Happy 1st Birthday to Jane!

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Sun, Jun 22, 2008

• Sun, Jun 22, 2008 7:06 PM

  We threw a big party today for Jane's first and Audrey's third birthdays. We've now thrown...what...six? birthday parties at home and are somewhat expert at it by now. Not that it prevented me from planning too many wonderful details that added up to late nights and too much stress! But it all went great in the end and I was really happy with how it all turned out.
  
  This party didn't exactly have a theme, but it did have a cupcake motif reflected in the invitations, pinata, craft project and (of course) dessert. We also had pink and yellow balloons and table cloths for decorations.
  
  For activities, we had a foam cupcake craft and all the outdoor toys, including a couple of new swings we just installed in the avocado tree. We had an adorable cupcake pinata with ribbon pullstrings. The idea is that each child pulls one string and eventually the correct string is pulled and the prizes come tumbling down. Well, Audrey went first--and chose the right string. So she was the only one who got to do it! But nobody seemed to mind in the midst of the frantic candy-grab.
  
  In the family room we had two videos playing: an 11-minute montage of Jane's first year and a short 2-minute montage of Audrey's year.
  
  For lunch we served hotdogs (at Audrey's request--and then she didn't even eat one!), mac and cheese, pasta salad, fruit salad, chips, string cheese and drinks.
  
  Jane spent the party sitting in the grass, hanging out with her Grandma Montgomery, eating in her highchair, and playing in the (air conditioned!) family room with all the kids and babies.
  
  The best part of the party came at the end, when we displayed the 50-some cupcakes I had baked and decorated. I will admit to being proud of how the cupcakes turned out, both in taste and looks! Jane got a special wheat-free, egg white-free banana muffin with buttercream frosting. While everyone sang happy birthday, she looked around and smiled a little, looking unsure about what was going on. Audrey blew out her candles for her, and then when the muffin was placed in front of her Jane happily dug in. I think she managed to eat all the frosting and about one bite of the muffin.
  
  After cupcakes and a little more playtime, most of our guests started leaving with their party favors: a plastic cupcake containing a little bag of crackers or cookies, tied up in a cellophane bag with a ribbon and a party blower. Janey gratefully had a little bit of milk and then went down for her nap.
  
  Later, Maggie and Audrey helped her open up her presents. She got lots of wonderful stuff, including pajamas, dresses, bath toys, a dish set, a puppy toy, a dolly, books and a Pooh bear. We gave her a play parachute, which all three girls had a great time trying out.

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