Celebrating

Finally I have a few moments to sit and write about our little girl's birthday celebration. We actually had two parties for her, one here in town with my side of the family, and one in Southern California, with my hubby's side of the family.

The party here in town was held in my brother & sister-in-law's backyard (they have a large yard and pool for everyone to relax and play in). This was so gracious of them, considering my sis-in-law is going to give birth to their 4th child any day now. My husband & I put all the food together ourselves, which was fun, but also took more time than we anticipated. (btw, my husband rocks in the kitchen, why doesn't he spend more time there???) The menu was: teriyaki drumsticks, pineapple fried-rice, fruit salad and Chinese chicken salad. I also made her a butterfly birthday cake.

It was a pretty warm day to be outside, so the kids went swimming while most of the adults sweat it out under the patio fans. We grilled up dinner and everything went really well. The big moment was when our daughter was presented with her birthday cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to her.

Here is the blog entry of our son's first birthday (scroll down to the last photo). He wanted absolutely nothing to do with his first birthday cake. Couldn't get him to eat it. However, I had a feeling that things would be different with our little girl...

Yep, she loved it. Our kids have two totally different stomachs. She is pretty enthusiastic about any kind of food. To this day, our son doesn't really care that much about it (although I doubt he would turn down cake now...).

Big brother & cousins were a big help when it came to opening presents. She got some nice things. Most of her toys until now have been gender-neutral ones, handed down from big brother, so it was nice to see her get some girly gifts, like a doll & stroller, and a tea set! (Although it is still a little strange for me to see these things around my house!)

Everyone stayed & visited until dark. After we cleaned up and got ready to go home, it was late & we were exhausted! But it was good to celebrate our daughter's one year of life together with those who have loved and supported us well. Here are a few more photos from the night:

Her butterfly cake: Secret Chocolate Cake w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Big Brother & Cousins enjoying the meal

The party girl herself (pre-cake)

Next post... LA party!