Happy Birthday Kaelyn!

Today is Kaelyn's first birthday...I can't believe it.  The other day, a friend of mine brought over some pictures that she took of Kaelyn at our Superbowl party.  She was only four months old...she looked so tiny.  Now, she doesn't even really look like a baby.  Her mess of curly hair makes her look like a toddler.  My little girl is growing so fast!

We had Kaelyn's birthday party on Sunday and it was great fun.  Roger and I put a lot of work and energy into it and were exhausted when it was over.  Saturday, Roger had a bachelor party to go to and I had made plans to take Kaelyn to Lance's Virgo party.  I had spent that morning grocery shopping, then making fondant for the cakes and the potluck dishes for Roger and I to take to our respective parties. While Kaelyn was napping, Roger and I wrapped her presents (we give them to her tonight).  The day went by so fast! Before I knew it, it was 5.  Our parties both started at 6, but we were both pretty late.

We didn't get home from the Virgo party until close to 11pm.  I put Kaelyn to bed (she had long been asleep) and proceeded to make potato salad for the next day and clean up the kitchen.  Roger came home around 1 am.  We stayed up for another hour hanging out and talking.  I had brought some cupcakes home for him and he decided to eat them then, which meant that he stayed up pretty late with the sugar rush.  I fell asleep long before him.  The alarm went off way too early.

Sunday morning was a scramble.  I had to make 3 cakes (one lemon, one chocolate, and batch of giant chocolate cupcakes), make the frosting, and decorate the cakes.  Vickie came over a couple of hours early with the sugar cookie stars and rainbow she made for the cake and to help me roll out the fondant.  I was nervous, but the cake turned out beautifully (pictures will be on Facebook soon).  I also made the bbq sauce for Roger's baby back ribs, which takes about 2 hours to reduce.  Roger did the rest of the cooking, ribs, tri tip, pork tenderloin, corn on the cob, and chicken kabobs.  Our friends did not go hungry!

The party itself was a blast.  We ate and played with Kaelyn...who enjoyed all the attention.  I let her splash around in our water fountain outside.  She was such a ham and with the encouragement of our friends put on a very good show.  Michelle was taking pictures.  I can't wait to see them.  After the fountain, I stripped her down and we sung Happy Birthday and gave her the cake.  Again, she did not disappoint.  Without me trying to prevent her from makin a mess, she dug into her chocolate cake, smeared it everywhere, and even threw peices around the kitchen.  She also managed to eat quite a bit of it.  I bet there's nothing like your first taste of chocolate!  Too bad, I can't remember mine.

By the time we were done with cake, Kaelyn was pretty tired.  We had some presents to open but she wasn't that into it.  I ended up opening them myself while she sat on the floor rubbing her eyes.  Our friends are so great.  Klara stayed up all night making her a Strawberry Shortcake outfit for Halloween...deciding to sew it when she heard me say at Lance's the night before that I thought she'd make a cute one.  Vickie stayed up all night making and decorating the sugar cookies.  And I thought I was a hero for making potato salad!  Ha!

I had a pretty big headache by the time the party was over.  Kaelyn and I both went down for naps and Roger cleaned up by himself...he's so awesome.

Tonight, it's just us and I'm really looking forward to it.  Dinner and presents, nice and relaxing.  I can't wait...