Amelia's 1st friend party

Yesterday was Amelia's first birthday party where she could invite friends over to celebrate with her.
2 hours + 8 five year olds = one tired mama! I think 4 kids would have been better, but Amelia had fun so that's what's important! We had a few activities planned, and still had 45 minutes left over! I guess the activities didn't last as long as I'd hoped. I had visions of smoothly flowing from one event to the next seamlessly, ending perfectly on time with parents swooping in to bring their child home. Not quite the case. (Although ALL the parents arrived right on time to pick up their kids, which was wonderful!)

Here is a sampling of a couple of the party activities. They played musical dress-up game:

 

 

 

 Opened gifts. Here is Amelia and Alex:

 Amelia and Grace:

 Amelia and Sophia:

 Amelia and Lola:

 Amelia and (her boyfriend!?!) Ian:

 Amelia and Avery:

 Amelia and Noah:

 The entire group:

 Pinning the pirate chest to the treasure map:

And the kids decorated their own cupcakes, which served three parts: It was the cake, it was a craft, and it was a parting gift since they decorated two, ate one and brought one home in a cupcake box. I love economizing! Each kid also received a lovely parting gift from the dollar store: a rubber snake for the boys, and a paint your own piggy bank kit for the girls. All in all, Amelia loved her first friend party! We are gearing up for the family party next week on May 6, then Mira gets her shot at a friend party in early June. Throw my and Chris's 11th anniversary in on Saturday and it's a busy month!

Happy Easter 2012

This year we spent Easter with Chris's dad and Terrie. The kids did their annual Easter egg hunt on the hillside and down to the beach! They love this tradition and really love finding the eggs with the cash in them! This year Amelia found one with $5.00. She was thrilled!

My two darling daughters:

 Randy, Amelia, and Mira:

Amelia, Cara, and Mira waiting for the Easter egg hunt to start:

Ready, set, go! They are off!

Up the hills, down the hills, on the beach . . . eggs could be anywhere!

 Cate got her own little plot of land at the top of the hill to find her eggs.

 It's a long way down from the house!

 Mira and Cara:

Amelia starts gymnastics

Each season, Chris and I let the girls pick an activity to join through the park and rec board. This can be either a single class, a drama class, a sport, or an art activity.  This session, Amelia chose gymnastics! Her first lesson was Tuesday night and she really enjoyed it! They got to taste a little of everything in the first session, then they will fine-tune their skills over the course of the next few weeks.

Here are a few photos of her first night:

 

 

 

Parents aren't allowed to view again until the last class. I'll post more photos then and show her progress!