a double pink birthday party

It was a party for two and one might say that the theme was Pink.

When I was pregnant with Laci and found out I was having a girl, I was afraid my baby shower would look like an explosion of Pepto Bismol. I wasn't a huge fan of pink. But pink is just one of those things that goes with having girls.

Then, when Mia was born, and she was so pale and pink herself, pink just seemed a natural color to put on her. Somewhere along the way, mostly since Mia was born, I have embraced the color pink. It has become a symbol of all things sweet and tiny and girly.

Laci has become obsessed with pink all on her own (honestly, no prompting by me). I can't tell you how many times a day I hear, "I LOOOVE pink! Pink is my favorite color." And so, the party was an explosion of pink - pink balloons, pink cakes, and a giant puff of pink tissue paper hanging above the table. The dining room looks incredibly cheerful, and I'm thinking of leaving it this way for a while. Like, until Fall. Or Christmas.

And speaking of Christmas, you should see the presents scattered all over our living room. It was like Christmas Eve in August, and my girls are so very loved/spoiled by their grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. They have been playing non-stop - from ponies to Calico Critters to blocks to paints to crayons and at least a dozen other fun things.

Mia wasn't feeling her best this weekend. My little eater was being picky and barely touched her lunch, so cake time turned out to be a bust. Much like her big sister, she didn't want to be covered in sticky frosting and was more eager to get playing with new toys than smashing through a gooey cake.

And because I was having mother guilt about making them share a party, I decided to make each of them their own little cake.  For Laci, I made a special strawberry cake, since she saw me making chocolate cake and became distraught that her cake would be brown. I explained to her that I would cover the cake in pink frosting, to which she replied, "No, I want it ALL pink!" as she waved her hand around in frantic circles. So pink cake with pink frosting it was, and I'm glad I made it because it tasted fantastic and will be added to my short list of favorite cakes (recipe here).

As for having a double party for both girls, I think it turned out just fine. Their birthdays are only eighteen days apart, and I'm sure there will come a day when they insist on throwing two separate parties. In the meantime, I'm planning to make this an annual event, and I really hope they find something special in sharing a party with each other.

In the last couple of months, Laci has really started to show her love for her baby sister. She didn't get the big sister experience of meeting Mia in the hospital like most siblings, a scene I had imagined in my head repeatedly before Mia was born. I don't know if she would have reacted any differently to Mia if the circumstances had been better than they were. But, this is how it happened for us, and now, I can finally say that Laci really does care about her little sister.

As for Mia, there is nothing better in the world than following her big sister around the house, playing with her toys and copying her actions. She is every bit as adoring and annoying as a little sister is expected to be.

We are all in such a better place than at this time last year, and we are, of course, so very, very thankful for that.  It was two very, very happy birthdays, indeed.

The obligatory cousin picture, where we repeatedly try to get the children to look in the same direction and smile at the same time.  And once again, we have failed.

Left to right, we have the daredevil, the stoic one, the cheeser, and the one who hasn't quite figured out how to make the smile look genuine, but who knows that even this weak effort at smiling will make the whole ordeal end sooner.  I appreciate his effort.