{let me eat cake}

One year old seems like ancient history now -- the frantic machining of Ruffle Fest 2011, the last minute erecting of The World's Simplest DIY Photobooth, and the whirlwind of a Cheese themed party. Really, it was only three months ago. Long enough, though, that I swooned with nostalgia when I saw Little Starling's first birthday photo shoot, using a strand of Red Red bunting (from my shop).

What a perfect little red chair! Our good old IKEA high chair is shaking its plastic tray in envy. And, for even more good ideas for birthday photography, you can see more photos from her shoot, including chubby little baby legs covered in cake, here. 

{hello world, it's me, tilly}

Tilly's gone global. Find her sharing tips and tricks from her "Say Cheese" birthday party today over at the brilliant Ohdeedoh (the children's section of Apartment Therapy).

Or, if you've had enough cheddar, cameras and birthday party pics to last you a lifetime, why not check out these other inspired ideas:

• London-in-a-bag wooden block set
• The best apps for traveling with kids (please, remind me of this in a month, as we fly across the world with a wriggly jiggly fourteen-month-old)
• Cloudy day blackout shades
• Build your own bicycle sidecar (with two seats -- one for Tilly, one for Bella!)

{happy birthday, tilly}

What a day! Tilly woke up as a one-year-old, and we tried to give her the best day yet, with candles...

...cheesy bagels and bubbles for breakfast...

...presents in the morning before Daddy went to work...

...including a fabulous wooden Noah's ark, a beautiful hat, dress and shirt, finger puppets, a book about Owl Babies, a little Danish rabbit...

... a felt book from Mummy...

...the most amazing card from Daddy (Tilly's head on a dog's body -- she loves it!), plus a brilliant video of her first year...

...plenty of wrapping paper to chew on, and furry friends to share the fun with...

...play time with her friends in the morning, and an afternoon of cooling off in her paddling pool...



...relaxing in the back garden (more on that interesting tray of goodies tomorrow!)...

...raspberry jelly for birthday dessert...

...and a little photo shoot with the big red clock at 7:23pm, to mark exactly a year since she arrived...

...stories, a cuddle, and off to bed as a one-year-old.

An amazing day with an amazing little person. Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes, and for all your love over the past year! Here's to another that's just as full...

Start Now and Be Ready for the First Birthday

With Tilly just having turned eight months old, you might think it's a bit soon to be thinking about her first birthday. 

But, the list of things I want to make for her to celebrate is as long as she is, and growing at the same speed, so the earlier I start the better the chances are of some of it actually happening!

As Tilly has a lot of friends turning one before her, I thought I'd share our little list of plans, in case it sparks an idea in someone else. Our plans fall mostly into two categories: traditions I want to start now and repeat each year, and things that will be special just for this year.

Traditions to repeat:

• Create a photo book of all the "Tilly Tuesdays" from the year (she was born on a Tuesday)
• Take a photo of Tilly with her favourite stuffed animal each year
• Write her a letter (and hopefully get Justin to do one too)
• Have her colour the same picture each year
• Do something at 7:23pm (when she was born)
• Write a story book, featuring Tilly and Bella
• Take a photo of all three of us in a photobooth
• Record what a typical day in her life is like at this age
• Make a party dress

Special 1st birthday ideas:

• Make a felt crown, a la Soulemama
• Make a felt envelope, to be used for the birthday card/letter each year
• Put together a "zhua zhou" tray -- a Chinese tradition supposed to predict the child's future career

Yes, it's quite a list -- you can see why I'm starting now!

The first thing I wanted to tackle was sewing a dress for Tilly. One of my favourite memories of birthdays growing up is the beautiful rose-covered dresses my Mum sewed for me. Having never sewn any clothes before (except a skirt for our Miko Rabbit!), though, I thought I'd start with an easy pattern. Tilly's gingham dress above is my first attempt, using Lotta's Simple Sewing for Baby. It really was simple, turned out pretty well (it's wearable!), and taught me a lot about fun things like armhole bindings and how not to hem.

I'm working up to trying a pattern from Fiona Bell's Sewn with Love. Hopefully by the time Tilly is five or six, I'll be up to making that lovely dress on the cover, below.

Do you have any special birthday traditions, or favourite memories of a celebration?