10/5/08 Two!

Two years. I can't believe it.

Two years ago today, at 2:30am, the pain I'd been living with for months organized itself into distinct moments. "I think this is it," I gasped to an alarmed Dave. Less than four hours later, these words changed my life: "It's a girl!"

And what a girl. And what a two years with that girl!

A party for a two-year-old is really for the mom and the scrapbook, and I think that's fine reason enough. We had a nice small group of moms & 2006-born toddlers, though the older siblings brought the kid-count to 10.

Notice anything missing from this table? Girls!

And another boy wasn't able to make it. Gina was the only girl guest today. Somehow, all three years of Las Madres moms' groups I belong to are dominated by boys. I've joked that that's because boy-moms need more support, but could that be far from the truth?

I really had fun making and decorating this cake. My years (yes, years now!) of scrapbooking have really helped me find my design instincts. A vision of a brightly colored cake with flowers on it had popped into my head, and instead of being completely stumped, I went with it. It doesn't look anything like what I'd pictured, but that's the artistic process.

And it has just the right amount of lopsidedness to give it that authentic homemade touch.

Happy Birthday To Youuu....


I love this photo because you can see Gina and Gabriel in the background escaping to Gabriel's room to play Legos.


Mm, tasty frosting! Never mind table manners!


(Oh the frosting...ugh, I felt so bad....we had a mom and two kids with soy and egg allergies, and I'd taken great care to make sure the cake was friendly to them. Only to realize while chatting about the frosting recipe that it contained shortening, which is made from soybean oil. The package said "All Vegetable!" and I didn't think past that. Argh! The mom was very gracious about the mistake, but I know this created a real pain for her today.)

Stacey gave me the great idea of decorating cookies to give as party favors. This is a great idea, but it's a ton more time and work than buying a bunch of little diddlies. And two of our birthday guests couldn't have these anyway (eggs).



Still, it was worth it to see the birthday girl's delight in a stack of '2' cookies.



I couldn't believe it...in an eerie deja-vu, she almost wouldn't eat this blue '2' cookie, holding it while plowing through the others (no she didn't get the entire plate), playing with it and pretending it walks. This was just what Gabriel did with a '3' cookie once, and he cried and cried when it broke apart. Katrina didn't take it that far, and she was easily persuaded to eat the cookie.

(A note about the wardrobe change: Katrina got herself soaked in a water spigot out back, so I took this as an opportunity to see how new and old clothes fit. This adorable new shirt was one that Gabriel had picked out. He proudly observed that the little berries stand out. "It's three dimensional!" By far the most comments I get about the cuteness of Katrina's clothes or hair come from her smitten brothers.)

Then the moment of truth....this big box that's been tormenting the boys for a few days can finally be opened!


She loves this barn playset, and played with it nonstop until bedtime. She even permitted Julian to play with her. She shows more interest in the animals as characters than I remember her brothers doing; lining them up or giving them names or roles: "Mama!" "Baby!"

Thank You Bonne Maman and Papa Paul!!!!!

Look at this beautiful card Bonne Maman and Papa Paul sent. Gabriel and Julian were really impressed with the drawing. Julian asked with his precious wide-eyed incredulity, "Papa Paul did all that -- even the coloring?!"


What a wonderfully satisfying birthday!

10/5/08