They Say It's Your Birthday...Yes, Again.

If anyone is keeping score, Isota had three First Birthday celebrations this year. #1 was the East Coast party with family and where Sody got her first-ever taste of delicious sugar and fat laden supermarket bakery cake (my personal favorite naughty food). She ate a whole piece and yes, loved it. Duh. The second celebration was her actual birthday here, in which we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory with my parents and the waiters brought out a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a candle in it. Sody looked SO confused about why these people were singing to her. She kept trying to pick up the whole ice cream scoop with her hands and shove it in her mouth. Pretty priceless.

The third and final celebration was this past weekend: her first Real Birthday Party. The kind where you invite over kids and friends and get everyone hopped up on sugary treats and the birthday girl gets to rip open presents. In all honesty I have been thinking about and planning her First Birthday for weeks and weeks – ok, more like months and months, you got me. It is just such a milestone and even though she is too young to remember and really get it, the birthday thing is a big deal. Maybe more of a big deal for us right now, but still a big deal. Plus, party planning and thinking up menus and spending days baking up goodies is all so far, far up my alley…this is truly my idea of a good time. You should have seen the semi-elaborate themed dinner parties I would have in college – Indian Dinner Feast where I made people wear bindis, or Fifties Housewife Night with pot roast while wearing heels and pearls. Etc. What can I say, it’s a sickness. Sody is staring down a future childhood of weird birthday parties, I am afraid.

Anyway, the birthday party was a definite success. The food worked, I think everyone had fun, I made too much candy but that always happens. The party was small enough that we got to hang out with everyone but big enough that it felt festive. Sody got to eat more cake and play with some bigger kids (her favorite thing) and get more practice opening packages. The highlight was the rainbow layered birthday cake – six thin crazy bright layers of cake separated by buttercream frosting. I literally jumped up and down when I cut into it and realized it turned out. Thank you to everyone for your presence and for the presents and for your love in celebrating our baby.

Happy Birthday, Darling Girl. Party season is finally, officially OVER!