cal's bee-day party

when both our kids turned one, they are still pretty young to care about any of these types of details so the first year birthday party is for us, the parents. to bring our friends and family together and thank them for their support in our parenting experience.

so, this is mine and Russ' ideal kind of party.

a BBQ so we can feed you.

and a swimming, so we don't have to entertain you.

here is the invite:

i attached a little picture strip of Cal in a 5-second DIY striped bee t-shirt with my favorite gold and gold striped washi tapes. i am obsessed with sending things in coordinating envelopes, so i picked up a pale yellow colored envelope pack at XPDX. 

they have an awesome selection of colors.

since we held it at the pool i was off the hook for games and decorating so we just did a few fringe and tassel garlands around the food. big thanks to Liz for making all the fringe garlands for me!

here's Cal in his bumbo-bee chair, ha!  thanks Collin for the expertly named bumbo and instagram pic of the main course.

we did chicken and veggie skewers two ways: one had  honey balsamic mariande and the other had a honey BBQ. both were delicious but the balsamic was a home run in my opinion.

honey balsamic:

2 pounds of chicken for skewers

3 t. dried thyme

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. black pepper

2 t. olive oil

4 T. balsamic vinegar

4 T. honey

mix it up and coat the chicken for a few hours and then again while grilling!

we also did Tucanos style grilled pineapple. delicious!

 i also made the Pioneer Woman's deep dish fruit pizza. i thought i made enough, but it definitely wasn't. if i had it to do over, i would have halved the dough and made two thinner crust pizzas, because  you can't argue with one part crust, two parts frosting, three parts fresh fruit!

as sides we had our favorite (Costco) "stinging" jalapeno greek yogurt dip with the sesame hexagon crackers - perfect for our honeybee theme!

lemonade with raspberries, and Junior League's Salad de Maison. i called it "Queen Bee salad", but man that salad has a kick to it. if you like your lettuce to sing, try it!

Junior League Salad de Maison:

  juice of 1 lemon 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 t. salt ½ t. pepper ¾ c. vegetable oil ¼ lb. bacon, diced 2 heads romaine lettuce, torn small 2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved (optional) 1 c. grated swiss cheese 2/3 c. slivered almonds, toasted 1/3 c. grated parmesan 

 Make dressing by combining lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Beating continuously with a fork, slowly add the vegetable oil in a stream. Let stand 3 hours. Sautee diced bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. In a salad bowl, combine lettuce, tomatoes, swiss cheese, almonds and bacon. Toss with dressing, parmesan, salt and papper to taste. Makes 8 servings.

and my sweet mom took over cake duties. i told her i was eyeing the honeycomb cake pan at Williams Sonoma and she made it happen!

the cake recipe was on the box the pan came in and Cal (and everyone) loved it! 

some of the swimming guests! i totally spaced those NOT in the pool.

sorry buddies!

opening presents - poolside - natch.

the hot-tub party was raucous once we threw in Malcolm's gift of 100 balls, worst for moms, best for boys, and Ollie jumped in fully clothed. hilarious! 

[pic via @lindsayross]

this is so Cal right now... this looks fun ... can i eat it?

Russ started calling Cal "honeyman" within days of his birth and who knew it would match his spirit so well. he really is the sweetest little character. so loving and affectionate and content to just hang out. he's got such a great temperament, i say it all the time i'd have 12 more just like him. the honeybee motif served us well!