Yesterday we had a birthday party for Allyssa at Holland Park.  Allyssa was asked what she’d like for a theme for her party (okay not quite in those terms but she asked), and she chose Thomas.  Not much of a surprise there. While Shane was planning to make a Thomas the Train cake, he ran out of time.

We planned for about 30 people from the RSVPs we had received.  And then the day of the party, we had about half that actually in attendance.  Apparently things came up and some weren’t able to come.  Such is the way life goes.

Allyssa received many gifts and loved them all, she received art supplies and an easel, play dough, bubbles with tons of wands, a collection of polished rocks,  a doll house from grandma, and several Thomas trains among other things.

Today, we just had a quiet family day (well after Shane finished work that is).

This morning, Allyssa and I slept in a bit (OK as usual), arising around 11 or so.  While I made homemade pancakes for breakfast, Shane helped Allyssa as she chose her outfit.  I think those overalls are getting a bit short on her and may have to be put away soon.

After brunch, we be brought out her presents.  She enjoyed opening her gifts without a doubt.  From mom and dad she received Thomas & Friends Water Tower Figure 8 set, the Figure 8 Expansion Pack, Rosie, Annie & Claribel, a musical caboose, as well as Thomas.  She also received a Winnie the Pooh matching game.  There is just nothing for games out there for two year olds.  Most of the “little kid” games are all for ages 3+.    That’s okay, she’ll have hours and hours of fun with her Thomas trains.

We didn’t do her shopping until Friday.  Yes, she was with us, but that allowed us to find out what she liked.  And when it was time to actually purchase, momma distracted her by taking her to other sections so we could “look around”.  Daddy would then purchase the items and put them in the trunk.  It worked rather well, once we could get her distracted.

Just before we left on Friday, the mailman had arrived.  The timing was great since that meant that Allyssa received her cards and gift cards before we left. She enjoyed having her cards read to her and looking at the pictures.  With her gift cards she picked out a table for her Thomas things which came with track and some Thomas like train pieces.  The size of the track and such matches the Thomas things she received today which is the main reason it was selected.  She also picked out a slide.  This is a Little Tikes slide which can be used indoors or outdoors, but since we have a secluded outdoor area with nothing for her to play with that is definitely going outside.

This may make it easier to have her go outside to play while mom and dad stay inside, and watch her through the wall of patio doors.  So far she hasn’t liked being outside if mom or dad aren’t with her.  And even if we have to go out with her some of the time, she has things to play with rather than looking for someone to always play with.  Like when we take the ball outside to play.

When we were visiting family in March she received her birthday gifts from grandma.  She received a twin stroller and a diaper bag for her babies.  She had received twins as big as she is from grandma about a month before.  Grandma keeps her very well stocked in dolls.  She already has a barbie doll as well, but she’s still too young for that so that one is up and way until she’s older.

We tried to find out what Allyssa would like for supper, but we don’t think that Allyssa was understanding us.   She wasn’t hungry at the time, and everything we suggested she kept saying no.  While I was at the store picking something up, I also picked up a balloon for her.  She loved it when I walked in with the balloon.  She certainly managed to tangle herself up in it quite well, but she was definitely having lots of fun too.

When I returned, Shane had decided that everyone should go out for ice cream.  He had gone online and found an ice cream place nearby that we hadn’t been to yet.  So we went.  It wasn’t that far, but it would be a bit of a walk if were to attempt to walk to it in the future.  It’s about a mile or so.  After ice cream we drove around a bit, attempting to get to know the area a bit better.  This particular time we went east, and learned we only want to go so far east in this area.  But if we hadn’t tried we wouldn’t have known and now we do.

Allyssa slept through part of the drive, but when we returned home, it was definitely nap time.  Everyone laid down, apparently we are all tired from our SCA event yesterday.  Not that it was a hardship to have some extra sleep.  After our nap we had supper which was enjoyed by all.

While we didn’t follow the traditional order, but she did receive a birthday cake.  After supper I made some pineapple upside-down cake.  That was chosen since Allyssa love pineapple in general.  For some reason I think she was too full to truly enjoy her cake though since she didn’t eat it all, but she certainly had a lot for supper so it is understandable.

Just one extra note, you can click on any of these pictures to see a larger view.

We decided to hold the party at Laura’s Dad’s place in Holmen since that is the area were most of the family lives. We drove down Friday night so we would have all morning to prepare the 20 pounds of BBQ Ribs and the 20 pounds of Taco meat for the lunch. Laura had a bit of running to do before the party and I stayed at the house to make the food and frost the cakes she had baked the night before. We were expecting 42 people and wanted to make sure nobody left hungry.

The party started at around 2:00 as relatives started showing up. The house quickly filled with people who know and love Allyssa. Turns out we weren’t as prepared as we had hoped. Where to put the presents? Where will all these people eat? What about the decorations? Oh well, the party started and we were all enjoying just being together for such a wonderful occasion.

I wish I could say the whole thing went off without a hitch… oh, wait, I can say that! As far as I know, the only problem we had is that nobody wanted to sing Karaoke out in the garage. I had my youngest brother Shay bring his equipment hoping that someone would enjoy it. But the weather didn’t cooperate. It was so cold and windy that we had to keep the garage doors closed and the volume a little lower. There is also something funny with the electrical in Holmen because every time Shay does a show there, his best amplifier doesn’t work right. Oh well, at least the younger kids enjoyed some music.

Allyssa received a lot of wonderful gifts even though she wasn’t very enthusiastic about opening them, Hey, give her a break, she’s only 1 and every new toy brings a new level of excitement. Her favorite so far seems to be the Purple Mini Van my sister Shawna found. She carries that thing around all the time. Not that she doesn’t enjoy her other toys, she just has her favorite, for now.

And then came the cakes, yes, I said cakes. A Black Forest cake, a white cake with pure white buttercream frosting, and a peanut butter cake with fudge frosting. That Black Forest cake, two layers of devils food with cherry filling and a rich fudge drizzle frosting, seemed to be the favorite, and that is what you see Allyssa eating in the photo above. Surprisingly though, that peanut butter cake Laura found a recipe for was very good, and one we will surely add to our normal list of recipes.

All in all, the day went very well, and Allyssa seemed to enjoy it, though we know someday she won’t have memories of it – but there is always video! If I can ever get the footage from my brother Scott maybe we can share some here. I also learned a lesson about cooking – 40 pounds of meat is too much for 42 people. Anyone want some of the 10 pounds of leftover taco meat we have?