katelyn's puppy party!

My mom and Lauren and I really wanted to throw a big party for Kate's first birthday.  We talked for months about possible themes.  Some of the suggestions included: cats (because we call her Kitty Kate), safari animals, and even just the color pink.  About a month before her birthday it hit us.

We should throw a puppy party!

Katelyn loves dogs.  She is obsessed with dogs.  She waves at dogs, she smiles for dogs, she can bark like a dog.  I'm pretty certain she dreams about dogs.  It was obviously the perfect theme.

We planned on having Kate's party at Kitty Hollow Park.  They just built a brand new dog park and we envisioned having an outdoor barbeque with playgrounds nearby for her friends.  The morning of the party, however, big dark clouds rolled in and threatened rain.  We decided it would be best to change locations and have the party at my parents' house.

It was a really good idea because as soon as the party started the rainclouds dumped inches and inches of rain with thunder and lightening.

Katelyn invited some of her friends from church.  My mom and I crocheted dog ears for all the babies to wear when they walked in.  We wanted to get a picture of all the kids with their moms.

Then we thought it would be fun to get a picture of just the kids.  It went a little like this...

We ate hot dogs and chips from big plastic dog dishes.  Katelyn had never tried hot dogs but she LOVED them!

After dinner, Katelyn opened her presents and we all ate cake.

My mom made a beautiful doggy cake for Kate.

Katelyn wanted almost nothing to do with the cake!  We put the entire cake in front of her and she just kind of looked at it.  I was like, "Huh?!?"

As our guests left, they each "adopted" a puppy from the pound and took a doggy bag full of stickers and treats.

Even though it rained, the party was a great success.  The rain turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we enjoyed the party in the air conditioning with plenty of toys and room for the kids to crawl around and play.