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!

Anabelle's 1st Birthday: Part 1

Oh so much blogging to catch up on.... there's only one thing to do. Just dive right in. Today I will take you back to Anabelle's birthday, Friday September 17th. It's funny as a Mom, in your mind the one year mark is a big deal. You think about it for weeks leading up to the big day. My baby was no longer going to be a baby. She is a toddler now-frightening! But then when that day came, it wasn't so bad. Probably because we were so busy with all of the fan fair that I didn't think about it much.

John worked from home and Mom came over to have breakfast and open presents. Anabelle was in a great mood as she played with her balloon and S-L-O-W-L-Y opened some presents.

In the afternoon, Anabelle, Mom and I went to the Cosley Zoo, in Wheaton. This is a smaller zoo, ideal for little kiddos. You can get pretty close to the animals. Anabelle seemed to enjoy it. The weather was beautiful and I know Mom and I had a great time walking around with Anabelle and checking out all the animals.






In the evening John and I took the birthday girl out for dinner to Giordano's. She definitely takes after her Mommy and Daddy with her love of deep dish pizza. She really likes people watching while out and smiling at all the people around her.

Check back in a day or two for Part 2: the party!

Apple picking

You've got to accessorize!

Anabelle has been very into purses lately. After playing with and trying to eat my Coach purse repeatedly, I finally decided to give her her very own purse that she can chew on, I mean play with, all she wants.

Happy Labor Day!

"Help! I Need Somebody"

We got a new storage ottoman for Anabelle to keep her toys in. Today she was trying to reach something in the very bottom and accidentally fell in. At first she was okay, just squirming and trying to get out, I had to run and grab my camera, this was too funny to miss!

By this time she was a little pissed and so I helped her out, and of course snapped some more pictures.
It only took a minute for her to see the humor in the situation too. Don't worry no babies were harmed in this play session =)