A few days ago, Eva's Poppi and Gaia flew in from Florida to be with their girl for her special day.
The day started with a Dedication for her. Initially I wanted to have her dedicated when she was home around 6 months. However, that time came upon me quickly and I soon learned that with it being the summer and family's schedules, it wasn't a good time to do it. So I decided to do it on her 2nd birthday.
Our church actually has a Dedication service once a month. Our church is super huge and their dedication service consists of all the families going up on stage, a prayer is said and then they continue with the church service. I wanted something a lot more personal. Going to Ethiopia, meeting Eva and eventually bringing her home was so significant and special that I wanted her Dedication to be just as significant and special.
We had the Dedication in our home. One of the church's pastors who lives right in our neighborhood, came over and performed the service. Our parents were there and a few of John's siblings. John's adult kids were there also as well as Eva's Godparents. My good friend who also adopted from Ethiopia and is a photographer came to take pictures. J After the Dedication we all ate a catered breakfast and had a wonderful time.
Eva's grandparents - John's Mom and My Parents
Eva's Godparents - Our best friends
After everyone left, Eva went down for a nap and when she woke up she opened up her birthday gifts and we got her ready for the 2nd half of her special day, her birthday party.
We had it at the World of Bounce which is a bounce house right in the area. We brought the drinks, cupcakes, and goodie bags and they did all the rest. We had our own personal party person to help the afternoon flow smoothly. She was awesome! So many kids (and families) showed up! What a blessing it was to see so many people turn out to support Eva's special day. The kids had so much fun. After they all bounced for about an hour and a half, we ate pizza, cupcakes and then opened presents.
These are the goodie bags that we
passed out at the end of the party:
And these were the treats that were inside.
As you can see, I was all about the cupcake theme...except the fruit snacks. Those were Dora, Eva's all-time favorite cartoon character right now. The party ended around 6:30. We were exhausted when we got home, but still managed to stay awake for a couple of hours. Eva played with her balloons and watched a couple of her favorite shows.
What an awesome and special day. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a fun day for Eva as well as for John and I. We are truly blessed to have you as family and friends. You carry such a special place in our hearts. We can't help but smile. We love you!
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