Celebrating our Rookie

My husband and I always knew we wanted two kids. We decided to try for our second when my husband accepted a job that would allow me to stay at home. Soon after we found out I was pregnant, that job took a turn, and we both ended up unemployed. To say we were scared was an understatement, but we had faith that things would work out how they were supposed to. Seven months later we welcomed our baby boy into this big world and have never looked back. From the moment we knew about Rylan until his first birthday, life has been nothing short of chaotic. We navigated new jobs, adjusted to life with two littles, renovating a house, moving, vehicle issues, all three dogs having surgery in a three-month span, along with all the other daily surprises life throws our way. Amongst all the chaos Rylan has been the biggest blessing, as he is so easygoing. I couldn’t imagine going through the last year with a baby who was colicky or didn’t sleep well. He truly deserved to be celebrated as the Rookie of the Year, because he earned every bit of that title! He’s our sweet and cuddly chunk of a baby who already loves so big. I can’t wait to share all about this birthday below. I had so much fun planning with friends and family, it was the best little party for our little man.

I’m a big Pinterest fan. So, naturally I have a Pinterest board for just about everything, including my kids birthday parties. I’m creative, but more in a problem-solving way. When it comes to crafty stuff/parties, I need a little inspiration to get my own creativity flowing and that’s where Pintrest comes in. I spend time in the months leading up to a party (I’m a planner and have a bad habit of always feeling behind) randomly scrolling and pinning all the creative ideas others have shared from their parties. Once I decided on the Rookie of the Year theme, it was game on! All the pins of the baseball photoshoots and red, white, and blue party decorations began flooding in.

I like to get as much done in the days leading up to the party as possible, so there’s less work and stress to be done the day of. I started with something simple and filled the pinata with Yum Earth candies. I know it’s pricey compared to your typical candy, but we’re dye-free in our house and that includes birthday parties. I found this spring variety pack on Amazon and it was perfect. We weren’t planning on many kids attending and I think I speak for most moms when I say that they don’t need a bag full of candy. A few pieces are more than enough. And yes… the pinata was hung with a bull flank. My husband had to get creative last minute – perks of breeding and raising bucking stock, I guess.

The night before, I baked the cakes and cupcakes, made the centerpieces, and decorated and filled the goodie bags. I found white paper bags at Dollar Tree in packs of three and used a red Sharpie to draw baseball laces on them. My sister helped fill them with the slap bracelets, inflatable baseballs, and bubbles we also got from Dollar Tree. These bags were also used to collect the candy when it came time to break the pinata.

We planned our party at 3 PM to work around the birthday boy’s nap times. Since it was between meal times we decided to keep it simple and do some light snacks rather than throw everyone off with a meal mid-afternoon. Since my sister and brother-in-law were staying with us they took the kids to town to run a few last minute errands the morning of the party and grab us some breakfast tacos. This allowed me to get started in the kitchen early enough to clean everything up when I was done. My husband was a rockstar and stayed on top of the dishes for me. If you bake at all, you know how quickly the dishes can pile up when making multiple things at once.

Let’s talk snacks! We got peanuts, because it wouldn’t be a baseball party without them, as well as fruit and veggie trays from H-E-B. I had no idea when I went on the hunt for Cracker Jacks that it would be the toughest thing to find. I checked multiple Dollar Trees, H-E-Bs, and Walmarts. We ended up finding some at a tiny H-E-B in a neighboring town, thank goodness! We used a set galvanized serving ware my mom purchased years ago for displaying all the food.

I made and decorated my first cake for my sister’s 16th birthday and have done several for friends and family over the last seven years. I knew I would be making Rylan’s cake, but settled on a small one he could smash, along with cupcakes for all the guests – less hassle. I baked my usual vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, For the design I settled on a simple white frosting with red baseball laces and a green border on the bottom to resemble grass. This was the first year I used dye-free food coloring. It is an adjustment if you’re used to having vibrant colors, but I think it turned out pretty dang cute! This cake topper from Amazon was the perfect addition.

For the cupcakes, I went with vanilla with vanilla buttercream, and chocolate with chocolate buttercream. Baking is one of my favorite hobbies and I love getting to share the goodies I make with others! I baked them inside the MLB cupcake liners, frosted them using Wilton 16-in reusable piping bags and a simple piping tip (sorry- it’s an old off-brand set from Amazon and they’re not numbered), then topped them with the MLB cupcake toppers.

My sister-in-law did an amazing job setting up this table! The cake stands were made by my grandpa for my wedding, but they have been used for my siblings’ weddings and my kids’ birthday parties since then. I love that such a special gift keeps on giving. The small, battery operated marquee letters are from Amazon -a purchase I made for my daughter’s first birthday that I was able to use again. She added the framed picture from Rylan’s baseball photoshoot, one of the centerpieces, and the MLB confetti to top it off.

We covered foldable tables outside in red, white, and blue tablecloths. My husband and brother-in-law were tasked with this job and were less than thrilled with me because the tablecloths and wind weren’t getting along very well, and the tape wasn’t wanting to stick to the plastic tables. They did manage to knock it out of the park and everything held up for the party. My sister helped me make little centerpieces (or tablecloths weights) out of these glass jars I also purchased for my daughter’s first birthday. They have been so useful throughout the years and work for just about anything. I’m all for spending a little money on basic items that can be used for years to come. We placed some green shredded paper in the bottom, a baseball from family friends on top, and dropped some of the MLB confetti around it. My sister was the confetti queen on this one, and she did a fantastic job!

We finished decorating with a balloon arch kit from Amazon. My sister, sister-in-law, and I do one for just about every party and we’ve gotten pretty efficient at them. The only kicker this time was I couldn’t find our Command hooks. They were probably stuffed in some box that hasn’t been unpacked from our move yet. We made it work though. I was so happy with the final setup and so appreciative of all the help I had to make it happen! My family always comes through and has been so helpful with anything related to my kiddos.

Rylan had a blast hanging out with all of his favorite people, he’s still recovering from all the fun! I hope everyone has had a great start to their February enjoying the beautiful weather we were blessed with in Central Texas.

What are some of your party planning tips? I’d love to hear them!