The Birthday Party

Thank you to my sweet family for putting up with me as I went into "work mode" for this party - my training as a pastry cook kicked into high gear as I churned these desserts out. Thank you also to my family for helping cook, set-up, decorate, and entertain - I couldn't have pulled this party off without all of you!

Just about everyone on the invite list was able to make it, which made for a very full house and an overwhelmed birthday girl at one point (see pic below). Some of my takeaway notes from this party:

• it is REALLY easy to get stressed over your child's birthday, if you decide to invite 40 people. Perhaps this is too many, and the following parties will be smaller. 
• A dessert table is so so so fun to do, and I'm gonna go even bigger next time (maybe I didn't learn from note number one up there). Amy Atlas is my dessert table hero - I don't have the funds nor the eye nor the space for something so elaborate. But I will continue to have fun looking at hers.
• Don't open presents at the party - people get bored, and so does the tiny tot. But thank you again to all of you for the sweet gifts...Avery is loving playing with her new toys and sporting her new threads and drinking from her new sippy cups.

The dessert table - none of the pics of this came out well, due to lighting issues, but at least you can see the pom-poms I made. 

The sign I made awhile ago - I'm thinking this might come out at all of the birthdays. I love it!

The strawberry cream cheese cake.

Lemon meringue tarts

Fruit tarts with vanilla bean pastry cream

Cherry swirl brownies
(and not pictured, chocolate silk tarts, m&ms in party colors, oatmeal white chocolate cherry cookies and flower sugar cookie favors)

Poms and banners

The sign-in table...my little sister Bri painted this tree for Avery, and everyone left a leaf thumbprint and signed their name. Idea came from here, among other places...don't remember the original source now.

Avery was napping while everybody was arriving, so when we brought her downstairs, she was a little overwhelmed. She quickly warmed to everyone, but this made for an awesome picture.

Taking her very first steps.

With some of my family.

With some of Luke's family.