The day of Eliza's birthday party most definitely didn't go as planned.
I
really thought that one of the advantages to her having a summer
birthday was that the weather element would be a bit less severe that
Jake's March birthday. Wrong.
It
was a rainy day and we, of course, had planned an outside party for our
gal. We watched the hourly radar and decided to go for it. An hour
before the party, tons of rain. But magically right as we were scheduled
to get going, the rain clearly and the clouds opened up. There was a
mad dash to set some things up in the yard as our guests all arrived and
hung out inside. A few minutes later, we all headed out and finally got
to celebrate.
We served a dinner of hamburgers, chips, pasta salad and watermelon slices.
For dessert, we skipped traditional cake and cupcakes and had a huge ice cream sundae bar! Yum!
Eliza
enjoyed her smash cake the best. She snacked and shared with other
people and just soaked up all the attention (and sugar).
We
had lawn games like giant wooden dice, cornhole, and wooden dominos. Of
course the kids all went nuts running around on the treehouse and
swings. One of the things I so love about our house is the great space
we have in the backyard. The shade of the trees is lovely, the privacy
is perfect and the kids can all run and play.
In lieu of gifts, we asked that our guests bring a donation for the Ronald McDonald House of Nashville.
A year ago, they made an incredible impact on our family when Eliza was
in the NICU. We knew that she didn't need any more toys and would much
rather give back to help other families stay together while their
children are receiving care at Vanderbilt. Our family and friends (as
always) were so wonderfully supportive and we raised an awesome amount
to take up to the RMDH at Eliza's next clinic visit! I'm so excited!
I hand dipped some Oreos as favors. And I'm not mad that I had a couple left over.
I created this pallet display for
Eliza's monthly pictures. It'd be great if someone could explain to me
how this year went by so fast...
The
downside? It was chaotic at best. I didn't get as many pictures as I
liked because things were frantic getting started! But we all had a
great time. And most importantly, our gal had a special day!
Maybe
this party is a funny parallel to how this last year has been. Chaotic.
Unpredictable. Crazy. Despite all our best plans. But ultimately it has
been so wonderfully sweet. Surrounded by friends and family. And with
the most precious, happiest girl we could imagine.
What else could we ask for?
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