Ella's First Birthday Party

Three weeks ago, we celebrated Ella's first birthday with a family party at home. Abby and I planned the little details for weeks. Ella may not remember her first birthday party, but she will look back on the pictures and know without question how much we adore her and wanted every minute of her day to be special! Oh how she lights up our life and adds to our family in a way we never could have imagined.

Things didn't go the way we expected that day. Earlier in the week, Ella came down with the Coxsackie virus. She had a high fever for the four days leading up to the party and the day of she woke up with a full body rash all over her body (the last stage of the virus). Because of the sickness, we called our friends who were coming with kids and understandably they decided not to come. Then, the morning of the party, we got a phone call from my dad informing us that Cory was in a motorcycle accident the night before and had just gotten home from hospital. As we started to process the sad news, my mom called to say Casey got a head injury while out in the shed that morning and they wouldn't be coming. Needless to say, it was a hard morning for everyone. Not only were the plans for Ella's party changing quickly, we were sad and in shock over Cory's injury. We were praising God that the accident wasn't much worse and thankful that he could be home resting with family. We knew there was nothing we could do to help that day, so despite the events of the morning, we did our best to do what we had planned...celebrate our sweet little girl's first birthday.

Everyone was sad to suddenly miss the special day. For good reason, the guest count went from 14 to 2 in a matter of minutes, but Uncle Brad and Aunt Alex were still on their way for a party! So, I got to mixing the punch and setting up for Ella's garden party.

our rashy little birthday girl 

I loved the decorations for the party. Pink and turquoise. Lots of fresh white hydrangeas. Balloons and ribbons. Birds and birdhouses. Little white gardening pails filled with utensils. Pictures of Ella. Pretty and girlie and garden-y. Some would call it shabby chic. It made my heart happy. 

a photo timeline of Ella's first year 

For food, we had: tea sandwiches (cucumber and creamcheese, tomato, cheddar and watercress, chicken salad), cups of dirt, chips, veggies and dip, fruit salad, caprese bites and cupcakes for dessert.

delicious dirt 

time to eat!

 I just LOVE her garden party dress. It was so pretty and perfect. 

Ella wasn't really herself that day. She was uncomfortable from the rash and pretty fussy, but she still gave us some smiles. She loved her birthday hat and really loved her first taste of chocolate.

Bells did not have much of an appetite that day (which is VERY uncharacteristic of her). I'll never forget the moment the chocolate pudding hit her lips for the first time. She went from screaming and pretty inconsolable to complete delight. It was adorable.

Yummy chocolate and a worm to go with it!

Ella opened her gifts with LOTS of help from her extra willing big sister. She received lots of new outfits, a little doll, pool/sandbox toys, a Fisher Price smart phone and a storybook with Nagymama's voice reading to her. Then, we went outside and played in the water, which included a fun water balloon fight.

pretty flower cupcakes 

With so many family members not at the party, we attempted a Google Hangout, so everyone could see Ella have her first cupcake. It was quite the ordeal trying to coordinate so many people at one time and then having microphone malfunctions, but it was memorable!

Uncle Brad and Aunt Alex 

We love you Bells and are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents! Happy birthday to our precious little gift. Being your mommy is such a joy and privilege!