Alli's Birthday

I'm not sure how or why, but Alli Jane just knew that it was her birthday today ;) She woke up in the best mood and we hung out a bit in the morning as we prepared for her party. She laid down for a nap around 10 am, and we finally had to wake her up a little after one since her guest where beginning to arrive. Isn't that how you would like your birthday to go? Take a 3 hour nap and wake up just in time to have someone get your dressed, bring you a drink (in her case, it was milk, my drink of choice would probably be a bit stronger!) and greet your guest? I was just sure that she was going to end up over stimulated with so many people here, but she remained in great spirits the whole day! She couldn't be any more precious.

The cupcake party was so cute! And the beautiful day made it even better! I'm officially only having my kid's birthday parties on days that all of the kids can go outside, they had such a good time out there! Since we have so many older kids, I planned a couple of activities for them. They all made Alli the cutest little cupcake shaped birthday cards when they arrived and then off to the backyard to decorate their own cupcakes. They LOVED that! I think it may have to be a new tradition ;) Heather made the CUTEST first birthday cake for Alli (pics are in a album on the side. The pictures from Kiddie Kandids are also on there, but I haven't had a chance to play with the boarders and such on those yet) and she really enjoyed tearing it apart! She was very dainty, careful and cautious with it, but still managed to eat 1/4 of it! Poor thing had to deal with the paparazzi in front of her though! Just look at the pictures, you'll see! And who knew that it was so easy to make homemade cupcakes?! I don't think I'll go back to the boxed mixes anytime soon (except for the kiddos, they didn't seem to care!) The Chocolate Toffee were so good, but very rich, which means that 1/2 of one is enough, so that's good, right? They have toffee in the mix, the frosting and on top...oh so good! I also made a batch of refreshing lemon curd cupcakes, I can't find a link for those. I didn't do so well on making the curd, so they went without, but they were also very good!

After taking a quick bath, it was time to open gifts. She thanks everyone for the cards- they were her favorite! She received mostly clothes, about a wardrobe and a half worth. No..make that two! She is set for spring and half of summer with some very cute outfits! She even got the cutest swimsuit! She also got a great plastic bib (love those!), her first piggy bank, her first baby doll and her first Barbie from Ella. We even had a little fashion show towards the end of the party!

After cleaning up, Marty and I took the kids over to his mom's while we ran down to the Mexican restaurant in Kuna- it was nice to be able to sit and relax after a busy day. Now, all of the birthday stuff is put away and I don't want to see it until next December! I'm birthday-ed out!

Now my baby is not a baby. =( She's officially a toddler. But of course she'll always be my baby no matter her age. Once again, Happy Birthday Alli Jane!