Anabelle's 1st Birthday: Part 2

When I first started thinking about Anabelle's birthday party I was unsure of what kind of theme to have. I wanted it to be something that she enjoyed, something I knew she would like. Anabelle hasn't been exposed to a lot of TV yet, so she doesn't know who any cartoon characters are. Lots of birthday stuff in stores is Winnie the Pooh or Disney themed. While these are cute, Anabelle doesn't know what they are. So I was kinda stumped. Then John had a brilliant idea, "How about a Pinwheel themed party?" She had a toy pinwheel that she was obsessed with and played with frequently. I thought it was a perfect idea! So that was the inspiration for the party. Once I started googling party ideas and saw what other people had come up with I was on a roll. There are so many cute ideas out there and I have to say that a lot of my decorations were things that I saw on other people's websites. Some may think I went a little overboard, but I really had fun with it. And you only turn 1 once!

I also had a lot of help. Kari helped me make MANY, MANY pinwheels, she also made the awesome pinwheel cookies that were in the goody bags which I don't have a picture of =( Thank you Kari! My Mom helped me with setting up a large portion of the decor, including the cake table. Mom and Dad also took care of finding and buying the cupcakes which were so yummy! They also helped out a lot on the day of the party with getting ready and taking care of Anabelle. Thank you Mom and Dad! Marena flew in Friday night, she gave up a weekend with friends at her home town festival to be with us. She jumped right in and helped with so many things I can't list them all. She was like my shadow, doing all the little and big jobs that needed to be done in the moments leading up to a party and then helped with clean up after. When I thanked her, she said "that's what friends do." But I think she is wrong, not all friends would do as much as she does to help out and believe me, I do realize what a special friend I have in her. Thank you Marena!

We were blessed to have a lot of friends and family come out and celebrate Anabelle's birthday with us. We had a great time and I think Anabelle did too. She seemed to love the attention and having so many people she loved around. Happy 1st Birthday Anabelle!