That Pair of Crutches: BABY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY

For the month leading up to my daughter's first birthday, I've decided to create a mini-series covering the essentials of planning a child's birthday party: gift giving, invitations, treats, decorations, traditions... Over the next few weeks I'll be documenting our experiences and progress, and sharing some of our favorite tools and ideas here.

At eleven months old, Aubryn is quite the little bookworm. With some walking skills under her belt, one of her frequent pit stops around the house is her bookshelf. She can sit and read those books for hours, flipping back and forth through the pages, turning the books upside down and turning them over in her hands to make sure she didn't miss anything. And she's always trying to show how independent she is at bedtime by flipping the pages herself and going back to previous pages to re-read parts of the story over again.

I always find myself hoping that her love of books will stick with her, that she will always enjoy reading and getting lost in a good story. The other day I began to realize just how much control Jordan and I have over that. If we fill our home with books and make reading together and by ourselves a priority, chances are the bookworm in her will continue to grow.

So, in an effort to nurture that love for books, we've decided to make her birthday a book party. Each guest will be asked to bring their favorite book for Aubryn if they'd like to give a gift. Bookplates will be available at the party for guests to write why they love that book and write a little message to the birthday girl. We are so excited to build Aubryn's little library and to do so with amazing books full of memories and special messages from some of our favorite people!

I had planned on making Aubryn's birthday invitations myself, but when I saw these free printables Anna Bond, one of my favorite illustrators, created for Martha Stewart Magazine, I couldn't resist. Aren't they adorable?! And how beautiful is this book themed baby shower? That Martha, she knows what's up.

I also found a lot of other free printables too and wanted to share a few of my favorites with you! I plan on using these to decorate rooms for the younger crowd, but I think I would put some of them up in my house even if I didn't have any kids!

1. A beautiful printable by Leah Duncan.

2. I Like You A Lot, a simple and sweet notecard.

3. Love. That title perfectly sums up how I feel about this print.

Have you found any amazing printables online, art or invitations? And what are your favorite children's books? I'd love to hear and add them to our ever growing list! Mine? I'm a huge fan of the Olivia books (they have Jordan and I laughing out loud!) and love Not A Stick and Press Here. Have you read those? What did you think?

All images via marthastewart.com

Between deciding the amounts of gifts to give each year, traditions to start, activities to plan, and the very important decision of cake or pie... there's a lot to think about when it comes to planning a birthday party. And as the mother, trying on a new hat labeled Party Planner, I feel the bulk of these burdens lies on my shoulders.

So I've decided to start a mini series counting down to the big day to help me get a better handle on the planning, force myself to document it all, and maybe provide a little help to other new mom's who are trying to figure out this party planning business, too!

In this first post, I wanted to cover gift giving.

Jordan and I heard a great piece of gifting advice recently and have decided to use it as a guide for all gift-giving holidays from here on out. Presents are broken down into four categories, with the person receiving one gift from each category: something to wear, something to read, something you want, and something you need.

We love it. It diversifies the gifts and covers all the bases, greatly simplifying the gift giving process. Plus, it includes books! And how often do kids get books as gifts these days?

Two more quick tips to simplify the process:
1. Team up with grandparents. I found the perfect gift for Aubryn on sale at Old Navy, but couldn't justify the shipping being more than the actual item. Solution? Knowing my parents were getting Aubryn clothes for her birthday, too, we decided to do our shopping together and save on shipping.
2. Keep a running list of gift ideas. Or just create a Pinterest board for it. I swear that's my answer for everything.

Here's what we plan to get Aubryn this year for her birthday. One thing she wants, one thing she needs, one thing to wear and one thing to read. And yes, Winnie the Pooh is definitely a need.