Abbie's Birthday

Yes, I know this is long overdue. :( Trying to make Christmas special in a new country, enjoying Jon's week of Christmas vacation, and crocheting Christmas gifts took priority this past month. Maybe I can get back into the swing of things now....

Abbie's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, and we decided to combine her birthday celebration with our Thanksgiving dinner. We invited some teachers from the school to spend the evening with us. Their presence made the party feel so much more like a party. :) Our kids enjoyed the extra attention, too.

Sitting down to our Thanksgiving feast

 Toby was excited about having our friends come over. Yes, he desperately needed a haircut. That happened a few days later. :)

Abbie didn't understand what all the excitement was about, of course, but that didn't stop her from enjoying herself.

Such a little sweetie

Toby was a willing helper when it came time to blow out the candle. Notice that I'm holding onto Abbie's hand? That's because she kept reaching for the flame. :)

 Abbie's cake was a pumpkin roll, made by one of her honorary aunties. I was hoping to get some good, messy-faced, cake-eating pictures, but, alas, Abbie is just as fastidious as Toby was at his first birthday party. She only picked at her cake until I gave in and cut it into bite-sized pieces that she could easily pick up. Then she dug right in and enjoyed it immensely. Silly girl....

Abbie seemed to know exactly what to do with her presents. She was a little awed by being allowed to tear into the paper, but our cheers assured her that it was perfectly fine. Toby was, surprisingly, not too upset about Abbie having presents and being the center of attention. Of course, it helped that we had balloons strewn around the room and a little gift for him to open, too.

All in all, it was a fun evening. We were sad, of course, that we couldn't share this celebration with our families, but we enjoyed the company of our friends. As a mom, I was so thankful that they graciously celebrated with us and lavished their attention on our kids.

 

 

Our happy girl