Knowing that the Salvateenies' first birthday would be a popular event, we planned an all-day (practically) shindig. I couldn't handle the whole invitation thing, so we did a Facebook invite and then called/emailed the handful of folks who wouldn't see it on Facebook. All in all, we invited something like 250 people. And there were still some we forgot!
We spent the week before the party pretending to get ready. My brother schlepped the boxes from the back bedroom (aka the "catch-all room" where the movers put boxes we didn't have a spot for yet) downstairs into his area so we could move all the baby things out of the living room AND add a little sitting area for people who were overwhelmed by the crowd (and there was a crowd). On Friday, we had professional cleaners come and tidy and scrub -- this will become a habit, I fear, since a mere 8 days later you totally can't tell that cleaners were ever here.
On Saturday, we made sure to get the babies down for a nap on time so that they would be up for company at 1. I ran out to Safeway to pick up all the party platters and chip/dip fixings we would need and by the time I was back, Joe's parents and sister were here and we were in turbo set-up mode. The beverages had been brought up from the garage, the ice chests were getting filled, and it was time to wake, dress, and feed babies!
After that, it's kind of a blur. There were a TON of people, but everyone seemed really good-natured about the cramped quarters. We had at least 10 other babies visit, and I'm guessing at least 100 guests.
We did cake and singing between 3 and 5, with each baby getting a solo serenade and cake.
Daniel's cake was chocolate, as you can tell, and decorated with a Croco-Daniel! He dug right in, I didn't even have to cut him a slice.
Max had a white cake with banana filling and a big Monkey Max on top. Bizarrely, he was completely calm about his cake, making very little mess at all.
Caroline's cake had a Caro-Lion on it, but she was more into the fondant letters, chewing them like candy.
Of course, once she tore herself away from the letters and dug into the frosting, she went whole hog for her cake:
Luckily, we had a change of clothes for her! It was the perfect opportunity to show off the beautiful hand-knit dress her friend Alexa made:
People started heading out around 9pm (the stated "end time" for the party) and we cleaned up, got the babies to bed, and started in on the presents. The Salvateenies' friends were entirely too generous, and so it took me an extra day to finish going through the gifts. In the end, they received over 60 books (we could start a baby board book lending library), about twenty little outfits, and more toys than they will ever be able to play with!
Here are some other highlights of the day:
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| With her new hair ribbon from Aunty Sam |
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| The Food |
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| Grandpa and Daniel |
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| Daniel with Aunty LeeAnn and Cousin Lenore |
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| Max and Alyssa |
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| Jr and Sam (thanks for the yummy cookies, Sam!) |
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| Uncle Kelly and Ivan playing darts |
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| Stacy cuddled with max |
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| Quynn cuddled with Daniel |
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| Colleen and Max posed (though Max got bored) |
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| Colleen deserves to relax, she made all the cakes! |
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| Daniel's Croco-daniel |
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| Max's monkey |
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| Caroline's caro-lion |
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| Grandma and Max are enjoying the cake show |
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| Daniel poses for the paparazzi |
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| The was the grown-ups' cake |
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| Rick, a Dodger fan, and Daniel matched. But Daniel still rooted for the Giants |
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| Grandpa holding new cousin Anahita! |
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| Max waits for his cake |
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| Getting impatient! |
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| Worth the wait? |
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| So clean! |
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| Caroline was getting jealous, so her view of the cake had to be obstructed |
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| Wishing there were room to play with Hartley |
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| I think Anjali is saying that if Max doesn't stop eating cake, he's going to get chubby cheeks! |
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| Max is not concerned |
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| Caroline with Daddy and Grandpa |
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| Max and Jayanthi |
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| Daniel and the Sugermans |
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| I think she likes frosting! |
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| Sharing some with Aunt Laya |
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| Frosting makes EXCELLENT hair gel! |
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| Posing with Alexa |
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| Playing with Luis and Joe |
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| on the move (the front of that dress was a little longer than the back by the end of the day) |
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| Marley and Francesca |
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| Max and Kim-Shree |
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| Playing ball with Uncle Kelly |
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| The party girl once again outlasts the rest of the room |
So fun. Those cakes were darling. What a nice group. The kids will probably be forever embarressed when they see this later.
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