61st Birthday Party

As mentioned earlier, we had a fantastic party the other weekend to celebrate all of our birthdays combined. I turned 30 in April, Yannos turned 30 in May, and Zoe turned 1 in June. A family 61st birthday party.


We gave her cake and presents before the big event so she wouldn't be overwhelmed with 60 people staring at her. She somehow enjoyed herself.

We gave her a drum and a xylophone, which she has played with nonstop for 10 days. She dove head first onto the animal blocks that yia-yia and pappou got for her. And Aunt Hillary's water table has been a big hit, despite the fact it has been sitting in the living room waterless. She had 103.5 fever in all of these pictures.

When the invitations went out, I quickly learned that people (males our age) can't read. They were utterly confused about how our parents were already turning 61 and why they were on the guest list for my mom's birthday party.

Just as the inspiration for the baptism decor all came from a napkin. The inspiration for this party came from a ribbon. Thanks to whoever gave me a present with that ribbon on it. I owe you.

I did quite a poor job of taking pictures, which is pretty normal at functions because I'm out enjoying the party and playing photographer means I miss a lot. But this occasion was especially bad since Zoe had a fever between 102 and 105.2 the entire day.

As for party decor. We rented pink and orange linens and decorated with pink, orange, and red balloons and flowers.

Even the drinks were pink and red

I want to emphasize the importance of balloons with the following pictures...

The children of our friends and neighbors would not rest until they each had a balloon in hand. Which meant destroying the decor, but who cares? 

Desperately trying to cut down the right color balloon

Zoe took a break from her 45-minute scream fest to hang out with pappou and balloons

My plan was to have a forkless party. So, everything was finger food. We had chicken, beef, shrimp, vegetable, and fruit skewers. The only problem was the ridiculous amount of prep work this idea took in order to feed 60 people. Thank you to my mom, Yannos, and Brian for not killing me.

Here they are skewering for hours the day before. 

Also, Yannos had to grill for 5 hours straight. 

Being the grill master did have some perks. Happy Birthday one and all!

Have you seen our birthday music video?

Cake this place up

I think birthday cakes should be homemade. Call me an old-fashioned, 1950's housewife.

For Zoe's 1st birthday, I made a vanilla cake with mango lime frosting and strawberry filling.
It was pretty delicious.

Oh, and it was in the shape of a Z.

I also made her a tiny square cake that should could touch and smash and have all to herself.

Don't let that face fool you. It was good.

That's better

I modified a cupcake recipe I found (decreased the sugar and salt) and baked it in a 8x8 pan. I cut two little squares out of one corner to make the smash cake. I didn't have a plan for the rest of the cake, but then I saw if I divided the rest into thirds, I could make a Z.

I sliced each piece horizontally so I could make it a layer cake. I wanted her smash cake to be a cube, so it was actually 3 layers in order to get the right height. I chopped up strawberries and placed strawberry and frosting in between each layer. Here are what the recipes turned out to be.



Vanilla Cake Recipe
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup cold whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, stir together all dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Stir in milk. Bake about 25 minutes.

Mango Lime Buttercream

1/2  cup unsalted butter, softened
1 ataulfo mango, pureed

juice of one lime

zest of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons mild honey (I used my Aunt Tammy's tupelo)
4-5  cups powdered sugar
 

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add mango purée, lime zest and juice, and honey; mix well. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired spreading consistency.

(I did 3 cups and then frosted the baby's cake even though it was not a great consistency, just to have a little less sugar. Then I added another cup to get a better frosting consistency for the rest). 

One = Fun?

Zoe turned 1 on Saturday. She also had a 105.2 fever. Awesome sauce. Let's do some comparisons between  June 2nd 2011 and June 2nd 2012. Ready go.

Similarities

The Good: We were surrounded by people we love.

In 2011, our parents were with us soon after Zoe's birth. We had a revolving door of friends and family throughout the week.

In 2012, we had a kickin' party. I heard it was great.

The Bad: We took a drug store trip in the wee hours of the morning.

In 2011, we made a 3am drugstore run for the last of our birth supplies. Since she was 2.5 weeks early, we weren't quite prepared.

In 2012, we had to get more Tylenol for our screaming, sick child at 1am.

The Ugly: There was an abundance of crying.

Newborn babies cry a lot.

Babies with a fever of 105 cry a lot.

Parents in both situations also cry a lot.

Differences

The Good: Cake

Zoe got to stick her hands all up in a tiny cake I made just for her! (Stay tuned for more on the cake).

(Fever: 103.5 degrees)

The Bad: The hospital

In 2011, we didn't set foot in a hospital. We didn't even have to see a doctor.

In 2012, I was in the ER with Zoe from 9pm to 12:30am. Hence why I said, I "heard" our party was great. I was mostly inside trying to keep the baby happy.

The Ugly: Medical procedures

In 2011, Zoe didn't have a single medical procedure. She didn't even need to be suctioned. She was weighed and measured, and that was the only time she was even touched by someone outside of the family. 

In 2012, Zoe had to be straight-cathed in order to run a urine test. They didn't even get enough urine to run the test, which made our Saturday night ER trip and baby torture completely pointless.

• All week we'll be discussing more fun turning one topics. Cake. Party Details. You know, normal birthday things.

Happy Birthday Baby!

The baby is one!  Yannos and I are thirty. We have lots of milestones up in here. Enjoy!

Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap