We Like To Party!

This post is about parties. Birthday parties, to be specific. A lot of birthday parties. Too many birthday parties. Let me explain.

First, we held Lauren's birthday party with her friends. Since she's growing up and is a whopping 11 years old, she wanted to have a "late night" with her girlfriends (we don't do sleepovers at our house). She didn't want party games and cake and ice cream....she wanted to have dinner and a chocolate fountain! So I made pasta and two kinds of sauce, garlic bread and a salad and bought a bunch of goodies for the fountain. It was a blast. The girls then went to the basement for some big kid games like Curses. Lauren has some darling friends and I hope they always stay close.

Well, then we came to Braiden's birthday party....for those you know my family well, you are probably thinking, "huh?" Yes, I know his birthday is in September, so why are we having a birthday party for him in February? Well, it's a funny story, really. We were back in Wisconsin for Braiden's birthday, had a blast driving half-way across the country, and when we got back, well, I just got so consumed with laundry, school and a half a dozen other things and forgot completely about have a party with his friends. He did too, until Lauren had hers. He was determined to have a party because all of the other kids got one and he didn't. I could NOT talk him out of just waiting until his next birthday and having a super-sized party....no way! So, I finally gave up and sent out invitations. I was so embarrassed to be asking his friends to a party so long after his real birthday, but everyone was great with it and we had a great time. Lauren was invaluable to me during the party. She helped with the games because I hadn't even finished decorating his cake when all of the kids arrived. Thanks, Lauren!

So, those two were over, now we just needed to get Ethan's done. We chose a sports theme for his and invited his playgroup buddies over. They are hilarious together, and even though it was exhausting, we had a good time. I can't believe my baby is FIVE!!!

This is the darling cake my mom made for Ethan. I was so busy with school the day before, that I just didn't have time, so she volunteered. The problem was that she didn't really have time to do it either. I felt so bad imposing on her, but am so grateful that she took the time to do it. Ethan and all of his friends loved the clowns and Ethan loved that it was a huge cupcake. Thanks, Mom, you are a lifesaver!

Well, there you have it...three parties in three weeks! Whew! I am glad they are over and that the kids had fun. Now, hopefully I can rest for a little bit...at least until April!