Scott's Hall of Fame: A "Goodnight Moon" style birthday bash

Scott turned ONE just over two weeks ago.

My husband and I have been miserably sick since then.

I am going to pretend there's not some sort of correlation - you know, the kind that goes like, "If you hadn't run around so much, and gone so overboard for a party that your kid won't even remember, then you wouldn't have gotten so run down and gotten so inexplicably, unbelievably ill."

The truth is, Scott's party was waay over the top. And I am not sure I'd ever do it again. But I am very, very happy I turned into one of those moms, went a little nuts and lived the experience. I am very happy with the way it turned out.

I decided early on that I wanted a "Goodnight Moon" themed-birthday party -- not only because its one of Scott's favorite books -- but also because it was a play on this super-cute "Bedtime Stories" theme birthday party/bridal shower I saw on this ridiculously fantastic/cute blog for moms and party planners who have way more time and talent than me.

Deciding on a theme and a color scheme (blue, yellow, green) was easy. Executing it was far more difficult, as I am SOOO not a crafty person.

But I found a lovely woman (Thanks Shana!) who took my idea, and created all the "paper products" for the party - invitations, menu cards, yard signs, milk bottle labels, you name it. She even made the pieces of a birthday banner using the theme and colors to tie everything together. (Special thanks to my sister, who did a fabulous job stringing it into one cohesive, beautiful-looking wall hanging.)

Yard signs...

Food labels

Note the beautifully strung banner in the background...

The invitation

To keep with the theme, we decorated all the tables in the house to look like beds. My mom (aka Party Planner Extraordinaire) had the brilliant idea to buy the fabric in bulk from JoAnn's, and then she and my mother- in-law helped me portion it out, and wrap little pillows at the "head" of each table. We also decorated each with one of Scott's favorite books and a little stuffed animal.

The "Curious George"/Monkey-themed table

Main food table with Goodnight Moon book and stuffed bunny

The "monster" themed table

Food was simple - sandwich trays and chips, and milk and cookies, and, of course, the cake.

I love, love, LOVE my son's first birthday cake. It was made by Let Them Eat Cake in Phoenix -- the same bakery that did my wedding cake, and they did an incredible job. I walked in with the Goodnight Moon book, and a picture, and they built the most stunning, 3-D Replica of all the key elements from the story - the rabbit, the three little bears, the two kittens, the red balloon and the mouse. Plus, they carved it like a book!

And they made the most adorable little smash cake for Scott!

We told all the kids to come in their favorite PJs, and set up bubbles and games outside for them.

And with Daddy egging him on, Scott worked very hard at turning himself into a smurf.

After a quick bath and a costume change, it was time for presents! Tank's friends and family were very, very generous - he got lots and lots AND LOTS of gifts.

Like I said, it was a blast.
But I don't know that I'll have the energy to throw a party like that again -- at least, you know, until he turns 2!

More pics from the big day: