Atlanta Braves

Our last stop for our Atlanta Trip was an Atlanta Braves game. It was important to me to watch a game this year as this is the last year they will be playing at Turner Field. Next year they will be opening their brand new stadium that will be located on the Perimeter. 

We went on the Braves opening weekend to the Sunday afternoon game. Before this game, the Braves were 5-0. Now, the Braves are 10-12 with a losing record. I think we started the trend as they lost to the Mets that day. Even with the loss, we still had a wonderful day and Brandon got to enjoy his very first professional baseball game with some excellent seats.

So, excellent in fact that only 4 rows in front of us were a few players from the New York Knicks who we ran into again after the game in front of the Hank Aaron statue. They were in town for a game the next night against the Hawks. Knicks won by the way. 

The Braves have pretty much overhauled their roster and traded away most of the big name/big salary guys. It's a young team with young talent, they just need to learn to play together. Really, the only BIG name guy left is Freddie Freeman. I don't expect much from them this year but you just never know. We shall see as the season progresses. 

Baseball Birthday Party

We celebrated Brandon's birthday over the weekend and I have to say it was a resounding success. I love that we went with the baseball theme since Opening Day was this Monday.

The weather was perfect for an afternoon party at the park. We had around 40 guests total including many little kiddies running around. It was such a wonderful way to celebrate Brandon's 1st year of life here with us. I had a great friend take photos of the day and will share those once I get them. I have included a few snap shots below that I took before it got super crazy.

This was the invitation that I sent out about 3 weeks or so prior to the party. I searched and searched for invitations that I like online and finally found this on Zazzle.com. They were super easy to make and I received them within a week of ordering which is awesome in my book. The great thing about this site is it's more than just invitations or cards. You can order just about anything custom made on here. Be sure to check them out as the prices are better than most I've stumbled across. 

The great thing about having his party at the park is the lack of decorating needed. I had a few tables set up for food with some decor and a few pennant banners but other than that just wide open space for everyone to hang out and the playground for the kiddies to play at.

This was the desert table with the cupcakes that I made. I am not the best cupcake decorator but tried to make some look like baseballs and the others I formed into a baseball glove.

Going with the baseball theme, we had cracker jacks, big league chew bubble gum, sunflower seeds, potato chips and hotdogs and hamburgers.

One of the banners that I made. This was Brandon's monthly pictures taken in the same chair from 0-11 months. It was amazing to look at to really see just how much he has grown.

 I found these large plastic bins at Target for $5 a piece. I decided to use them for drinks and had labels on each one. Hence the Rookies and Old Timers (the old timers needed some brew to get through this day with all the kids running around.)

I set up an inflatable catcher for the kids to throw balls at. We had plastic baseballs, beach balls and soft baseballs for all ages to play with.

I found this shirt on Etsy and just knew I had to have it for Brandon's big day. Here is a link to the seller's Etsy shop in case you are wanting custom items for your little one. She does a great job.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sunshinedaydream4u?ref=seller_info

Tomorrow is Brandon's 1 year well check so I am hoping to have his 12 month update posted by the end of the week.

Baseball, Anyone?

We are officially less than one month away from Brandon turning 1.  I feel like I have been planning his first birthday party since before he was born. I have changed ideas at least 5 times (airplanes, peter rabbit, superheros, vintage toys, etc) and FINALLY settled on this...baseball. We have ordered our invitations and hope to have those out next week. We, really I, decided early on that we didn't want to do the party at our house (not enough yard space, home is pretty small) so I started scouting around a few months ago and stumbled upon a really great park in our area that has an enclosed playground area with plenty of space, gazebos, grass, updated and clean bathrooms, etc. Seriously, the perfect place to have a first birthday party and it's free. (Pray that is doesn't' rain).  I am really in the doing mode right now of getting everything together and using my DIY skills, well at least trying, to make this a great party for everyone on a budget. I cannot wait to share with you all after the party but check out my inspiration board below to get a little bit of an idea of where I'm heading.