Ivory's Birthday
Ivory turned four years old yesterday.
It was the first birthday that she anticipated for days, weeks and even months. Her new found awareness, excitement and joy about her birthday made it enjoyable for me to play along in this birthday game.
So late Sunday night, I was putting the finishing touches on her birthday outfit, her cake and making sure that I had my bag packed to go and bake cupcakes at her school in the morning.
The outfit:
The cupcakes:
The cake(s):
and the party:
The party was a potluck, of course.
Birthdays are perfect oportunities for the adults as well as the children to come together, to share a meal and to build a community that will endure. As one person after the other walks into the house holding their beautiful dishes, I am flooded with gratitude and affection for our friends and neighbors. I wish I had thought to take a photograph of the brightly colored bowls filled with all kinds of chopped vegetables, soups, breads and cheeses. Each person sharing with their plates a story of place, of history and themselves.
At least a dozen children and their respective grownups crowded our yard. The sunshine held, the air stayed warm and the quilts spread in the grass were a perfect cover for our lack of chairs. The fun lasted until tired children and delayed bed time routines finally forced parents to say goodbye.
After we unwrapped gifts, changed into pajamas and curled up into bed Ivory's only wish was that her friends could have all stayed... indefinitely.
That sounds like it was a good birthday to me.
It was the first birthday that she anticipated for days, weeks and even months. Her new found awareness, excitement and joy about her birthday made it enjoyable for me to play along in this birthday game.
So late Sunday night, I was putting the finishing touches on her birthday outfit, her cake and making sure that I had my bag packed to go and bake cupcakes at her school in the morning.
The outfit:
The breakfast:
Chocolate Beet Cupcakes with cream cheese icing and marzipan flowers and leaves.
Sylvan and Ivory, oh so eagerly, awaiting their cupcakes.
The cake(s):
A toadstool fairy house for the children made of a chocolate sheet cake and iced with cream cheese icing and embellished with marzipan flowers and butterfly. A Boston cream pie for the adults.
The party was a potluck, of course.
Birthdays are perfect oportunities for the adults as well as the children to come together, to share a meal and to build a community that will endure. As one person after the other walks into the house holding their beautiful dishes, I am flooded with gratitude and affection for our friends and neighbors. I wish I had thought to take a photograph of the brightly colored bowls filled with all kinds of chopped vegetables, soups, breads and cheeses. Each person sharing with their plates a story of place, of history and themselves.
At least a dozen children and their respective grownups crowded our yard. The sunshine held, the air stayed warm and the quilts spread in the grass were a perfect cover for our lack of chairs. The fun lasted until tired children and delayed bed time routines finally forced parents to say goodbye.
After we unwrapped gifts, changed into pajamas and curled up into bed Ivory's only wish was that her friends could have all stayed... indefinitely.
That sounds like it was a good birthday to me.
wish I could have been there. You really went all out. Those cupcakes and the cake were adorable. Ivory's skirt and shirt are great.
ReplyDeleteEverything is super cute. Thanks for sharing the pictures!
ReplyDeleteElke
wow!! what a fun party!! and such exquisite planning from the adorable cupcake outfits to the breakfast and the cakes.
ReplyDeleteI love the crown!!Ivory is lucky to have so many who love and care for her in such a special way.
Love, Oma Sherry
I thought of Ivory all day Monday and knew you had most definitely baked an awesome cake! It is so cute...the Pilz, the flowers, everything. And the cupcakes are awesome. I'm sure Ivory felt very special!!!
ReplyDeleteI packed up a box on Sunday night, sending it off Monday afternoon. (Late, as usual). It should get there Friday...there are a couple of little things in it for Sylvan as well.
Love you!~
Omama