Laurent's 5th Birthday

February 28, 2006

This past weekend we had the honor of celebrating Laurent's birthday. Sunday was the actual day but we had a party on Saturday. In the past I've done theme parties and planned related games, activities and food. This year we took an easier route and treated Laurent and a group of little friends and their daddies to Jump City, an indoor playplace in our city. They went and played for a couple hours and then came back and we had cake, ice cream, snacks etc... This winter has been terrible for getting outside and being active. First it was cold and rainy and now it's just plain cold - with no snow. We've only gone sledding once! So, the birthday party was in part a response to this and a means to get out and be active in spite of the weather.

My big crowning achievement of the party was the Rainbow Cake the kids and I baked the day before. Baking it was a day long project but it was worth the effort. Seeing as I'm not a cake, cookies or dessert baker (my specialty is muffins) I was very pleased with the results. Although the coloring is artificial, everything else was real - eggs, butter etc. and it tasted very good. Kids and adults alike thought it was a hit. I also baked brownies , more in line with our usual eating style and cut up platters of fresh veggies. With 12 kids and 8 adults at the party it was all eaten!