1st Birthday Party x 2

Happy 1st Birthday to our lil' cupcake!

On Alyssa's true birthday (May 27th), we practiced for the festivities yet to come. She had her first smash cake (cake #1) while we were in Cleveland. Teta, Jiddu, Great Aunt Rosy, Mommy, and Daddy sang Happy Birthday to Alyssa for the first time. Mommy helped blow out her #1 candle, and Alyssa loved touching the rainbow frosting and large sprinkles after a few minutes of looking at everything. She had a few bites of the vanilla cake, and then we each had a piece to celebrate Alyssa's special day.

Before

After
Smash cake #1

We celebrated Alyssa's 1st Birthday with 2 parties. Both parties had a cupcake theme for our lil' cupcake. When deciding on a theme for Alyssa's 1st birthday party, I thought cupcakes would be cute after seeing a giant cupcake mold at the store a few months ago. After searching online for party supplies with a cupcake theme, I found a great one to use. Ironically, the sample in the catalog had the name "Alyssa" on all of the personalized items. It was fate! I made the invitations in the shape of a cupcake, which opened to reveal the details of the party. I also made a poster that included Alyssa's pictures from each of the past 12 months that she took with Snoopy to show how much she was growing. Teta and I also made a "Pin-the-Candle-on-the-Cupcake" game using felt for the kids to play during the parties while Daddy helped make a 6 minute long video slide show filled with pictures of Alyssa over the past year. The music in the video is "Happy Birthday" by the Beatles as well as a song entitled "Alyssa's Eyes" by Martin Nievera, which we absolutely love and still sing all the time.

The invitation

Pin-the-Candle-on-the-Cupcake

The birthday banner and some of Alyssa's birthday cards


The video slide show

Alyssa's first 1st birthday party was at Teta and Jiddu's house. We celebrated with Teta, Jiddu, Uncle Joe, Uncle Patrick, Great Aunt Rosy, the Saluan families, the Karam family, the Freitas family, and our friends the Kosts, the Sidotis, and the Smolks. Alyssa wore pink leggings with a pink, green, and yellow dress that said "My 1st Birthday" on it with pictures of cupcakes. She also had a "Birthday Girl" bib and a pink #1 crown. Alyssa had a great time playing with all the kids. We woke her up from her nap though to eat cake. She did not want to taste her smash cake (cake #2) even though Mommy tried to be healthy and made a sugar-free banana cake with pink cream cheese frosting in the shape of a giant cupcake for her big day.

My birthday ensemble

Smash cake #2

Teta and Great Aunt Rosy spent countless hours preparing food for Alyssa's party. The appetizers, dishes, and desserts were delicious! We had crackers and cheese, chips, vegetables and dip, pizza, hummus, falafel, kibbee, spinach pies, tabouli, chicken kabobs, kafta, rice (thanks to Great Aunt Rosy), and pasta salad (thanks to Great Aunt Mary Ann). For dessert, we had vanilla cupcakes, fruit salad, Middle Eastern pastries, and a trifle (thanks to Great Aunt Mary Ann). Alyssa's birthday cake was a cassada cake decorated with pink and purple flowers. After eating dessert, cousins Sarah and Christopher helped Alyssa open her gifts. She received lots of clothes and toys, and she couldn't wait to start playing with everything!

Some of the delicious food

To thank the guests, Alyssa gave the girls favor bags filled with cupcake-themed art supplies. The boys received Cavs headbands and wrist bands and water toys since Alyssa loves the Cavs and water :)

Favor bags, party hats, and poster

#1 cupcakes

After we returned to North Carolina from Cleveland, we had a second 1st birthday party for Alyssa with our neighbors and friends. Almost everyone from our street came to celebrate Alyssa's special day. We grilled chicken kabobs, hamburgers, and hot dogs and ate cheese and crackers, chips, salad, pasta salad, pizza, and oven roasted potatoes. For dessert, we ate strawberries, grapes, pineapple, watermelon, cheesecake cups that resembled cupcakes, ice cream, and chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles. Alyssa loved playing with all the kids, and she decided not to get dirty again and not to smash her giant cupcake (cake #3). She did, however, smash one of the smaller cupcakes and taste it.

Smash cake #3

Opening gifts with Mommy

Alyssa received even more adorable clothes and fun toys from our neighbors and friends. After the guests left, Alyssa opened her gifts from Mommy and Daddy. We hope to give Alyssa a personalized book (hopefully, with a story that incorporates the theme of her party from that year) rather than a card each year. She loves to "read" books, and we hope her love of reading will continue and that she will cherish the books and our messages. In addition, we bought Alyssa a beach pail set, a float for the pool, a bathing suit, sunglasses, and a terry cloth robe. We know how much she loves the water, and we hope to spend a lot of time at the pool this summer. We also hope to take Alyssa to the beach for the first time soon. Now, she is all set with her pool and beach accessories.

Opening the gifts from Mommy and Daddy

Thank you to everyone for making Alyssa's 1st birthday so special and for making this past year even more memorable for all of us. We are truly blessed, and we cannot wait to celebrate even more birthdays with Alyssa surrounded by our loved ones.

Just for Fun:
I came across an article in Parents magazine that asked parents a series of questions after their children turned one. I thought it would be nice to answer the same questions about Alyssa so that she can look back at them, and we can see if the answers change next year.

One word to describe her: Dainty--a lot of people call her this
Tell us more: Alyssa is usually very neat and content most of the time and loves to make us laugh
How many teeth? 4 (with one more coming through)
Drinks from cup? Yes
Walking yet? No, but loves to move around
First words: Dow (light in Arabic), Dada, Mama
Favorite thing in the world: Books and music
Favorite food: Green beans
What makes her laugh? If she hears someone laugh, she laughs too; but, she loves to be surprised with funny noises
Favorite book: I Love You Because You're You by Liza Baker
Favorite song: If you're happy and you know it...
First reaction to new people: Shy, but then warms up once around them for a few minutes
It drives me crazy when: She takes everything out of the kitchen or bathroom cabinets
Cutest thing she does: Imitates us when we laugh or cough
Favorite game: Pat-a-cake and Peek-a-boo