Sunday, August 12, 2012

Ahnalin Is Now 8 Years Old!!!


Today my precious baby Ahnalin turned 8.

I can hardly believe it. 


In my mind, she is still this yummy little dumpling.

And I am so grateful that she is mine.



Ahnalin decided she wanted a tea party with a sewing lesson
for her birthday party.


This is a very blurry photo,
but Ahnalin designed, cut out, and created these invitations herself.


And India created the banner to celebrate her baby sister.

I have quite a large stash of scrapbooking supplies
from the days when I actually still made scrapbooks.
So the girls went shopping for supplies in my 
stash of papers.



You can order the pattern here:

I didn't get great photos this time because 
Ahnalin was so excited about the party that she 
was jumping around like a frog!


But I adore this pattern!
Ahnalin chose the fabrics from my stash
and it had to be polka dots.


This dress twirls well!

I had originally added the band of larger dots
so that I could enclose the hem.

But Ahnalin wanted the dress long,
so I just made the teeniest rolled hem.


I love how the piping frames the center panel
of the dress. 


Ahnalin has already requested another dress
from this pattern for the first day of school.

And it must be polka dots as well.

Well, yes, of course!

But let's get back to the details of the party, 
shall we?


The birthday princess requested
strawberries and Nutella sandwiches.
The tea server belonged to my grandmother.


And she wanted her favorite mango oolong tea 
served in my Alice In Wonderland tea pot.
And the sugar and creamer set belonged 
to my aunt.

 

I made honey cupcakes
from scratch.
(Don told me they were too dry, 
so I am glad I didn't eat one.)


India picked some flowers for the table.


Ahnalin was so excited because she wanted
a Barbie Doll very much and her friend
Mikayla gave her one!


She also requested Top Ramen!
I am NOT KIDDING!

Her friend Julia made her the sock monkey
and the card and we loved them.


Brynn gave her a little pink caddy
filled with goodies for doing her nails!

Oh the joy and excitement!!


 And Annette gave her a bead craft kit,
sticker, and sparkly shoes!!!!



After Ahnalin opened her presents 
from her friends,
we had a little sewing lesson.

Ahnalin thought it would be fun for her friends to sew
their own "goody bags" using the leftover
fabric from her dress.


Some of the girls chose to sew theirs 
by hand and some chose to try out my sewing machine.


After they finished sewing their 
goody bags, they got to fill them with 
Hershey Kisses!

After the party, Ahnalin thanked me
and hugged me so tightly.

She told me that this was the perfect birthday
party and she said it was exactly what she wanted.

She loved all of her gifts and was
so grateful that all of her friends were so kind and generous.

This is the first
"friend" birthday that Ahnalin has had in many years.

She was always nervous about birthday parties
and never wanted to have one.

She is usually nervous about attending parties as well.

But she really wanted a party this year,
so we threw it together 
just a few days ago.

And my girl handled it beautifully.

I am so proud of her 
and so grateful of the progress she has made.

Happy birthday my precious girl.

I love you and am so grateful that
God gave you to me.




9 comments:

Red Hen said...

What a wonderful party and a lasting memory you created, Sivje. Everything looks just perfect!!

Karen said...

What a sweet tea and sewing party. You have, indeed, made lovely memories for your sweet girl. Ahnalin has great ideas and her taste in party dresses is super! The dress is just darling and her hair looks so pretty with that bow headband. I love reading your posts about your family. I have 'one of each' birth story for our children, too. Our sweet daughter was adopted over 18 years ago. What a blessing!

Happy birthday, Ahnalin!

Sandy Koch said...

Love, Love, LOVE the dress! The color is just perfect! I'm so thankful that your dear one had a wonderful party. Isn't it fun to watch them grow up? Great job, Mom!

Anonymous said...

Hi I came across the gnome dress ... Simplicity 2711... Do u know where I may buy this pattern??? Cute!!! Thanks bwilliams0801@yahoo.com

Jenny Jo said...

I love your Vintage Natalie!! I'm wondering what size did you make? I have a skinny 8 year old, too, and I'm still learning how to make things fit properly.

Debby said...

Happy Birthday to your sweet 8 year old. What a cute party.

Meredith said...

I am so glad that Ahnalin had a wonderful birthday/birthday party! LOVE her newest frock!! SO sweet! The party looks like it was very fun! Happy Birthday Ahnalin!!

Mrs. Bianca said...

What an amazing party and a fabulous dress. Ahnalin is so darling and I've been so lucky to watch her grow. I can only hope my own girls have some of her wonderful spirit! Birthday blessings to Ahnalin!

Martha said...

Darling dress, precious party! Happy Birthday Ahnalin. And what a smart girl she is, love the sewing lesson for the goody bags and the fact that she chose to make them from the party dress fabrics.