Let them eat cake

Makena had her first birthday party yesterday. It was an intimate gathering of about fifty friends and children. Yup, things got a wee bit out of hand the last few days leading up to the celebration when we realized that a lot of our friends still hadn't met her and that this fiesta was a good opportunity to have them come by and help us wipe the drool off her face.

We managed all this through word of mouth and a simple "save the date" e-mail I originally sent out to ten friends a week ago. One of whom called me in a panic because he hadn't received a paper invitation. I told him to print the e-mail if he needed to hold some tangible proof that this event was actually going to take place.

When my girlfriend and neighbor (the one who organized Makena's closets when she felt I wasn't doing it fast enough) realized that I really wasn't going to get around to even handwriting a store-bought invitation and sending it out, I think I really offended her "Inner Martha" to the point that she offered to make a dummy one so that I could have it to put in Makena's baby book. I'll get right on that. Right after I put my fourteen-year old wedding photos in order and Jack's eight-year old baby pictures together...And did I mention that I have two horses? Take a number, Mak.


In any event it was a blast and I am slightly shell-shocked -- which may or may not have to do with the shots of Tequila we toasted Makena to. But the best part of it all was that four of the families we traveled to China with came with their children and it was like having Makena's family around her, so that was really emotionally satisfying.


At one point, one of Jack's friends commented that there were "a lot of Chinese girls" at the party. He's a little slow but we really like him. Another friend marveled at how an American Jewish guy married a Canadian Catholic girl, that they adopted a Chinese daughter and served Mexican food at her birthday party. I think the Fairly Odd Parent bouncy I rented for the occasion pretty much summed it up. We are fairly odd parents.

And tired. How I ended up with two of Jack's friends having a sleep-over on a school night is beyond me. I handed over the air mattress from Makena's room so that they would have enough beds in Jack's room and wouldn't you know it, the party apparently didn't tire my daughter out one bit. She was up all night and I had nowhere to lie down. I ended up sleeping on the floor with her for part of the night and then another hour or so on the rocker with her sprawled across my chest and then I finally managed to slip her back into the crib and crawl back to the comfort of my bed (except my side was freezing cold) and then it was seven AM and I had to get up and make three boys breakfast, get them dressed and to school on time with a cranky baby on board and...let's just say I'm not a morning person.

Is a tired.

PS Photo # 1: The gold cat I drove all he way to downtown L.A. to purchase so that I could set it on her cake. # 2: The girls reunited (from left to right) Makena, Olivia, Charlotte and Emily. #3: Special on aisle 4! Makena helping me shop for food for her party.