Come, Mommy

We had Liam’s “official” birthday party yesterday. We had a small one with just the four of us on Thanksgiving Day, his actual birthday, so yesterday’s shindig was for Liam’s friends. We kept it nice and simple – it was basically a big playdate with cake and ice cream involved. We had a couple of neighborhood friends, another couple of old and dear friends from La Leche League, and then we invited Liam’s Kindegarten class. Of the fifteen Kindergarten class families, we had eleven come, which was an amazing turnout given how busy December weekends are for most people. (Well, that and we only sent out the invitations two weeks before the party…) All told we had eighteen of Liam’s friend along with parents and some siblings. It turned out to be a nice-sized group for the party.

Since we were trying to keep things simple and non-stressful, we didn’t plan any formal activities. Instead, we let the children play as they wished for about an hour, maybe a bit more. The visitors loved checking out Liam’s toys, and he had a fun time showing them off. We set out some chips, a fruit plate, and a veggie tray along with cider for hungry guests, and the adults had a good time visiting and watching the children play. I have some very sweet pictures from that early part of the party, but I’m not going to post them as I don’t have permission to show the other children in this format.

After the children were played out and asking for cake, we brought it out. Liam asked for a ‘purple robot cake” this year. It took me a few days of careful conversation to figure out what constitutes a purple robot cake, but after consultation with both Liam and the bakery, the masterpiece turned out like this:

Liam just squealed with delight when I arrived back from the bakery with this cake, and judging by the squeals of his friends, they liked it too. It is a 12 inch round cake with one devil’s food layer and one yellow layer. It was frosted with vanilla buttercream frosting, and the decorating was done in two shades of light and dark purple icing.

Liam blew out his candle, and then we all had ice cream and robot cake. While the adults cleaned up a bit, the children played some more. Then Liam opened his birthday presents:

This one turned out to be a crown from one of his classmates…

…and this is a train music box from Kevin and me.

Finally he worked his way through his presents. The younger children were looking like they’d had enough fun, and it was getting dark and cold outside. People started heading off into the evening, but before going out the door, each child received one of these:

Some children decided to have their purple robot cookies as dessert after dinner, while others were eaten before the buckles were snapped on car seats.

All in all a fun party, a happy birthday boy, and a nice afternoon visiting with friends.

And now – time to start the Christmas decorating in earnest!