first birthday – That Celebration Life

Birthdays, Girls Birthdays, Parties, Reflections

“You Are My Sunshine” 1st Birthday For My Little Sunshine

June 23, 2023June 23, 2023by christeenaLeave a Comment

I’ve been wanting to write everything down about this party for a while. This was a special one. Admittedly, it was what many considered over the top. But not only was year one a special milestone in and of itself, but that year in particular was really significant for me in my own healing journey, so I wanted it to represent the love and joy I felt for my daughter.

Some backstory: before I had her, I was terrified of having a girl – to the point that I had to go to therapy during my pregnancy. For most of my adolescence, I didn’t have the best experience with other females. And though I deeply love my mom and have an amazing relationship with her now, it was a rocky relationship growing up. As I got older, it caused me to have a very guarded relationship with other women. I wasn’t fully aware of this until I found out I was having a girl and experienced a fear and anxiety, which is what brought those hidden wounds to light. God is so good though – He knew exactly how to heal my heart.

As soon as she arrived, I saw her beautiful little face, which was an incredible moment in itself (she didn’t come out as an angsty 13-year-old as I irrationally feared!). As incredible as that moment was, I had no idea that such sweet joy lay ahead or even existed. She was such a peaceful, easy baby. I remember feeling like her smile would just light up her nursery as soon as I walked in to wake her up every morning. She truly ushered a sweetness into my life that profoundly changed and healed my heart. Her joyful smiles were so big that even her eyes smiled! They embodied the term “bright eyes”, and she truly shined pure light into each day. And she had such a sweet disposition, one that truly disarmed me and finally allowed my heart to let down its guard. She was truly my sunshine. So when it came time to plan for her first birthday, I couldn’t think of a more perfect theme that would celebrate her and capture who she was: my sweet, pure little sunshine.

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Birthdays, Girls Birthdays, Parties

Our Teddy-Bear Themed 1st Birthday for our Sweet Baby Bear

August 25, 2022June 23, 2023by christeenaLeave a Comment

This was a special one. She’s our third and probably last baby. I remember when we found out her due date – which was the same month as my other daughter – one of my first thoughts (embarrassingly) was how daunting it would be to have to plan two birthday parties in the same month. Yet when the time came, it wasn’t daunting at all. It came easily, for the planning process and making it special for her was just was a natural expression of my heart!

While every birthday is special, the 1st is unique in that it is a marker of such a meaningful milestone in our lives. It is the first full cycle around the sun, the first full course through all the seasons, the first full year of getting to know our baby; the only year she is a baby. We get to pause in gratitude for the immense joy she has added to our family and celebrate this little person that we’ve gotten to know – who she is and who she’s becoming.

With each of my kids, I wanted their 1st birthday party to reflect an element of who they were. For my son, it was his big personality and his love for music. For my other daughter, it was the light she brought and how she reflected the sunshine. For this precious one, I wanted to reflect her sincerity, her sweetness, and for lack of a better word, her cuteness.

While she was still in utero, the kids had begun calling her “Jellybean”. The name stuck, and we expanded on it as we got to know her. Her sweet nature lent itself to many nicknames along the way, including “Pumpkin,” “Little Strawberry”, “Baby Bear,” “Josiebear,” and more. As I thought about how to bring this to life, the concept of a dessert bar that reflected her sweetness as well as her many names came about. And since one of her primary nicknames was “Josiebear” due to her cute, round, pudgy self, I decided to wrap the whole theme around teddy bears.

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Birthdays, Boys Birthdays, Parties

“Twinkle Little Rockstar” 1st Birthday Party

April 21, 2021June 23, 2023by christeenaLeave a Comment

For our son’s first birthday, we did a twist on Twinkle Little Star for my music-loving baby!

When my firstborn turned one, I absolutely wanted to make it special. I know it sounds kind of silly, but as a child, I already loved planning birthday parties, and it was always one of the things I was looking forward to be able to do as a parent! And here I was, finally getting to planning my first one!

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