Ella's 1st Birthday Bash

Oh my, the flurry of Ella's 1st Birthday Bash is over. All last week, we got ready for the party. Saturday we had the party. Yesterday, Sunday, we cleaned up from the party. It seems that today things are getting back to normal and we can think about other things.

(And by the way, it astounds me that we actually cleaned up everything the day after the party. Back in the pre-baby days, we would have let the mess sit for a week before we dealt with it. But now, post-baby, we had it cleaned up within 24 hours. Parenthood makes you more efficient by necessity.)

The Birthday Bash was a blast, albeit exhausting. I cried, I laughed, I cursed, and I drank a lot of champagne. Ella enjoyed herself, as I figured she would. She loves being around people and dogs and other kids. Add to that the excitement of a big white tent, balloons, and
wind, and she was beside herself.

Chad kept reminding me that the point of the party was to get people together to talk and just relax and enjoy each other's company. If that was our goal, then I think we succeeded. Friends and family lingered around until midnight, and there wasn't a scrap of food left. We had a roasted boar that Chad shot himself on Friday morning, a fried turkey that Chad's friend shot with a bow and arrow, hamburgers, hot dogs and 144 cupcakes, not to mention all the side dishes that people brought to share.

But there's one thing that totally sucks - I was too busy dealing with everything and trying to enjoy myself that I didn't take any photos to document the occasion. I even have a special First Birthday photo album to fill with the photos I should have taken.