Today marks a special day for me. Just one year ago I gave birth to Gardner Merritt. This year has been the fastest year of my life and I can't wait to celebrate his birthday with him later today. Although his party with his family and friends is not for another week and a half I have been busy planning this momentous occasion.
Of course I can't help but share our year in pictures with you! Check out the gallery below:
When you plan events you want everything to go perfectly, but often times that is rarely the case. Still, I try not to let the mishaps get in the way.
When it comes time to actually have people over I set high expectations. Thus, if things start going awry I get a little nutty, just ask my husband, Jerry. I vow to not let that happen on September 12th! So here's how I plan to combat hostess neurosis.
Plan Ahead
I feel like I am currently ahead of the game on this one. I started this process months ago when I used Punchbowl to create invitations. I wanted to allow ample time for people to make arrangements to attend (especially family from out of state that might venture down from New Jersey).
Then I hit Pinterest to gather all the best ideas. You can check out my Gardner's 1st Birthday Board for all the monkey-themed ideas!
I ordered my decorations from Amazon just last week, and I have started receiving boxes of goodies!
Don't try to do it all
There are certain things that I will want done prior to the party, like clean the house, decorate, prepare food, and decide where things will go, like food and gifts.
If I try to be super mom (as I often do) it would absolutely ruin my time at the party. I would be so busy trying to do everything that I would resent everyone around me for not helping.
Thus, I plan to enlist the help of my husband, mother, mother-in-law, and brother in-law to help me make all these things happen. I hope to tell them what my expectations are and how they can be of assistance. I am hopeful that everyone will adopt their roles to make this event successful.
I also enlisted the help of my fabulous cake decorator friend, Erin. She is whipping up a fantastic monkey cake for our little monkey man.
Communicate
Once you've recruited people to help make sure they know what to do. I have a rather busy week leading up to the party including an SGMP meeting, church gathering, picking up mom from the airport, and a one-day program for Superior Court Judges at work. Needless to say, I will be a little preoccupied with other things before we get to Saturday.
While I may have bitten off more than I can chew, I'm committed to avoiding hostess neurosis at all costs!
Know that it will all be okay
It is very easy to get caught up in making sure that everyone is having a good time or sticking to the "schedule" you had in mind, or meeting every last expectation you had for a party. It's natural to have certain expectations of the special occasion. For me, everything will ultimately revolve around Gardner. He, of course, is the guest of honor! If he's cranky then he will take a nap, and if he doesn't want to sit still for photos, then so be it. These are not easy things to let go, but isn't the fun of planning events the unexpected things that happen?
If Gardner doesn't want to get cake on his face, then he doesn't have to (though knowing him, I have no doubt that there will be cake everywhere. Regardless of how the day goes, the celebration is really that Jerry and I made it through the first year (without killing one another) and that we are raising a thoughtful, funny, smart little boy.
Even though Gardner won't remember this day, it will always have a place in my heart. Here's to turning one #LittleGardnerMerritt, Mama and Daddy love you and we can't wait to celebrate your first birthday and many more birthdays to come.