Ariella's Birthday Party

Ariella's party went really well overall. We had a big turnout, 27 people, 5 of which were kids. I was very happy with how the decorations and food came out. My photographer friend came early, and Ariella did a photo shoot. She even took pics standing while holding onto a chair. She stood there a long time. I thought she'd fall for sure, but she didn't.

Then, Ariella took a nap, and was asleep for the first 15 minutes of the party. Luckily people were still arriving, though. After she woke up, I brought her in the living room to play. I put her on her rocking dog (not my brightest move, with all the presents right there). She fell off of that, oops, bad mommy! But she got ok very soon, phew.

Then we did food. I fed Ariella chili and apple sauce. Then, she got fussy, so I took her into my bedroom to nurse quickly. I think most people thought I was doing a diaper change.

Then we did presents. It was a lot of presents, and Ariella got a little overwhelmed. I guess it was a lot given that she's not used to many people.

Then, we did the cake. I took off her dress, but she was covered very well by her 1st birthday bib. She went to town on the icing! I think the cake was a little firm or maybe they just did a lot of icing, but that was all she got, the icing. She ate a good bit of it, too. Then, she pulled off her hair bow, covering it with icing and tried to eat her bow. Then, the icing was in her hair. Then, she was tired I guess, because she wiped her eyes. Oops. So, icing everywhere. Then, off to a bath because I'm sure icing in the eyes is not good.

After that people started leaving. All in all very nice party, perhaps a bit too much for her, but I think she had fun. At least when she's older, she'll know we really went all out for her first birthday. :-). For me, the party was kind of a whirl wind. It went by fast, as I was kept super busy by Ariella. I got to eat a little chili, but didn't even have cake until the party was long over. I guess that's pretty typical. I didn't get to talk with the guests as much as I would have liked either. But, I was very happy with how it came together.