I’m still in shock that Issa is one year old. It felt like Cora’s first birthday took FOREVER to arrive, but with Issa I just gave birth to a newborn, blinked, and was singing Happy Birthday. We decided to host a little party for our friends who have become our family here in Cancun, poolside at our apartment building. Originally I was thinking something really small, with just a cute dress and a cake, but of course my party planning genetics kicked in and demanded a theme. Because Issa was born so close to St. Patrick’s Day, and I think I’ve got at least some Irish blood somewhere, a St. Patrick’s birthday seemed like a fun, unique way to celebrate.
Trusty old Pinterest of course came in clutch when it was time to plan the details, and I was able to find inspiration for the decor, food, and cake. We featured green shamrocks, rainbow fruit and cheese trays, and some fun mylar “#LUCKY” balloons I scored at Target. Thank goodness I had a trip to the States planned right before Issa’s birthday; I made one huge trip to Target and found absolutely every last thing I needed for the big day. WHY don’t we have Targets in Mexico yet? Why??
The cake was just as delicous as it was fun to look at, and the chocolate coins on top were a fun surprise for the kiddos. A lovely Australian expat actually made it for us, and she did a beautiful job! That is one aspect of hosting I will never be able to pull off; cake baking and decorating will ALWAYS be an outsourced task for me. And I actually think the guests appreciate that as well. 😉
I even found this spring-y green dress for Issa at Target, and the gold crown my AMAZING friend Tori scooped up for me at Nursery Couture. Add in some adorable gold shoes and new socks from Nana and we were good to go! I should add, though, that Issa refused to wear this crown for more than just a few minutes. She may be a fabulous princess, but she’s modest. 😉
My mom was able to fly down and make the trip for Issa’s birthday, and we were so happy to have her here. Not only is she all hands on deck for the party, it makes it a little bit easier that we’re not close to the rest of our family to celebrate, too. Cora also got a few presents from Nana to make the little sister attention a bit easier to bear, and that made Nana Cora’s new favorite person. 😉
For activities I decided simple was key, so we had finger painting, swimming, a shamrock piñata, and the Pie Face game you’ve probably seen on social media where it smacks you in the face with whipped cream. I can vouch that it’s just as hilarious in person as it is on Facebook, if not more so when it’s 7-foot basketball players getting whipped. Target also had a huge supply of shamrock necklaces and glowstick chokers, so we handed those out as the sun went down for a fun little treat.
I have to give a huge shout out to everyone who helped pull the party together, including Orlando who is always amazing on game day (aka party day). He knows I’m going to be a nut case stressing over every little detail, so he is always on it, helping set up, tear down, wherever he’s needed he’s there. I tend to get a little, er, a LOT Type A when it comes to birthdays, but he never fails to remind me what’s important, what’s really going to make the day special.
And in the end, he was right of course. It didn’t really matter that I found the perfect green chevron straws to match the mason jar containers. It didn’t matter that the party had to be bumped up an hour to adjust for a last minute conflict. Our friends showed up, our family sent well wishes from afar, and Issa turned one year old. She may not remember this birthday, but I will, and I’ll always treasure the smile on her face being surrounded by love and light.
XO,
A
