Max's Monster Birthday Party

I am finally getting around to posting the pictures from Max's 1st Birthday Party. We had a small party for him, that was Monster themed. Since his birthday is right around Valentine's Day I incorporated a little bit of a Valentine's Day theme too. We had a great time celebrating with family and friends, this last year has flown by! Balancing two kids has been a challenge, and we are still adjusting to the changes. But Max has brought lots of joy and laughter into the family and I look forward to watching his funny little personality continue to grow!

 Paper Straws are available in my shop!

 I made the monster eyes by gluing the Wilton edible eyes onto toothpicks to stick in the chicken fingers.

We have really been trying to eat healthier and so I tried my best to keep the party food and drinks healthy too. Whenever I throw a party I tend to have a lot of junk food...Which we really try not to eat much, but I tend to serve it at parties! Junk food is easier, not much prep for some of it, and usually for parties you want lots of artificially colored foods to make the party look colorful and fun. However, I have noticed a link to Hudson's behavior when he eats artificially colored foods. I tried to make the food colorful by choosing healthy fruits and veggies! Here is what we ate:

• Veggies with Cashew Dill Dip
• Baked Chicken Fingers with Wheat Germ and Flaxseed - Lil' Monsters
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries - Monster Fingers
• Organic Grape Juice Jello cups with Fresh Blueberries - Monster Eyes
• Carrot Lemonade
• Strawberry Peach Smoothies
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Raw Brownies

 Kid's got to build a monster with play dough, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes.

 How Many Monster Eye Can you Count?

The jar was filled with red sprinkles and googly eyes for the kids to count.

 We had a bubble maker on in the backyard and some homemade heart bubble wands.

 We had "Monster Foot" relay races! Using pillow cases the kids had to jump like a monster with one foot down the grass and back until their team was done. It was really cute to watch them cheer each other on.

 I love this picture of Max carefully picking at the sprinkles on his birthday cake! I have to mention also that his adorable knitted monster hat is made by Heather's Hook Nook. Heather makes all kinds of precious knit hats and can even customize colors and designs! 

 The kids made each other Monster Valentines that I had ordered from Oriental Trading. I also ordered monster bags for each child and moster lollipops to take home.

 The kids took home their valentines, lollipops, and handmade monster dolls. I found the monster doll template from One Charming Party.