sometimes asking for forgiveness is easier than asking for permission. She made the cutest M&M coated caramel apples too.

Lee's grandmother or MomMom, as Caleb calls her, made the most adorable chocolate monkey lollipops.

My mom and I made the cupcakes. We had three flavors, Banana Chocolate Chunk with Chocolate Buttercream topped with M&Ms, Birthday Cake with Vanilla Buttercream topped with primary color quins or nonpareils  and Lime Coconut with a Lime Buttercream topped with coconut.

 And all of his grandparents came early to help us get set up.There is no way we could have done all of this without our family. They are always such a blessing to us.

After we did the cake the lizards and snakes came out for anyone who wanted to hold them. Now, at this point, I promptly moved to the other side of the room and handed my child off to his Uncle Ronnie ,who has grown up with snakes as pets. Most of the kids loved it and most of the adults evacuated the area.

Since we booked through the zoo we had a guided tour. Our tour guide was great with the kids and kept the adults attention too. 

It is a R.O.U.S. (tee hee)

Caleb enjoying the zoo with his daddy

Catching a ride

Love love love this shot. He wanted to pet the kitty so badly.

Big Caleb, Little Caleb and of course Cuddles

The hubs loved the Star Trek quote!

I cannot believe it is almost time for his 2nd birthday! We have already picked a theme and and color palette. I'm about to start the invitations and decorations soon. Time really does pass so quickly now that I'm trying to squeeze every moment out of watching him grow up.