For months, I've been trying to figure out how/when to throw Annah a birthday party. I knew it's what she wanted more than anything else for her 16th birthday, and I wanted it to be a surprise. Since the kids were off school today, I finally decided on Monday night that I would invite her closest friends from school over for the day!
Last night, when Annah asked what we were going to do today, I told her, "pajama day!" and that she could sleep in!
I'd told Sylvia on Tuesday about the party, and she helped me with details and preparations throughout the week. She was awesome. She got up around 8:30 this morning and got her shower, then helped me make sure Annah was perfectly timed getting in the shower right at 9:40 so we could decorate quickly while her friends were on their way. Then she waited in the kitchen for a few minutes while they arrived. Addie arrived first, then Alexis.
Sylvia let us know when she heard Annah get out of the shower, so we knew it would only be a few more minutes. Addie and Alexis hid.
Caeden watched out the front window and led Shelby to come in silently.
She grabbed a blanket and hid too.
She grabbed a blanket and hid too.
Sylvia had to be a bit forceful to get Annah to "go into the front room to talk to mom right now." In fact, she had to physically push her by the shoulders to the door.
She was pretty surprised!
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We kept things pretty low-key for the day.
Shelby and Caeden had some lightsaber duels.
The girls played Mario Kart, and Disney Universe.
I made some of Annah's favorites for brunch: pancakes, sausage links, fried eggs, and pineapple orange juice.
Sylvia was a huge help getting the table ready and finishing the pancakes.
While Addie and Alexis ran to their houses to get things for makeovers, Lauren arrived, and she and Annah, Shelby, and Sylvia started a game of LIFE.
Annah had a few presents to open.
Alexis made her chocolate chip cookies!
Shelby made a cute foam Sweet 16 crown card.
Sylvia gave her sister Finding Dory Easy Mac.
Makeovers in the girls' room!
Caeden steered clear for certain parts of the day.
Sylvia always finds time for reading when she's working on a good book.
Addie decided to find out what she looks like with her entire face covered in highlighter.
These girls are beautiful inside and out--makeup or no makeup!
We had a mid-afternoon snack of apples with caramel dip.
They watched High School Musical, since it is Annah's favorite and she had planned to watch it today.
Shelby and Caeden built catapults from popsicle sticks and rubber bands and shot cotton balls across the kitchen with them.
Each girl painted a wooden framed, and I'll have a group picture from the party printed for each of them to put in hers.
We had another of Annah's favorites for supper--chicken alfredo farfalle.
Annah did Alexis' makeup without being able to see.
We settled in to watch the Hamilton musical documentary on PBS.
What a great group of friends Annah has!
It was a fun day and a fun way to celebrate Annah's 16th birthday!
It was a fun day and a fun way to celebrate Annah's 16th birthday!
We had a little bit of time after the Hamilton documentary ended,
so they played some Wii Disney Sing It!
so they played some Wii Disney Sing It!
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A big group hug before everyone went home.
(The kids have a long day tomorrow, so I decided everyone would feel better if they all got to sleep at home in their own beds. And, after a 12-hour party, it didn't seem too bad not to have a sleepover anyway.)
The Sweet 16 Birthday Princess
