Julia's 2nd Birthday Party
Sunday, September 19, 1999
JULIA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY...
We decorated with Winnie the Pooh and Friends and lots of Balloons! Julia got a lot of really nice gifts, and she had many of her family and friends together to celebrate her birthday. Guests were: Mema, Papa, Aunt Starr, Jesse & Suzy Adams, Kayla & Heather Sealy, Leslie & Gwen Pollock, Ridge & Vivian Williams, Miss Becky & Dwight Sauder, Kelly Dorsey, Miss Idna & Miss Gladys Rehberg and of course, Mommy, Daddy, and Rebecca. She got a new pair of pink and white Nike shoes from Mema and Papa. From Aunt Starr she got a Teletubbies Video, and a book from Tinkerbell (Aunt Starr's Dog). She got a really nice puzzle from Jesse and Suzy. She got a cute little doll, which she named "La La" and doll bottles from Ridge and Vivian. They also brought Rebecca a gift. It was a beautiful outfit and a little baby doll too, which Julia named "Karen". Kayla & Heather gave her an adorable plaid jumper with a shirt to go with it. Kayla came dressed in her Pooh overalls and was so adorable. Leslie and Gwen gave her a gorgeous fall dress too. And Ms. Idna gave her a darling Pink and white striped dress as well. Miss Gladys gave her a little doll too. Mark built her the swing set. He didn't know if he could do it, but he did with the help of Billy Horne, and it is really nice. We also got her a Pooh video, a pink and white bike basket, a bike bell, and Piglet and Eeyore Koosh balls. She opened her Lego blocks from Mimi and Grandpa. I'm sure they will provide hours of entertainment. She also got two Pooh outfits in the mail from the Disney store from Mimi and Grandpa. She got a wonderful doll with layette in the mail from Uncle Jon and Aunt Kellie. She named the doll Suzy. She has eyes that open and close, and she came with all kinds of accessories: a quilt, blanket, clothes, socks, a hat, hair bow, and rattle.. The piece de la resistance was from Miss Becky. She did a framed Cross Stitch with a bunny, Julia's name and birth date, and a bible verse: "For this Child I prayed, and God has granted my petition." from the book of Samuel. It is gorgeous and I know Julia and I will treasure it. It is hanging in her room next to the changing table, so I see it often, and every time I look at it I feel blessed.
The children enjoyed playing in Julia's room. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, so the swimming and bike ride were out. But they all played very nicely. I had prepared several virtually do-it-yourself activities, the beanbag toss and a Pooh corner with all Julia's Pooh toys, ball, books, etc. They liked their shaker bottles filled with happy birthday, balloon, hearts and butterfly confetti. I tied a balloon to each bottle which they each got to take home with them. Julia passed out the party hats and hunny pot name tag stickers. She was so cute. We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Julia. She tried to blow out the candles on her cake, but they were hard for her to reach, so Mommy helped. Ms. Becky helped serve. In addition to the cake we had ice-cream, grapes, white cheddar cheese puffs, Teddy Grahams, Punch, White Grape Juice, and assorted soft drinks. The cake was cute and tasted good. It had Pooh and Tigger holding birthday gifts and wearing party hats, balloons, presents, tons of icing, and said "Happy Birthday Julia".
Gwen, Mark and I juggled Rebecca back and forth. She was very fussy. Thank goodness for Kelly. He did some video and helped with set up and clean up. Mrs. Harris and Starr kept Julia most of the day before the party, and they got her bathed and dressed. She looked so cute in her Pooh Jumper and Shirt, Pooh Socks, Pooh Shoes, and Pooh Hair Bow. Literally, Pooh from head to toe! She liked her party hat, and wore it most of the day.
Mark worked really hard to get the house and yard ready for the party. He made a lot of progress and it looks a lot better. Mrs. Harris let me borrow one of her bouganvilla's to hang on my planter with the butterfly feeder. It looks so pretty.
After the party, Mark, Kelly, Julia, Rebecca and I relaxed on the deck. It was the best part of the day for me. It had stopped raining, and Rebecca was finally happy. Kelly played games with Julia that made her smile and laugh, and he pushed her around on her tricycle to which we tied some of the birthday balloons. Mark helped her let some balloons go flying up into the sky which we all loved. We didn't get very many pictures, but hope the few we took will be good. We missed my Mom and Dad tremendously. Thomas was sick and didn't make it to the party either.
Things I learned to improve future parties:
1. Use primarily the Mylar balloons. They look better, and you can blow them up way in advance. The regular balloons just don't hold up, and you have to wait until the last minute to blow them up. I don't want anything I have to do at the last minute.
2. Test the stereo system in advance. Both this year and last I could not get the thing to work when I wanted it.
3. Take a picture of each guest when or shortly after they arrive. There may not be time or opportunity later. Also, set up a picture taking spot to do this. Julia's Pooh Corner would have been ideal for this. I don't think we got any pictures of her guests and they were soooo cute.
4. Have bags ready to put favors in to send home, so people aren't juggling trying to keep from dropping everything while corralling their little one.
5. Hire or designate video and photographer and have backups.
6. Pick up the Cake earlier. Our cake was good, and pretty, but they did it in red and I ordered pink and yellow. If I had picked it up early, this could have been corrected.
7. Collect quips or funny stories or thank yous to share about each of the guests relating to the birthday child. Write these down somewhere everyone can see, or tell to the group.
8. Leave the photo albums open. Many people didn't notice what they were until they were open.
9. Relax and visit with people more, instead of worrying about details. Delegate better and enlist a baby sitter for the child whose birthday it's not.
10. Put a box of wet wipes out for people to use to clean up their children.
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