lark's 1st birthday!

We threw Lark's first birthday party on St. Patrick's Day (even though her actual birthday was last week) with a 'Gold At the End of the Rainbow' theme. It was so nice and we really appreciate all of our family coming out to celebrate this little cutie's life with us. She really is a lucky girl to be loved by so many wonderful people!

For the decor, I cut out 'Lucky Birthday Girl!' from gold sparkle paper using this font and simply taped it to the wall, then made a rainbow with balloons. The utensils and straws were held in gold glitter dipped mason jars I made that morning, and chocolate gold coins were strewn about the cake. 

We kept the menu light with pasta salad, french country bread, and green grapes. I took a chance on the pasta trying out a recipe I had never made before and it was a hit! I would definitely make it again for a large crowd since it was so easy (although I would love to tweak the dressing a bit and use fresh herbs instead of a ranch dressing packet).

When it came time to blow out the candle, we had to hold Lark back because she kept trying to grab the flame, completely opposite of her older sister who shied away from the candle when she turned one. It is so fun to start noticing these little differences in personality between them - lately, Lark is really starting to show us that she is her own little person!

As has become tradition, Husband made her birthday cake from scratch and it was definitely the highlight of the party! He used this recipe using all natural dyes and the colors turned out so vibrant and beautiful. LM was so excited for the cake to be cut saying it was magical - I think she was right. 

Lark, on the other hand looked at the cake admiringly for a moment, then signed 'All done!' and attempted to shove it off the edge of her highchair. That makes two for two kids in this family not interested in eating any birthday cake at their first party. Oh well, at least I caught the plate before it fell.

At the end, we gave all of her cousins party favors consisting of watercolors and chocolate gold coins. My sister gave me this idea and I thought it was so clever - some gold at the end of the rainbow to take home! 

(These pictures are a mish-mash from my camera, my iphone, and my SIL Heather. Thank you Heather for saving me when my camera battery died!)