Jenalyn's birthday party.

Before I get too mushy-gushy over my sweet bug, I'll tell you about her birthday party. I fussed over what to do for the party for weeks! I couldn't think of anything (preggo-brain!). Finally, a week before her birthday I found an awesome blog post about a great party idea that seemed totally do-able. A CAKE PARTY! How fun!

I wanted to re-create every single little detail from that creative blog, and I had full intention of doing so, but my pregnancy discomforts limited my abilities. *sigh* But it was still a super fun party.

Here are pictures from the big party:
Each girl got her own cake to frost and decorate. I made EIGHT cakes (plus cupcakes) within 48 hours of this little party. Thank goodness for my KitchenAid mixer!

They got to take their cakes home to share with their families in their own, personalized cake box.

Here's the treat table. We had strawberry/marshmallow kabobs, oreos, cupcakes, and strawberry/kiwi juice with frozen strawberries for ice cubes.

Jenalyn's completed cake :) And her BFF from school. She and Sydney were in the same class in Kindergarten, but they have different teachers this year. They still eat breakfast together every morning and play together at recess.

This is Jenalyn and her BFF from preschool - I'm so glad we've managed to stay in touch over the past two years. They are still great friends, even though they go to different schools.

This is Jenalyn's BFF from church. She got to play with Katie a lot over the summer and she tells me all the time how much she loves her.

Jenalyn loves all of her friends so much. When I asked what her favorite part of her party was, she said "Having all my friends over at my house!" I wish I had gotten individual pictures of her with each of her guests!

Acknowledgments: This party wouldn't have been possible without the following people's help and support:

• Jason - He funded the party, did some of the shopping, and helped clean the house. Besides all that, he expressed many times how much he admired and appreciated all the work I was putting into this party to make it wonderful for our daughter;
• Venessa - She let us borrow her table and, as always, stepped right in and did what needed to be done to help with the party. Aside from all the help she gave me, my kids just love having Auntie Vee around! Just her mere presence left us full of gratitude (James too!)
• LeaAnne - She also let us borrow a table for the cake decorating. And she was willing and ready to help with whatever needed to be done. Plus, she gave me much-needed moral support thru the preceding week, "You can do it, Cari!" "It will be great!" That helped me keep on keepin' on.
  
• Aunt Dale - What an answer to my prayers! She showed up unexpectedly around 4:00 and I still had *somuch* to get done before the party at 6:00. Dale assembled the kabobs, divvied up the frosting cups, put together the cake boxes, and swept my floors!!! I am so grateful!