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| Sleepy Birthday Girl! |
30 minutes before the party was going to start, we woke Ellie up from her nap. Well, Miss Ellie wasn't quite done sleeping and she didn't enjoy being woken up.
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| Right after this, he took her into her room :) |
Since Andrew had her under control, I started setting out a few last minute items: veggie cups, quiches, nuggets, and fruit filled waffle cones.
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| Love this Pinterest idea!! |
I also started making the punch. I poured in the pineapple juice, then the cherry juice, then I started adding some Sprite. A little drip, drip, drip caught my ear. I had neglected to close the drink dispenser and had successfully dispensed my Pineapple Cherry Punch all over the kitchen counter and floor! I stressed out for about thirty seconds and then realized that I didn't want to let this mess get in the way of Ellie's party happiness. So, with my mother and sister-in-law's help, we were able to laugh about the incident while we rushed to clean it up! Of course, Katie caught the chaos on camera :)
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| Realizing my mistake! |
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| Trying not to stress!! |
The guests started to arrive and Ellie greeted them with...more crying! Oh, poor Ellie Lynn. She isn't used to having her house full of people. She continued to greet each person who was eager to hug and hold her with more tears. She clung to my side. But, once Brynlee joined her on the floor for some fun with her toys, she loosened up and started to show off.
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| Loving on Brynlee |
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| Tutu Twirling |
Then it was time for the main event! Smash Cake!!! We set everything up outside (it was a gorgeous day) and I tied her party hat on. I told Eric "Take the picture quick, it will probably be on for half a second!" Ellie certainly surprised me; she kept the hat on almost the entire time!!
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| I absolutely LOVE this picture! |
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| Classic Ellie face :) |
She was a bit hesitant about digging into the cake, and I'm not sure she actually tasted any of it. But, she enjoyed patting her hands on the icing and "smashing" her cake. I think all of her guests enjoyed watching her sweet curiosity.
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| I think she was proud of herself :) |
I took a look around at all the faces watching my daughter and felt my heart swell and I swear that time was standing still. To think that each person there took the time to come and celebrate Ellie...blessed. Simply blessed. I whispered to Andrew, "Can you believe this is happening?" I hope that Ellie will one day know how loved she truly is.
We rinsed all the icing off and came back for some more fun; presents, of course! She was so eager to get to all of her gifts, I had a hard time keeping up with who gave her what. Thankfully, my sweet Kaitlyn paid careful attention for me! Several times Ellie would go "Ohhh, ahhh!" I'm not even kidding! It was SO priceless :)
Ellie and Luke took a backyard tour in her new wagon. Our friends and families chatted.
We shared a video of photos of Ellie; mostly, it was just for Ellie to have one day. So, she can look back at her first year of life and watch herself grow.
Slowly, the guests started heading home. As the evening wore on, we were left surrounded by our parents and some of our grandparents and siblings. Ellie showed off by rushing back and forth through her new tunnel. Eventually, they to had to head home.
After everyone left, Andrew and I wrapped our arms around our sweet girl and gave her a big snuggle. There was a sense of peace in our home. There were dishes left and food out, but all I noticed in that moment was my family.
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| Love. Love is truly how you measure a year. |
*The pictures were taken by the Alfords. Thank y'all so much!!*
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