Free Birthday Party

Free birthday parties work best for the 2 and under set. It is important for the child to have no pre-conceived notions about what a birthday party should entail, and no abilities to differentiate between new and used toys.

Ingrid happens to possess these qualities, and so she was an excellent candidate for a free birthday party this year. We knew that we weren't going to invite people over for her birthday, so we went to Downtown Disney for a family day last weekend instead. On her actual birthday, after a lunch of homemade macaroni and cheese (a favorite with Ingrid) and green beans, we took about 45 minutes (all this was accomplished on Jessie's lunch break) to have a little cake and presents celebration.

We started out with our favorite,

made from scratch, "Black Joe" cake

(yes, there was coffee in the 2-year old's

birthday cake)

with homemade peanut butter icing.

Then we progressed to the gifts, most of which had been handed down to us from friends a few months ago, and had been stored in the garage in anticipation of this day.

Some were pulled out of a large Williams Sonoma bag

some were wrapped in pink paper

and the last one was covered with a sheet

and unveiled after all the others

had been opened and appreciated

All have been thoroughly enjoyed ever since.

nautical themed baby shower

this past sunday I had the fun of organizing

a nautical themed baby shower

for a lovely woman at my church.

and when I use the word "organizing",

what I mean is:

"shamelessly enlisting and exploiting

the talents and resources of women

who are far more creative than myself."

we have a talented and generous-hearted

group of ladies at our church.

clear limeade/sprite based punch,

complete with toy boat.

there were about 6 or 7 of the little anchor decorations

scattered about. the flags held little sayings:

"ahoy, its a boy!" ~ "daddy's first mate"

"mommy's little mariner" ~ "bon voyage, baby james"

"we sailed the seven seas to find a lad as sweet as he"

nautical themed cut-out cookies:

seagull, lighthouse, anchor, sailboat, fish

crackers with salmon salad garnish

"blessing book"

with little pockets on each page into which we slipped cards with favorite bible verses or blessings for the mother and new baby

our resident banner queen made this awesome banner, great for hanging in little James' nursery too.

this cake blew us all away with its cuteness, and it was delicious too!

we rounded out the theme with lots of nautical decor borrowed from different ladies' homes (not too hard to find in the state of florida)

lifesavers mints

bowls of goldfish were a last minute addition

(they come in multicolored,chocolate, honey graham, and pretzel varieties!)

Isabel arrives

(is she cute or what?!)

i'm glad Agnieszka was brave enough to cut that cake. i certainly didn't want the job!

Isabel and one of her daughters - four girls in this family- first boy makes for a lot of excitement!

many thanks to all the ladies who were a blessing on that day!