We were originally going to have a little party for Belén’s birthday on Saturday but with her being sick, we didn’t want to expose any other kids so we rescheduled to Wednesday night at 5:30.

I was pretty nervous it was going to be meltdown city with three little tikes between the ages of one and two, but I am happy to report we made it through without a tantrum or tear and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Before everyone arrived, a mellow Belén clung to both Nana and me over a bit of balloon fear.  I started to wonder how it was going to go with a house full of people, cake, presents and everything else that comes with a party if she was overwhelmed by a dozen balloons.

People started arriving and our small house quickly filled up.  Andy was outside putting the finishing touches on the tri-tip and chicken.  I had asked him to have the food ready to as close to 5:30 as possible since I knew we would be dealing with hungry kids close to their bedtime.

Not too long after people arrived, we started dishing up a very tasty Argentine-inspired meal combined with traditional kid party (unhealthy) food (Cheetos, cookies, juice boxes, licorice.) I asked Andy why he bought that bad food and he said it was because that is what you do at kids birthday parties. Who knew?

Rather than invest in party favor bags that seem to be standard issue at kids birthday parties, we decided to spend our money on good food.  We wanted to serve food that would make the adults happy and Andy definitely succeeded in that with his grilling.  As a nice bonus, the kids seemed to enjoy it as well.

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The parents cut chicken, rolls, veggies, etc. up into bite-sized pieces for small mouths with few teeth.  I fed Belén in a bit of a hurried manner since I knew we had to get to cake and presents before everyone became tired.  She enjoyed her birthday meal and then I ushered the party onto cake.

I made a Jell-O cake (Duncan Hines cake with holes poked in it and then liquid Jell-O with a pudding cream frosting.)  We also bought a Ghirardelli white chocolate cake from the Co-Op (to.die.for!) for the adults…it goes much better with wine.

Belén seemed to have more fun with her spoon (she usually doesn’t get to control it herself) than the cake but eventually she got into it and started to feed dad.

Immediately after cake, we opened presents.  Belén was starting to look tired, but I think the sugar from the cake kicked in and she and the rest of the kids put on their rally caps.  They proceeded to make it through all of the gift opening and even played with the toys for a good 30 minutes before people started leaving to hit bedtime.

Belén received some really nice gifts including homemade outfits (from Nana of course), a talking puppy toy, a Dora car, clothes for the beach, her first Converse shoes, a toy cell phone, her very own remote control, books and some great developmental learning toys.

The inflatable Wahoo dog we got her turned out to be a huge hit with not only Belén but the other kids as well.  Seriously, how can you not love a pink, inflatable doggie you can bounce on and hug?

All in all, it was a fun and successful first birthday party.

Tonight I am teaching her how to write thank you cards.

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