TWO ya'll! (watch out) Just typing those very words makes my heart skip a beat.
We've been in planning mode for the last couple of weeks to get things in order for her birthday party. Funny thing is, the summer was just rolling along with its normal string of events and the bustle of activities and suddenly before we knew it we were about a month out from her birthday and we hadn't even started thinking about what we wanted to do nor had begun any planning. (this coming from someone who loves to plan in advance-yikes!)
We started thinking about this being her first birthday that we will have the privilege of celebrating with her, and wanted to make it a special day. I guess you could say, it's like her "first birthday" to celebrate with her forever family. (and let's be honest, we won't likely do another bigger one until peanut is 16)
We started thinking about what we wanted to do for her party--what did she like? What are her favorites? What has she sort of latched onto in these last 5 months since living in our home? We quickly realized that many of the typical things you'd find at a child's two year old birthday, she has no understanding of. She doesn't know Nickelodeon characters or Disney or anything affiliated with it. She hasn't seen Frozen yet.( but I know "little miss music" will LOVE it when we finally do watch it) She's not been exposed to many of the common things that little ones start off early learning about, playing with, or begging for while shopping in the stores with their mommas. So where did that leave us?
Well.... we sat back after thinking a minute and knew that Brielle loves:
Bubbles
Pinwheels
Flowers
balloons
**bubbles, flowers, and balloons were among her first English words ironically
It's a bit of a random grouping, but hey-- we can work with that. We sort of took this thought and from it decided to go with something that looked like flowers or pinwheels or bubbles. So, since momma finds it very therapeutic to do crafts and make things, it was off to grab some paper at the store that had some patterns that favored "bubbles and flowers" and get a little bit of fabric with a similar thought in mind. (dots, abstract patterns, etc.)
Nate may laugh at me sometimes, but I have my "party box" that I keep for times like this when we're hosting something, or throwing a shower, etc. So off to the box I went to see what all was in there just waiting to be used. Well, I may get teased by my husband about what I keep sometimes to re-use, but trust me, when it comes to art/craft supplies, you can reuse a lot of things you keep on hand and I hate wasting and can always find a use for something. While digging through the box, I found ribbon and washi tape from other projects I've done, glue dots, (if you don't know what these are, you haven't lived life-- best item they ever created!) items from our wedding (yes, that was 8 yrs ago but some things still come in handy!), yarn from projects for Brielle, frames from her nursery and play room, and by the time it was all said and done-- we came up with a party idea based off of objects in our home that we could pull and use alongside a few crafts made out of paper and fabric. (did I mention we like to save money, too?)
We decided to pull colors from her nursery and playroom, so that we could re-use anything that was made for her birthday party. Since we already had some things we could work with, it just made sense (and saved a lot of time since time is of utmost importance most days while living the "toddler life")
So, with just a bit of "treasure hunting" around the house and going through the trusty craft drawers and the "party box", we were set with a plan with a lot of fun details. This momma loves a plan and thankfully details just happen to be "my thing", as I realize most people probably hate detailed projects or thinking through lists, and just the very thought for some might make them break out in hives. It energizes me- call me crazy, right?
So, thanks to little one's wonderful and patient daddy, this momma had a few evenings to work on some craft projects for her birthday that will act as nursery/play room decor additions later. (gotta' be strategic!)
So, despite some setbacks with the birthday party and our original plans for the day, we are excited to soon celebrate the life of one of God's most amazing gifts to us. We know she really won't remember much about this first birthday with us. We realize she might not even want to put her hands anywhere near a cupcake since she likes her hands clean. We laugh because she probably couldn't even tell you how old she is turning, but hey-- she's still learning English, right?
What we do know is this--tomorrow as she turns two, we will celebrate life.
- We will celebrate that God had a beautiful plan for her life and one that we will continue to see unfold in the years to come.
- We will celebrate the joy that she brings to our lives and the lives of others
- We will celebrate with thankfulness that He has brought her to this second year of her life, even if it involved a bumpy road full of medical needs, sicknesses, medical appointments, and overcoming difficulties
- We will celebrate, but always remember there is someone on the other side of the world who likely will be thinking of her on this very day and would love to know that she is taken care of
We are so blessed to have you, little one, in our lives and can't wait to celebrate the gift of you, Brielle!
