My first baby girl is turning 4 years old today. I have no idea how this happened. To celebrate....
I found an old thumb drive laying around and while looking through the photos I realized I have never written about any of Abigail's birthday parties. This is the first in a series going back through her first three parties in anticipation of this year's 4th birthday, and the theme is excellent!
Her first birthday party theme was Pink and Gold polka dots. I hadn't seen much about people doing a theme based on just a shape or color, and it all clicked when I found her birthday dress at Gap (where else?!)
Quick side story: In High School, Liz and I and our friend Kristin went on a group interview to work at the Gap. She and I both got the job but our friend didn't. We got in trouble for talking too much, just like we did in Girl Scouts back in the day, so they always put me over in the kids section.
I wasn't crazy about it, but I was one of the only people who had the sizes that crossover memorized (24m = 2T, roughly). We decided that when we had kids they would 'only' wear Gap Kids, and since I've been going through this minimalist thing, I find that it's an easy way to pay a little tribute to my Bud. If I only shop at Gap for my kids, I don't buy very much, so it's only for special occasions. Win-Win!
My first mom friend Debbie and her son Neil are some of my favorite people. They moved to Florida last year and it's been hard not to see them but I'm so thankful for their friendship, especially during those early days, when we wondered together if it was 'safe' to wipe the babies mouths with baby wipes....I still laugh about that!
Everything at the party was pink, gold, and girly!
And round, I forgot to mention everything was round. Because when you have a theme, you just have to go for it.
I spent HOURS doing a tissue paper technique where you cut little squares, then wrap it around a pencil eraser, dip it in glue, and stick it on the surface. I did that all over every one of these letters with gold tissue paper. I was thinking we would put them up in her big girl room at some point because I was pregnant at the time and knew that a new room was coming up the pike.
Of course the cake was from an expensive bakery and of course it didn't all get eaten.
We glued dots along fishing line and had tons of balloons everywhere with very long strings. I wanted it to feel like the glitter scene at the end of Footloose. It didn't.
There was a slideshow playing on the TV of all of her professional photos from the year. At her 1-year session, we had photos taken in a 'Only Child Expiring' onesie that we used to announce Pregnancy #2 to everyone we know- the photo was in thank you cards and regular cards.
And here is the only photo of the Birthday Girl in her full outfit, complete with tights and gold shoes. I still love that dress. If only I knew then how much she is obsessed with the color pink now, I might have chosen a different theme. haha!
4 generations of the Bell Family!
We invited everyone we know to this party, and had at least 40 people show up, and lots came early while the baby was taking her last nap. When we finally got all the round food cooked and set out, I had to get a photo.
Lots of it was frozen stuff from Trader Joe's, but it still took time to warm up. I loved these gold patterned plates.
This is the only birthday we had her open gifts. For some reason that isn't a thing at birthday parties any more; the kids just play and then open the presents later. Not sure why.
My cousin there in the grey shirt was pregnant with her little girl Ella and went into labor after this party! It must have been a great one! ha!
That was a great toy, it is still entertaining, and baby sister loves it too.
Abby was super excited about this panda bear that the embroidery place gave us for free. We wrapped it up with the gift from us...
....a super soft dream blanket from Aden & Anais. She still loves it, uses it every night and every nap, and sometimes comments, "I wuv my bwanket, Mom."
My cousin hand embroidered this apron and it is still used today!
Her first ever tasting of sugar. We were very strict with her diet back then.
I swoon.
My college gals and our kids that were all born in 2013! Things sure are different now!
All in all, this party was super stressful. We had announced the pregnancy to our parents the night before. That's a great memory, but I was trying to hide it from everyone else until we mailed out those cards. It was a lot of people, which I always love, but let's be honest, a huge party is not necessarily for the kid- it's for the parents who survived the first year!
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