A birthday party

On Friday the 9th, we had a birthday party for Caleb. It was just a small event, we invited 4 kids (ranging from age 15 months to 6 years) and 5 adults, but it turned out to be just the perfect size for a 2 year old's birthday party. We set up a whole bunch of toys in the living room for the kids to play with, and they didn't need any encouragement, they even found the stash of toys that we keep in the playpen in my office, taking them out one by one. They all seemed to have fun.

I served snacks of crackers and a cheese platter, blueberries and olives, which doesn't sound like the ideal food for a toddler's party, but these are the foods that Caleb loves. We also had our generic cheese pizza that all children love (and garlic/tomato pizza for adults). I had juice boxes, which Caleb just loved (he doesn't normally get these) and Italian sodas for the adults.

The cake was a lemon-butter frosting cake with fresh blueberries and strawberries on top that I toiled over the night before, trying not to wake Caleb, whose room is right above the kitchen. This required taking the mixer more than once out into the living room, to whip up the batter. Here's a picture of the cake and Caleb blowing out the candles on top.

I found out at the end of the day that we made Caleb very happy with the party. Before he was ready to go up to bed, he went into the dining room and started recounting the day's events. He pointed to the Happy Birthday banner, and started singing "To you!" Then he said torta (cake) and made blowing sounds, like he was blowing out the candles, all the while chuckling. He said "baby" several times, laughing, his name for one of the little girls, Vienne, the daughter of a friend who attended birthing classes with us two years ago (Vienne actually arrived 2 weeks earlier than Caleb!).

We had asked everyone not to bring gifts, because Caleb has so many toys already, and thankfully they all complied, bringing only gifts that truly came from the heart: beautifully hand drawn cards with hearts and messages like, Have a happy forever! I think we will.