Party Day!

All of the months of planning culminated this afternoon with Alexa's much-anticipated birthday party.  The focal point of the party were mini-cupcakes (strawberry cake and white cake) with pink and purple sprinkles.  Since I can never do things simply, I had trolled the internet for the perfect way to display the cupcakes, and I settled upon a gadget called the 'Pastry Pedestal' found some coordinating Sixlet candies to add to the display.  The most time-consuming part of this project were the cupcake toppers - I hand-made all 50+ toppers with custom-printed gymnastic stickers, a paper punch, lollipop sticks and a gemstone/crystal (she is 50% Armenian) on each one.  I was extremely pleased with how the display turned out, and Alexa seemed just as pleased.  I'm going to have to find a new project now that this party is complete....

Alexa knew she would be getting her big gift from Damon and myself after swimming today, so I could not drive home fast enough for her...although she wasn't too crushed when we stopped at Party City and bought the biggest 'My Little Pony' balloon you've ever seen.  The big gift was assembled and waiting for her when we got home.....drumroll.....gymnastics equipment!  We broke down (I was sick of Alexa hanging upside-down from my treadmill) and bought Alexa a purple balance beam, pink & purple mat and a kip bar.  The look on her face was priceless, and she proclaimed that this was the gift she always wanted.  I had never heard her ask for it before, but I took that as a good sign that she was satisfied.  I have a feeling the two of us will spend many evenings practicing gymnastics together...when I was shopping around, I made sure to get a bar with specifications up to my weight.  ;)

The party this afternoon was wonderful - it was a great gathering of friends and family.  It was fun to have a house full of people enjoying each other's company, and the three girls at the party definitely enjoyed Alexa's trampoline and gymnastics equipment.  Ms. Connie's Gymnastics School opened for an hour or so, as I tried to teach each girl how to do a back hip circle on the bar.  Talk about a workout!    It was really a fun party - I just wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow, as I could use a day or two to recoup from this weekend.

One happy gymnast.....

The mini-cupcake displays (with Papa Hovey "photo-bombing").

Excited to have some leftover cupcakes after the big day...
cupcakes for breakfast, anyone?

Wish there was one more in this picture - - I remember telling
Damon last year at Alexa's birthday party that it would be her
last party as an only child. :(