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| The happy birthday girl. |
The Gymboree party did not start until 4:30 pm on April 29, but I was already making the pompoms, souvenirs and game prizes for the kids weeks ahead at home. A day earlier, I spent it baking the cake while Caitlin was away with her grandparents.
On the party day itself, I woke up early to decorate Caitlin's cake with fondant so I can already relax.
Meanwhile, Jay was the busy bee preparing spaghetti and then packing them in carton food boxes.
It was a DIY birthday party of sorts. We weren't driven by costs, but by sheer desire to provide Caitlin something we made ourselves. It was labor of love the way we understand it.
But as her party drew near, Jay and I knew that we would not do it again. The preparation did not stop from the planning, sourcing vendors and caterers, and coordinating with them on the day of the party because we were also part of the catering and event styling.
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| DIY party pompoms. |
But it all worked out. The one-hour lead time that we've allotted was more than enough for us to put everything in place - many thanks to my brother Dino who pinned all the pompoms to the ceiling, a task I thought was for me to do at three months pregnant! Jay's eldest brother Michael also helped with the hauling of our stuff from home to the mall. And who would deny the friendly and courteous guard at the mall as well as the staff of Gymboree? They were all very helpful to us.
So when every decor, cocktail, cake, and gift tables were set by 4:00 pm, we started relaxing.
But as the guests began arriving one by one, the birthday girl who was coming with her grandparents was still nowhere in sight!
It was past 5:00 pm when we saw her and because there were already a lot of people, it did not occur to me to nurse her first before we begin with the teacher-led activities. So by the time we were on the play floor, she was not as active or smiley as she usually is at home. I think a lot of factors played, too, from the many new faces, foreign environment to the lack of sleep and snack.
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| Playing on her own this time. |
As for everything else, Jay and I couldn't be happier. The guests were inquiring about our caterer for the food and even the styling of the place that we had to tell them several times how we made a lot of them ourselves. Also, Abi Ong of Forks and Beans supplied a wonderful treat of chicken and salmon sandwiches with potato salad on the side while my mom provided the fried chicken which we packed together with the pasta.
Although my co-blogger Raquel Chua could not make it because Sam was sick, Daddy Jon came over with her freshly-baked red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They were a hit, and so was my cake which made all my hard labor pay off.
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| L-R: Raquel's red velvet cupcakes and my home-made lemon cake with fondant. |
It was a day to remember, and another wonderful story to tell Caitlin of how we spent her first birthday when she is old enough to ask for stories. Despite agonizing over how her party will turn out to be with all our hands-on participation, we could not imagine having it any other way.
But please don't ask me yet whether we'll do it again for baby number two. Planning a child's first birthday is not as easy as it seems.
For now, let me continue to savor the milestone that Caitlin has achieved and how we are blessed to have celebrated it in the company of close family and friends.
- Mommy Smiley
PS: All photos posted here were taken by Lianne Bacorro.
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| DIY souvenirs for the kids. The boxes were filled with chocolates. |
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| Abi Ong's sandwiches and salad. |
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| Gymboree's table setting for the kids. |
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| Gymboree mascot. |
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| With mommy and daddy at the play floor.
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| Siblings Pillar and Tommy at play.
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| Caitlin turns 1! |
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| The birthday girl.
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| More arts play. |
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| Older kids' art works. |
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| What's important is that she had fun on her first birthday party. |
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