The genius of having all of your kids in a three-day span?
Having to throw only one, mega, blow-out birthday party a year. *all the praise hands*
As much as I love the planning, designing, decorating, etc., I'm also pretty glad that, like Christmas, it only comes 'round once a year. Until about a decade from now when they wise up and realize that they all want their own dang birthday parties. But until then...
I may or may not have been planning their party since last summer. (Yes, I'm that mom.) Or at least when my brain was thinking of ideas for a first and third party -because what on earth do you do for two three-year olds and a one-year old? - the phrase "it's sweet to be one and three" kept floating around my head. Kids and candy? Oh yes. So despite the fact that the one-year old couldn't really partake, I ran with the candy theme. The three-year olds on the other hand? Definitely approved.
{Candy scoops. Scored the candy jars through Facebook marketplace.}
{Wrapped colored paper lanterns in clear cellophane for hanging "candy" decorations. Rainbow felt garlands - planning to use them now as decoration in the playroom or Nolan's room. The party was just a good excuse to order them. ;) }
I am giving major props to myself this year for ordering out for all of the cakes. The cake pops (which turned out to be THE most amazing cake pops I have ever had, and I have had a few cake pops in my day) were made by a friend of a friend, and I ordered the three mini cakes from a bakery. It was the first year that I haven't spent the day or two leading up to the party making 50 or so cupcakes, and with Nolan's nap strike going on, this was sheer GENIUS. There's a very good reason you can pay other people to do these things for you.
(Yum.)
The enthusiastic guests of honor:
(Good work, guys.)
(That's...as good as the family pics got.)
(Fun fact: Brooklyn's hair bow is mine from when I was a girl.)
The above photo perfectly captures how I felt while opening presents: surrounded by gift wrap and small children while more presents were tossed down on me from above. Gifts for three birthday kids? Seemingly never-freaking-ending. It is somehow actually worse than Christmas.
(Brooklyn, when confronted with a stack of birthday cards at the end with cash inside (i.e. not attached to a gift): "Where's the presents? THESE NEED PRESENTS!" Bless.)
With three now basically sharing a birthday, I feel strongly that they should at least each get their own birthday cake. My INTENTION was to cut up Caden and Brooklyn's cakes, once the candles were blown out, for anyone who wanted an actual slice of birthday cake instead of a cake pop. Nolan got to dive on in since, well, that's what you do with a first birthday. But the second they saw Nolan going to town with his two little hands, well...
Dig in, you two.
(As you can see from Brooklyn's cake, people still weren't shy about snagging a slice.)
Oh, and you might have thought that Brooklyn's would have been the pink cake while Caden and Nolan got the blue and green ones, but...
Nope. Brooklyn's favorite color is firmly blue, Caden's is definitely green, which left Nolan with the pink cake. (Why order a pink cake then? I don't know. I like pink. I still wanted a pink cake. I suppose I could have done orange maybe? I just liked blue and green and pink together. Also, Nolan doesn't have a favorite color yet and, hey, cake is cake.)
The difference between the first and second (or third, as the case may be) time around? The first year I was adamant that I was going to make Caden and Brooklyn's birthday cake. It was going to be banana - they LOVE bananas! - and it was going to be all organic and I was making it my own damn self so I knew exactly what was in it. You can't just go around feeding a one-year old a sugared up cake from any old bakery, people! The result being that it was the first time they had ever had cake and didn't really know what to do with it and it was probably still too sweet for them so they hardly touched it. No impressive one-year old cake smashing went on that day. So this time...
Go to town, little man. You've already had your fair share of cake tasting in the six months you've been allowed solid food, anyway.
(Cake coma. Good work.)
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Throwing a party for forty people might be draining, but it's nothing, NOTHING I tell you, compared to the aftermath the next day.
Still trying to find homes for all their swag. It's a very, very good thing these birthdays only come around once a year.
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In case you're interested: