The Birthday Party

Olivia got lots of gifts in the mail from friends and family in TN, so we let her open most of them on her actual birthday. She was a little excited:





She's only in a diaper, because she smeared chocolate frosting all over her shirt. She was pretty happy with all her "pwesents!"
We started a new gymnastics class Saturday and she's doing pretty well. The first class we took was at our local rec center, but I signed her up at an actual gymnastics center now. She loves the trampoline and she can do a front roll (Maggie and Aubrey taught her that at the beach!). I'm curious to see how she does the next few months.

Her birthday party was the first "party" we've had at our house since we moved to Colorado. We were obviously a little rusty; from buying way too much food (anyone need a bag of onions or macaroni salad?), to not knowing what to do when a huge thunderstorm rolled in 10 minutes after the party started, to me freaking out on Michael for giving Olivia a Flinstone vitamin 10 minutes before the party started (if you're out of the Flinstone vitamin loop, they are a lovely red color that Olivia immediately drooled on her birthday shirt). Yeah, a little rusty!
However, I think things turned out pretty well. Everyone seemed to have a good time! Luckily, Harold (who works with Michael) and his wife, Missy, have cook-outs pretty frequently and they helped us out tremendously- Harold actually grilled all the food! It wasn't just Harold and Missy- everyone was willing to jump in and help or ask if I needed help, which was awesome. We may not have family close, but we are blessed with great friends!
My friend Lindsay let us borrow her jump house, which was a huge hit:



This was right before the thunderstorm- I can tell, because the balloons are still floating! (By the way, doesn't the deck look great?!)



We've had brief thunderstorms in the afternoons the past week or so. They don't last long, but being an optimist, I convinced myself it wouldn't rain Saturday. I was wrong. Maybe half our guests had arrived and we had just blown up the bounce house when we heard the first clap of thunder. We quickly deflated the bounce house and rolled it under the tent, hoping it would stay dry, then grabbed the appetizers and headed inside. More guests arrived and we watched the rain pound the balloons and the wind rip off the tablecloths. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry- we had about 10 kids ages 2-6 and their parents crammed into the playroom. Luckily, the rain only lasted 10-15 minutes, then the sun came out. We lost some chips and crackers, no big deal!
The sandbox was a hit, too:



I love this next picture. This was right after Avry dumped a shovel full of sand in Olivia's hair. They're looking at her dad, who was telling Avry not to put sand in Olivia's hair. I love the look on Olivia's face- "no, really- it's OK. I'll dump sand in Avry's hair as soon as you're not looking."



We did a little eating:



And blowing out candles:





Michael caught on video my favorite moment of the whole party. I called all the kids over to sing and they gathered around Olivia. This is what happened next- watch Landon (the bottom right corner of the video):



Hilarious! Sweet, sweet Landon, our neighbor who has loved Olivia since the day she was born (and now has his very own baby brother to love on!). It's really hard for kids at a birthday party! We encourage sharing and taking turns, but there's only one birthday girl/boy and they get all the presents, attention, and blowing out the candles. Those blazing candles right in front of him proved to be too much! Olivia didn't mind and I re-lit them for her.

Moving on to presents!





I wanted just one picture with my girl at her birthday party, but she wasn't having it:



Overall, we had a great time! This was the aftermath- our kitchen after the party:



Wow, that was some work! We went to Avry's birthday party Sunday afternoon, which made for a busy weekend (and lots of cake and sugar for a little girl!). She was a little grumpy today and went to bed early, so hopefully tomorrow will be better!

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate our little girl!!