Three Birthday Cakes and One Birthday Wish!

Well, I survived the 2010 CIMI trip! My teacher-partner, Paula, and I took 33 sixth graders to the Catalina Island Marine Institute for 3 days/4 nights. It was a success! No one got sick, everyone had fun, and back in Tucson Shyla and Stevie had a great couple days.

We got back to Tucson at midnight Wednesday night which meant I was here for Shyla's birthday Thursday. It was a normal day in which she went to daycare (with mini-muffins to share with her friends) and I went to work. After dinner, though, we gave Shyla a freshly baked cupcake to enjoy. She did, in fact, enjoy her cupcake which made me overly optimistic that she would enjoy the cake at her birthday party. More on that later.

One exciting thing about turning ONE is that she can now sit in a big-girl carseat and face forward. She looks so cute in her pink carseat, and so little.

We had a birthday bash for her at my parents house this weekend. Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us!

Okay, the three cakes:

Cake #1: Castle Cake

When Chelsea was a little girl my mom made her a castle cake. For years and years I would ask to have a castle cake for my birthday, without success. I think at one time Mom even convinced me that I couldn't have it because we didn't have any soup cans to make the towers. And I believed her. So, as Shyla's birthday was approaching I informed my mom that we would be making her a castle cake. And castle cake we did! It was definitely a labor of love, but well worth it. I'm going to make it a tradition that I make her birthday cake every year.

Cake #2: Giant Cupcake

Everyone knows that 1 year olds get their own "smash cake" so I made Shyla's smash cake as a giant cupcake. (Big thanks to one of my students for letting me borrow the mold for it.) I thought she would love it. She did not. She cried at the sight of it. She refused to grab it. She didn't want it anywhere near her and, thus, did not smash it at all.

Cake #3: DQ Ice Cream Cake

Did I mention that Shyla's birthday (5-20) is really close to Dan's birthday (5-23)? Well it is and therefore they will probably always have a combined cake of some sort. Thank you to Erin for bringing this yummy ice cream cake to the party. The girl at DQ did a great job!

One of the most fun parts of the afternoon was splashing in the pool. Above you see Shyla and Kim cooling off in the pool. Good thing we pulled Shyla's pants up so they wouldn't get wet...

The Forgacs Three

We are so lucky to have Dan and Erin as friends and as Shyla's god-parents! We are also so lucky that they come all the way to Tucson from San Diego for events such as this. We were so glad that they hung out after everyone else left so we could have some catch-up time. Erin and I gave Shyla her bath and then Erin got to give her the night-time bottle.

My sweet little girl has the face of an angel. An angel with a scrape on her nose. This picture, though, shows that she is now wearing her diamond earrings that Grandpa Palmer gave her the day after she was born. Yep, that's right, my 1 year old has diamond earrings before I do!

Shyla and Daddy enjoying a moment in the sun!

Oh, and the birthday wish. I've decided that I will make a birthday wish. I wish that the next year is just as joyful as this one was; filled with just as many belly-laughs, new discoveries, and growth.

Oh and, if we are lucky, fewer ear infections.