So, my sweet little baby is officially one year old today. She is no longer a little baby, she is a toddler. The kids decided that since she now walks, she can be called a toddler. I think it may be a tad too soon, but I just love the way that word sounds, so I let them continue to say it. Go ahead, try it. Say toddler out loud without smiling. It's practically impossible, isn't it? Toddler, toddler, toddler, it' s just a cute word.
Sophie's party was scheduled to start at ten. A few minutes before, Lexi called me on her mom's cell phone to say that they would be 10-15 minutes late. I thought that sounded just about perfect, since I still hadn't frosted the cake, hung up the ballons and streamers, washed the teacups and saucers I found at the Brockenhaus for the kids to drink out of, or showered and gotten dressed. This was at 9:38, mind you.
I had planned out a lot of things quite far in advance. The trouble was that Alexandra never took a nap on Friday. Not one, not even for 30 minutes. This made her cranky, and whiny and she wanted to be held all the time. It's kind of hard to frost a cake or be crafty when you're holding a crying baby. So I didn't get started on the party preparations until 9 o'clock that night. At 2:30 am I went to bed, woke up at 8:20 and rushed around trying to get stuff done, but alas, it wasn't enough. I eventually decided to just go with fresh undergarments and a liberal application of deodorant rather than waste precious minutes in the shower. And I was feeling pretty okay (what with the extra few minutes I was going to get by Jenna and the girls arriving a bit late) when the doorbell rang at exactly 10 on the date.
Oh yeah, we invited two girls from Sophie's kindergarten. Two Swiss girls, which means they would be on time, no matter what. Sure enough, the one mom, who I swear got there at like 30 seconds after 10, even asked if they were the last to arrive. Since they weren't five minutes early, they considered themselves late. hahaha. No, they were the first ones here. Then she asks, all innocent, "Oh, really? Did the party start at 10:30 or 10:00?" Aaah, gotta love cultural differences. Fortunately for me, the two Swiss girls were happy to play in the girls' room as they had never been to our house before, so it was all new to them.
Jenna arrived a bit later and proceeded to rescue the birthday party. There are some people who offer other's help as a way to make themselves feel superior. Like, they never ever have dirty dishes left in their sink. They don't say it, it's just a vibe they give off. Some people just recognize a need and offer to help. They don't want praise or a reward, they just want to help because they like you. Jenna is one of those people, so I had absolutely no problem asking her to run the "Beauty Salon" while I finished the other party preparations. She painted the girls' nails and chatted away with them and just took all that stress away that had been building since the day before in one fell swoop.
Then, as if that weren't enough, she informed me as she spied the still frosting-less birthday cake, that she used to decorate cakes at her job at Dairy Queen. Would I like some help? Heck yeah, here's the powdered sugar, there's the mixer, have at it! She rummaged through my drawers and found all kinds of crazy items to cover in frosting to make the cake actually look like a teapot, then whipped up some nummy frosting and decorated it in no time at all. Seriously, that is the kind of service I need and want and she just did it without batting an eye. That is the kind of friend we all could use. (She also ended up washing a bunch of dishes and scrubbing my sink and drain to get rid of this nasty smell I couldn't get rid of on my own. I had been trying for days. Mwah! Jenna)
The tea party was way fun, and the girls looked super cute in their fancy clothes. Some wore dress up dresses, others just wore really nice clothes, but they all looked gorgeous. We will definitely have to have another one soon, and not for a birthday, just for fun. Especially since I now own all these beautiful tea cups!
After the last guest left, Alexandra and I hopped in the tub for a relaxing soak. She loves to splash in the water, and having Mommy in there with her was an added bonus. When we were all squeaky clean and nummy smelling, we laid down for a little nap. The older kids played with all of Sophie's new stuff and then they built a fort in the living room. After my batteries were recharged, we headed outside for a bike ride. The chain came off my bike 🙁 so I had to walk with Alexandra and the kids rode ahead on their bikes. We went out to the fountain in the forest, and on the way back we stopped at our neighbors' and jumped on their trampoline.
The kids had never been on a full-size trampoline before and they were a bit nervous at first. But it had a safety net all the way around it, and they eventually decided they loved it. It was a bit high up, so I had to help the younger ones off and on, but they are hoping to be invited over again soon. We got back kind of late, so I hurried and made tacos while the kids took their baths. We let Alexandra open her present from Oma, but she will have to wait to get her presents from us until tomorrow. Luckily, at this age, she doesn't know the difference!
