4.13.2011

Celebrate!

So, the birthday party...

Last year, I was so on top of things for Addison & Mackenzie's first birthday.  I had the party planned weeks in advance, including handmade accents and personalized dresses.  I hired a photographer to capture every detail of the party--a decision for which I am grateful every time I look through those fantastic pictures.  I was (still am) very proud of the party I threw to celebrate my girls' first year of life (and our survival of it!).

100_2238
Pancakes and hot dogs for breakfast, at the request of the birthday girls

 100_2239

100_2242

This year?  Well, let's just say the party was a little more true to our family's style than last year's soiree.  I did a lot of thinking and list-making in the weeks leading up to the party, picking up a few supplies here and there.  I didn't have a good picture ready for an invitation, so I picked up some blank invitations and planned to print them myself.  Naturally, I ran into printer issues and ended up just hand-writing invitations on some cute blank notecards.  I also used Facebook to notify our guests...is that a sign of a 21st-century birthday party, or what?

100_2260

100_2259

We had planned to have the party here at home like last year, and I will readily admit that we were dreading the pre-party cleaning and preparations.  I began to seriously question the sanity of this decision when I saw the weather forecast for the week leading up to the party.  Rain was predicted for literally every day that week, except for Saturday!  We needed the backyard for the party, there was no getting around it.  Finally, on Wednesday, I gave in and admitted that the weather was not going to cooperate.  Thankfully, it was relatively easy to orchestrate a last-minute move to our church, which has plenty of open space and a great outdoor play area.

100_2265
A rare picture of me and both girls!

 100_2261
Addison


Despite my relative lack of preparation, everything fell into place and we had a great party.  I picked up supplies to make the girls' birthday shirts and threw them together Friday night.  They turned out great and coordinated perfectly with pants we already owned.  I ordered cakes (separate ones this year!) from our local bakery, and they were delicious.



100_2295
100_2296

100_2307
Mackenzie and my dad, in deep discussion about cars

Best of all, Addison and Mackenzie had a wonderful day celebrating with friends and family.  They looooved the attention and of course, the cake...which they had been talking about for weeks beforehand.  The only problem is that my silly girls don't seem to understand that "birthday" is gone until next year!

100_2252

100_2249

6 comments:

  1. They looked SO cute! Our girls were born in months with wacky weather, too. We never know if it will be cold/hot/wet/dry.

    LOVE the hotdogs for breakfast!! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOVe your food table - so glad you had a good time.

    What exactly do you mean, this one was more like your way of celebrating?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I need more details! I am such a horrible planner! I just don't know how to entertain people while they are there!

    I'm glad you had a more relaxed and enjoyable party. I try not to get worked up over these things too, it's just another day right! There was something special about the first party, but now that the second one is approaching I'm totally off the ball!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I loved their outfits. Great pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pancakes and hot-dogs for breakfast rock! =) Great job on the party, you did so good!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! I love to respond by email, so make sure yours is connected with your profile. : )