A Pinterest Inspired Teddy Bear's Picnic: Lennon's 1st Birthday

Five months ago, a very exciting thing happened: Lennon turned one! I always thought I would have a simple birthday bash for his first birthday cause he is obviously not going to remember it, but, of course, I couldn't stay away from Pinterest! I got way too much inspiration and too excited about hosting a party (it had been way too long)! Although I had been yearning to be creative, the first twelve months of Lennon's life did not allow for many DIY projects (or should I say as many as I would have liked) for obvious reasons so I felt that this was my chance to get creative and do lots of DIY projects. I felt that this was also a celebration for the hubby and I getting through the roller coaster that is the first year of parenthood and perhaps that excitement got me hyped up to complete the task of a Pinterest inspired Teddy Bear's Picnic.  Here's how it turned out:

The picnic was held at a large nearby park called John Hendry Park/Trout Lake. We set up near one of the playgrounds to give kids the option to play at the park and we also made sure to be near a bathroom.

A teddy bear reading station complete with bear themed books

An activity zone with a giant bubble zone, hula hoops, coloring pages etc

My extremely talented sister made these BEAUTIFUL cakes for Lennon

The dessert/treat station....I played on the word "bear" and had bear themed treats or things with berries (which I called bearies) and I also cut watermelon with a bear shaped cookie cutter

The cake smash was hilarious! Lennon hadn't had any artificial sugar before his first birthday....he wasn't really sure what to make of this!

Party pooper! We took advantage of this moment to take some cute photos..and totally placed a beer bottle in his hand for one of them too!

In his nearly birthday suit following the cake smash...with his Aunty Melina whom he shares a birthday with!

It was such a beautiful day, we ended up staying at the park for like 8 hours and just relaxing, enjoying the day, and, at one point, opening gifts.

We finished off the day with some family photos near the lake. This place held a special place in my heart because I spent a lot of time there when I was pregnant, and now it feels even more special having celebrated Lennon's first birthday there!

It only took me 5 months to go through the photos and share them, but there's  a glimpse into Lennon's Teddy Bear's Picnic 1st birthday bash. I can't say I would do it again, especially after burning my finger with the hot glue gun making the bear ears and ending up in emergency cause the skin opened up and it was nasty (luckily it wasn't that serious...it just looked really bad and was extremely painful) but I absolutely loved how it came together and it ended up being a great day. I now can't read the Teddy Bear's Picnic without getting emotional and holding back tears and looking back at these photos just makes me melt. I say that birthday 2 will involve pizza delivery and a playground but who knows what inspiration Pinterest might trigger. I really need to stay away from Pinterest! :-)

Check out my  Teddy Bear Picnic Pinterest board should you need any more inspiration! Enjoy!