Amélie's First Birthday Party

At first I wasn't sure about throwing Amélie a first birthday party, but as we thought about it more, we decided she needed a bit of a celebration. I tried not to go too overboard, but wanted to make a few decorations plus have lots of food and drinks. The day ended up being perfect. She played tons with Zia Mima and had a nap just before the party so she was up and happy for the entire rest of the day. In fact she was so excited, she didn't take an afternoon nap, went to bed at 7:30pm and then was up from 1:30-4:30am. 

Here are a few details about the party: 

Theme: Pink and gold with stars. I originally wanted to do the Very Hungry Caterpillar, but thought just going with a simple color though would be easier. 

Place: The community hall in our development just opened last month and it was the perfect setting for the party since our apartment would not be able to fit 30 adults plus 10 babies. 

Time: I debated about this for a while, but ended up choosing 1:30-3:30pm. Her nap time when I booked the hall was about 3pm, but a couple weeks before the party it of course shifted to right about 1:30/2:00. It all worked out in the end because we just got her to nap before. 

Decorations: I cut out a ton of glitter stars, plus the happy birthday sign for the main table, a one sign for her high chair and made the tassel garland. Other decorations including gold star paper platesI bought from various sites online (here, here & here) and used a printable file from Etsy for the invitations. 

Food: Since most people had already eaten lunch, I opted for just a few sandwich trays from M&S, a simple caprese pasta salad, deviled eggs plus chips, chocolate chip cookies, fruit cups and snacks for the babies. I made two 8 inch carrot cakes for the adults and a healthy baby version for the littles. 

Drinks: We did a Costo run and bought lots of mini bottles of orange juice, apple juice, sparkling water plus aranciata. We also bought some beer and a couple bottles of prosecco too. I had a drinks dispenser that I filled with iced cucumber lemon water as well. 

And now for the pictures quickly since I'm almost on baby duty (we're on vacation in Copenhagen and it's the best, but I only have a few more minutes until dinner time). 

^^Here are the invitations and a little map I made in Microsoft Publisher. I did most of the crafting at night when the baby was sleeping. 

^^This was goody bag preparation. I decided on giving the babies a Mr. Men or Little Miss book plus an age appropriate snack and some Ferrero Rochers for the adults. I just used left over brown paper bags tied together with curling ribbon. 

^^The entrance to the Lodge where we had the party. 

^^The main table with all of the food. I think next time I'll go for much larger balloon clusters for a bigger impact. We were a little short of time setting up, which is something else I would change for the next party I plan. Also, the gold balloons ended up looking a little bit more yellow than I wanted. 

^^A little seating area plus an space for gifts and the favor bags. 

 ^^The space from a difference angle. The doors to the right led to a nice outdoor area. 

^^The drinks sections with a bunch of instagram pics attached to the chalkboard with wooden clothespins. 

^^Highchair & smashcake!

 ^^A little area for picnics. 

 ^^Caught one picture before the party. 

 ^^Sandwiches, caprese pasta, and chips or crisps in cones (held up with lots of white rice in a basket)

 ^^Carrot cake, strawberry jam star sandwiches, fruit cups and baby friendly cupcakes.

^^Chocolate chip cookies, low sugar oat cheerios and a selection of snacks. 

 ^^Riding a her new gift from Auntie Tiff. 

 ^^The baby play area. 

 ^^The ball pit was a great idea and kept the babies entertained for a while. 

 ^^I think the smash cake went down very well. 

 ^^The aftermath/mess of a hallway with everything from the party. 

 ^^Off to bed.

^^The next day was full of presents! Clearly she was super excited as you can see!

That's a wrap for her first birthday, happy birthday little one! 

Summer Vacation: Munich

^^Walking around Marienplatz in Munich

After a few days in the campervan, I was ready to sleep in a big comfy bed. Since we were ready for a little exploring in Munich, we thought splashing out on a hotel would be a good alternative than dealing with the campervan outside of the city center. We drove to Ingolstadt from Fussen to check out the outlets first. After discovering there was free WiFi, I immediately logged onto Hotwire to see what deals I could find in Munich for the next two nights. We lucked out with the Sofitel which was walking distance to the main attractions in the center and right next to the central train station. This was perfect because we planned to park right outside the city center and take the train to the hotel.

For those with a rental car and planning on driving to Munich, I highly recommend parking at one of the Park and Ride garages. The only one we could find open for overnight parking was the P+R Messestadt Ost. It was free for the first 24 hours and then only a couple of euros for each day thereafter. We arrived on a Saturday and did not have any trouble finding a parking space. It was very secure and had easy access to the train right to the city center.

^^First thing on our to do list, eat (and drink!) at a beer hall so we were off to Augustiner. You seat yourself, eat a pretzel or two while the waiter brings you liters of beer and you order sausages, lots of them. It was all delicious. One small tip about tipping in Germany: you don't leave the tip on the table, but you round up and maybe leave a euro or two when the waiter brings you the check. You just tell the server how much change to give back to you.

This was my first time in Germany and I really enjoyed Munich. The general atmosphere was so nice, to walk around, hear live music everywhere, and not to mention the perfect temperature. After resting at the hotel and then walking around again, it was already time for dinner.

^^We had dinner outside at Paulaner Im Tal. I opted to go pork-free for one meal and had the cheesy spaetzle. It was the perfect amount of cheesiness, served with a side salad with a scoop of potato salad hidden underneath, a nice surprise! A opted for the pork knuckle and potato dumplings which looked very good as well.

The next day we got up early and decided to go on a guided tour of Dachau concentration camp. We went with Gordon Hogan's tour and I also recommend this tour for anyone interested. You don't need to book in advance, you just show up in front of the flower shop at the main entrance of the central train station. The tour takes all morning through lunchtime, so it is suggested that you bring some food with you. The price includes transportation and a guided tour at Dachau (I think it was around 20 euros, but I can't remember exactly!). I thought Gordon was great compared to some of the other tours I saw, which seemed like they were just reading from a script. Gordon't tour felt like a conversation and he provided insight on the history and emotion of the time.

We headed back to the hotel after a tiring morning and got some rest before we headed out again. Next was my favorite part of the trip, walking around the English gardens and having a meal at the Chinese pagoda with a band playing in the background.

^^Walking through a pretty garden on the way to the English gardens. 

^^So many choices, roast chicken, roast potatoes, currywurst, ribs, sauerkraut....!

^^I opted for the currywurst, roast potatoes, a huge pretzel (so good) and a big mug of apple juice :) A went for the currywurst, sauerkraut and side of potato salad, which was really yummy.  

^^A wonderful setting for a lazy Sunday evening of relaxing, eating and hanging with your best friend. 

^^A cool Swedish band called Tammy we came across during our walk. 

After wandering around Munich for the rest of the night, we had a good night's sleep at the hotel and got up early so we could get back to the campervan and drive to the Black Forest! We originally we going to drive back down to Switzerland and visit a few places around Zurich, but since we already did Switzerland in the Gstaad area last summer, we decided we needed to explore more of Germany. Most of all, I was excited for the Black Forest cake! We found the campervan safe and sound at the parking garage and were off to the forest.   

^^One last thought, you need to have a pretzel croissant when you are in Germany. They are one of the best things ever. 

Next post, the Black Forest and a few pics from Switzerland.