Saturday, Jan 18th

It started out to be an overwhelming day.  The house needed cleaning and decorating.  Alaska needed birthday pictures taken at 10am because that's when the light is the best in the house.  I had to get showered and dressed and ready.  Alaska needed to get showered and dressed and ready.  It was a little too much to think about.

I got the backdrop for the pictures up and going first, letting the cleaning wait even though instinctively I would clean first.  We got our pictures done and a video made and I began a whirlwind of cleaning.  Took a two hour break when Alaska went down for her nap and began again as soon as we ate lunch afterwards.  Everything was adorable and supercute by 5 pm and I could finally calm down and think about getting myself ready.  Dominique had offered to come early and take Alaska to get frozen yogurt and I am so glad I took her up on it.  The half hour they were gone I put left-over pizza in the oven and got dolled up.

The party started at 6:30 when grandma great and grandpa great came through the door with David.  It was nice to have some time with just them as Alaska got over being a little shy and excitedly pointed to grandma great's shirt that had kitties on it.  The party got bigger and more people came and we had just enough seats for everyone even though a couple of people stood.  There was plenty of floor and folding chair that never got unfolded.  It was so wonderful to have a house full of people who love on that baby girl and spoil her to death.

I didn't even have to serve cake or icecream.  The teenagers were anxious to get that started and I helped Alaska with any 'extra sticky tape' that kept her from opening her presents.  She had a blast of being the center of attention and only slowed down on the present opening when she opened a bag of candy and needed to take a little break to sample it all.

It was definitely a different time than what we had last year at her birthday with just Steve and I but they have both proven to be just as special.  As long as we've got family this close I don't see any need to be inviting friends over for birthdays.  That would just make too much of a crowd.  But I do suppose people do a Sunday dinner with family and a birthday party with friends.  Either way, I've got another year before I need to worry about that.