Sarah's 1st Birthday Party {a barn dance}

If you would have ever told me that I would be desiring a country themed anything in my life even just a few years ago, I would have just laughed.  I am just not a country girl at heart, but I have definitely learned to really enjoy some country things and even some country music (shhhhh don't tell anyone)

So as I started to think of ideas for Sarah's first birthday, one of the first thing that came to my mind was her Grandma Fran, who passed away on her birthday and her love for horses, and how she just would have loved if Sarah's birthday were in her barn.  The thought of this made me a bit sad, sad that Fran just couldn't be at her party, but also because I couldn't have her birthday in her barn because I know Fran would have just oogled over it!  At the same time I thought how honoring it would be to celebrate Sarah's birthday doing something that really honored and remembered Fran.

One of Fran's good friends actually stepped in, she offered her barn!  Loved it! 

So off I went with the barn theme.  We do first birthday parties big, like a big, friends and family event, that is lots of fun!  That was actually the main thing I wanted, I wanted other families to come and really just have fun and enjoy themselves!  I didn't have a ton of money to throw around though, so feeding 40 people and decorating on a budget wasn't easy.

Thankfully, I have a husband who builds and recycles!  We used lots of trash and recycled good to make many of the decorations, it saved lots of money and was pretty easy to do since it was a barn

theme

Brett, build the apple crates out of scrap palet wood
we served: beef, chicken & vegetarian chili (seriously a really cheap way to feed lots of people!)

I used recycled tin cans and spray painted them white (upper right photo)
lots of barn themed snacks from amazon.com and costco

Brett made the bean bag apple game
For drinks we had: apple juice boxes, rootbeer, and an apple cider punch
The favors were bandanas filled with treats

I made "caramel apple cupcakes" from this site
I used recycled cardboard for the signs

I made chalk board signs with small pieces of pre-cut wood from hobby lobby and then a little chalkboard paint
the silver buckets with the chalkboard paint were from the dollar spot at Target

Brett actually made this sign for Maya's 1st birthday and then I repainted it for Sarah's party

Cake Time

sfs

time For Presents

Maya & Norah basically opened everything

Sarah actually didn't care about opening her presents at all, she just wanted to eat her corn

  and of course there was lots of dancing!

"where did you come from, where did you go? cotton eyed joe"

"stuck like glue, you and me baby we're stuck like glue"

"Yee Haw"

one of my favorite mama's, Celine

My Douala for Sarah's delivery, Kari

It was such a fun and special day with lots of memories and family fun

She was delightful, and loved every minute of it

 

Sarah {12 months=1year}

My sweet baby Sarah is no longer a baby, she is a 1 year old!!!  I have just love watching my little girl grow, but I am sad the baby stage is over......

Sarah from the moment you were born you were such a special gift.  I felt instantly bonded to you, my love for you was overwhelming.  You are a symbol of hope and life and you continue to be that way every day.  I often think back to the beginning of my pregnancy, when I was in the ER, sure I was going to lose you, when all that the Dr could say was, we just don't know, there is a %50 chance you will miscarry. Then 8 months later, you were born, the Lord chose you to be part of our lives.

Little did we know how much we would really need you.  Little did we know how much Norah needed a little sister, how much Maya needed to see and experience having a "baby sister" and how much we needed a feeling of hope and happiness in our home.  You brought all of this to us.

I love that Norah has always been a close part of your life, you will never know any different, she is your sister and I have never once thought of Norah as your cousin.

 You are often called, "sweet Sarah." I am not sure who started it, but I have heard it so many times and it truly fits you.  You are my sweet Sarah.

I love watching you, your curiosity, how you are different from your sisters, yet similar in many ways.  You certainly aren't lacking any personality and you know how to stand your ground.  But you also cuddle in my arms and are a momma's girl.

You play well by yourself and LOVE your kitchen.  You pretend to stir things in a pan and play with food often.  Dad has even seen you climb onto a stool and wipe the kitchen counter with a sponge. I am amazed at watching these things, remembering that you are barely 1!

You do a few baby signs: milk, all done, more & eat.  Watching you suddenly pick these up makes me realize how amazing that little mind of yours is, to think that just a year ago you were a little pile.....

You love to play with the remote, and when I catch you holding it, you pretend to hold it out like you were actually just about to give it to me and you make a really cheesy face.  It is one of my favorite things ever!

You aren't walking yet, which is just fine with me.  You have taken a few step here and there, but then you just drop down to your knees and start crawling because that somehow seems so much easier for you.

Some of your favorite things to do are play in the dishwasher, the toilet and the fridge......not really my favorite places for you to play since there are sharp things, germs, and heavy objects.

You play peek-a-boo, you clap and cheer all the time, and you love to the laugh when you hear other people laughing.

I am flooded with memories of this time last year, when you were born, what a special day that was (you can read about Sarah's birth story here)

Here is your 12 month baby progression

 

I can't wait to see all the changes that will happen in you this year. I love you Sarah Eileen