Hello Party

We tried to keep Sophie's party relatively simple this year because Steve was in the middle of boards (literally... he had boards Friday and Sunday. The party was Saturday.). We had her party at the park (easy entertainment) and whittled the guest list down to her little friends and their parents.

As I was sorting through photos from the party, I noticed that Sophie and Ivy stayed together most of the time. It almost made me tear up to see them walking around holding hands and sitting next to each other as she blew out her candles.

They really are best friends and Sophie isn't "too cool" to hang out with her little sister. I hope they stay that way.

My favorite part: Ivy's wide-open mouth. That girl knows how to eat, but you'd never tell by looking at her. She'll appreciate that even more later on.

Sophie started to get sleepy around the time we opened presents. She started out opening her own (v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y) . . .

. . . and then made me open the rest and hand her what was inside.

Then she got her second wind. And never took a nap at all that day.

We tried to get some family shots while we were at the park, but I had my camera stuck on a setting all day that made the pictures a little washed out (oops). So I played with them.

Steve's family came for the day, too. From left: Jennifer (Steve's sister), little Nathan, Matt, Grandpa, and then Grandma over on the right.

One of my favorite parts of throwing a birthday party is making a cake or some other sweets. I don't bake that often (especially stuff like this) because we end up munching on it all day every day until it's gone. We have no self control. I'll eat a quarter of a cake/a few cupcakes/a half dozen cookies (or whatever happens to be sitting on the counter) in a day because I grab a bite every time I go in the kitchen. It's bad. It's better to make stuff like this when I have 25 other people around to keep me from eating more than my share.

Sophie wanted a chocolate Hello Kitty cake, so I got gutsy and tried out some fondant. I didn't think the cake would be enough, so I made cupcakes, too. Chocolate chip cookie dough ones. I posted them on my blog a week or so ago and haven't posted anything since. I need to quit looking at them before I make more. They're amazing. Really.