The birthday party and the castle cake!

We finally had Arantxa's 6th party on Sunday. With her b'day so close to Xmas and our trip, it is just crazy to do anything before that. However, later we have the Super Bowl, Valentine's day, and Winter break. I have to remember all of this for next year.

What she really wanted was to have the party at home, have some crafts, play, and especially a piñata. Since it is during the winter, she had to settle for about a dozen kids.

Last year, she wanted a "bear" cake. We ended up getting a fisherman's cake: it was guy fishing on a stream. We removed the guy, added some Schleich bears, kept the salmon, and voilà, a bear cake. This year, she REALLY wanted a castle cake. Not any castle cake, not a flat cake, but one that indeed looked like a castle. When we were in Mexico she and her cousin spent hours creating 3D cardboard furniture for a little house. This is then, a real interest of hers.

I started by baking 3 batches of carrot cake. I needed 2 for the bottom layer, and another one for the top layer. I had bought a kit that includes the towers, door, windows, etc. I prepared the frosting and set to work the night before. It was definitely a challenge, but overall I had fun doing it. I have been wanting to take a cake decorating class, and in the meantime I have learned on my own. I set up knowing that I would be unable to even come close to the one in the box, but that I could make something work that would impress the little kids.

First I figured out how to use "dowels" to stablize the cake and keep it from falling. Then, came the trickiest part: frosting the layers do that they would look smooth. Afterwards came the fun of actual decorating the towers and the rest of the cake. I knew my limitations so I decided toto simplify in some ways while still aiming for an "awe" factor. Oh,. by the way, Pablo helped me, not only bouncing off ideas, actually doing some frosting.

Here is the just finished product.

I joked with Pablo that the cake looked good from the distance, sort of like you have to see many a masterpiece in a museum: not too close.

The girls woke up early in the morning; well, maybe not that early, but definitely too much for those of us who had gone to bed late getting everything ready. We heard the girls excitedly talking and getting dressed. Half asleep I heard them speculate who would be the second guest to arrive (the first one was guaranteed to be Lorena). Lorena even came to our room to share the most exciting news. "Arantxa invited the twins! She said they could come!!!!". Which twins are we talking about? Lorena's teddy bear baby twins. Arantxa then asked if they could go downstairs to see the cake (no touching, not even with a finger!!!) and so they did. We just heard them ooh and aah over the cake. They were so excited!

Pablo took the girls out for breakfast while I made some sandwiches, and got the rest of the stuff ready. Here is the ever so important task of filling the piñata.

Most kids started arriving on time. This was our first party with "big" kids and we did not know what to expect. Most parents stayed. They got started by decorating their goody bag, scratching some "magic" picture frames, or other crafts.

The day was gorgeous (meaning sunny, dry from the night before, and not freezing); so pretty soon they all were outside. We were so glad they were able to enjoy the backyard. A lof ot them tried the scooters, chalk, sand table, and the play structure. It was really nice to mostly play in small groups or individually, but they all interacted really well. They were all in their best behavior. We really lucked out since that night it snowed and it was all covered in white! We had games planned in case they were going crazy or we had to stay inside, but they were playing so happily we did not have the heart to direct their play.

The Piñata was of course a big hit! Arantxa had 2 or 3 small drama moments, but she was able to move on. You can see some of the chalk creations.

We cut and enjoyed the cake. My favorite part of the party was while all the kids were sitting on the table singing silly made up verses to a song. You do need a teacher to go to school. You don't need a teacher to learn how to learn. You don't need a dolphin to say hello to you in the ocean. If you are in Jupiter you do need some place to walk on because it is made out of gas. They all giggled and were creative together.

THINGS ARANTXA SAID:

I heard Arantxa tell all her friends that she already knew how to fly. Since she continues to be obsessed with flying (remember the rule in our house, all attempts of flying must begin at ground level, and can't involve jumping off things); my mom ears are always detecting any flying reference. All I need to do is find a place with no gravity and then jump up and I will be floating and flying by moving my body.

A certain friend of ours called to apologize before they arrived since they had left the present home. We relayed the message to Arantxa who said: No problem, presents are the least important thing in a party. The most important thing in a party is to have your family and at least one other guest. you can't have a party unless you have one or more guests.

She later was talking about birthdays, so she started saying. When I am 8, I am going to be thinking, only 2 years away from 10; and then when I am 9, I'll say that it is only one more year. Then, the day before I turn 10, I will think, we are only a day away. I really want to be 10, but I don't want to skip the middle part. I love that!

As she was opening presents, a mom overheard her saying, Wow, all my friends got me things I really needed, I am so happy.

Finally, at night, after reading to her (yes, we still read to her every night), she gave me a great big hug and thanked me for making a special cake, organizing the party, and for letting them have cake for dinner.

So, there you go. From all of the above comments, it is clear to us that she is indeed growing and maturing.

Thanks for reading!