Ava's Barnyard Bash!

I apologize for not blogging lately but I have been consumed with planning Ava's farm party. Actually I came up with the idea, a farm theme, late summer. Initially we were going to have it at my Mom & Dad's home the weekend after Thanksgiving and then we realized that her home wouldn't be big enough to hold everyone and it would be too cold to have it outdoors. So then we looked into having it on a farm instead. There are many farms in Acushnet, the town near us, however we could not find one farm to host a party indoors. They either did not host parties because they were closed for the season in late November or didn't have the space indoors. So last minute we decided to move the party up 1 month early, October 23, the last weekend when this particular farm allowed outdoor birthday parties.

The reason and focus of this party was for the children. A chance where the children could run and play and enjoy all the fall activities the farm has to offer. We would have loved to invite everyone but since the focus was on the children we invited the children, naturally their parents as well as the grandparents for this special birthday celebration.

Of course with any party planning, you run into not making everyone happy. As many parents know this can be is very stressful. But the important thing is to try to make the majority of the people happy and focus on what is important. For us, it was important that the kiddies enjoy a nice day of the farm.

I must admit I was very excited with the farm idea. I consider myself a crafty person and enjoy making things. I had been making things little by little after Ava went to bed or when she napped. As we got closer to the day I made things while she watched tv and she would sit with me at the table and oooh an ahhh at the farm cartoons etc. I took advantage of sales at the craft stores etc. I loved personalizing everything and Victor laughed at how much detail I was doing. I had made the invitations, banners, party hats, tissue flower pom poms, etc.. Here are some pictures of my creations. I wish I had taken more but figured on taking pictures at the party instead!

Invites I made. Bought the images online and put it together myself.

I so forgot to hand these out when we sang happy birthday

These were centerpieces that kept flying off with the wind :(

Ava's homemade birthday shirt. Designed by me and sewed by Nana.

 

The party day finally arrived and we were allowed just one hour to set up and decorate. My parents offered to watch Ava while Victor and I hustled to get things set before the guests arrived. You can imagine how disappointed I was when it was too windy to display any of my creations. At one point I wanted to throw in the towel but the party had to go on. So I made peace with it and continued to set up as best as we could. It really was a gorgeous fall day with the exception of the wind. Thank heavens it didn't rain!

The party was a success! The smiles on the kids told us so. My favorite time was walking the farm grounds and seeing & feeding the animals. We also took a wonder hayride with most of the birthday guests which was a lot of fun! Below are some pictures of our day.

The birthday girl who is turning 2 next month!

 Looking out at the farm

 Ava Sophia & Ava Victoria playing

 The kids loved chasing the ballons!

 Story time with Mother Goose. Their attention span was very short but it still was a nice little visit.

VoVo and Nana

The girls with their Mommas walking hand in hand

Of course the men stick together

 Love this one of Ava with her Uncle Bru, it was an unexpected and nice surprise he was in town for business and was able to come.

 Shannon & Leno with the sheep, baaa. I believe this was the same sheep that made Ava jump a mile when he "baaaaa" very loudly!

 The children feeding the animals, love it!

Ava getting super shy around Vic's Cousin Demetre

The horsedrawn hayride

 The birthday party having a blast, this was my favorite part of the day!

 Love this pic of my Dad. He seems so content here on the ride. So happy he was feeling good today despite his very bad vision in his right eye.

 So happy with how this cake came out. It was exactly what I had wanted.

Time to open the gifts!

Adorable Isabel & Ava inspecting the favors

A special thank you to our family and friends who were so supportive and excited for this party. It personally means the world to me and helped us go forward in creating a special celebration for our pumpkin.