My little Brigie just turned one.  Hard to believe it's been a year already!  I wanted to throw a little party for her, but was a bit wiped out after Christmas and our trip to ALT Summit.  After some thinking, I thought it would be a fun reason to throw a little Valentine soiree, since it's about that time.  Vivi also has an obsession with valentines as of late, and I can't think of much better to a three year old than valentines + a birthday party + cupcakes, so I decked out the playroom and asked Lesley and her girls to come play and Sara captured the morning for me. (Sources: triangle banner and petal fans)

I mean, look at that face.  I can't get enough of her snuggles.

I tried to get crafty for the decorations, rather than going overboard on getting things printed or made, and Minted was kind enough to send me a few things (like the table runner, the circle and triangle banners, and those petal fans - such gorgeous color options!).  I had this vintage mirror on hand that I purchased on the cheap for my old office.  The glass is really super wavy, making it a bit strange on the wall, so I didn't mind messing with it a bit.  I made a heart stencil and spray painted it with neon pink (and it washes/scrapes off fairly easily should I decide to remove it) and then I used the vinyl cutter to create her name (handwritten in the Paper app and then converted to vector) and silhouette.  You can do the same thing with a cricut or silhouette.

I kept the food pretty simple with heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, and some cheese and spreads with pink punch to drink (it's that honest pink lemonade).  I also made some cupcakes, which for the life of me I cannot make pretty, but they tasted ok.  How adorable is that table runner?  The best part is that it wipes clean, so I can reuse it as much as I want.  Vivi loves picking out her name and figuring out the letters.

I had fun making all these little arrows (see tutorial on BHG style spotters today!).  I found some branches in the backyard, spray painted them gold, and then hung the arrows from them with ribbons and gold garland.  It really made for a magical feel downstairs!  I don't want to take any of it down.

There was a little valentine making station in the corner for the older girls to have fun with stickers and paper.  It has kept Vivi quite busy since the party, too!

Excuse the wrinkled curtains.  I think they got crumpled in the cleanup after Vivi's birthday party (they double as movie theater curtains!) - and really, who has time for ironing?!

Other than valentine making, the main activity was eating.  This wasn't intentional, but they sure are cute with treats in hand!

That Matilda.  Not only is she a sweetie (and she is 5! Such a big girl!  Vivi thinks she hung the moon.), but she has pretty fantastic taste.  I think I'd like her to be my personal stylist.

I had envisioned them sitting around the table and eating, but with two little almost toddlers constantly on the go, that didn't really happen.  Brigette much preferred to climb up to sit on the table, so the table settings had to go, but they had a fun time. I think it would work better with a group Vivi and Matilda's age.

It was really fun getting to celebrate my baby, and I enjoyed having a small group and getting the morning well documented.  Sometimes smaller can be better.

Thanks again so much to Sara for taking the beautiful photos!  She is also the one who stayed with Vivi when we left at midnight for the hospital to have Brigette, so it was only fitting to have her here to celebrate with us!