Bike Party

After lots of careful thought, we decided to plan a birthday party for Irina including 6 of her new girl friends (and of course her brothers). If you've been reading this blog for long, you know that one of her favorite things to do is ride her bike. 

We decided a simple bike birthday party was a perfect fit. 

Last Saturday, we set up a bike course in our church parking lot. This was no "pinterest worthy" party, but Irina was delighted and that is all that matters! We decorated the bikes with pinwheels, license plates and spoke clickers. The weather was gorgeous with a nice breeze - perfect for blowing the pinwheels. 

When the bike course got a little boring, the kids circled the church a couple times in a bike race. 

We then enjoyed lunch together, playtime on the church playground and birthday cake. 

Okay, don't laugh at my silly bike cake. I won't quit my day job. Oh wait! I don't get paid for my day job. ha! I got it in my head that since Irina had studied the boys photo albums she would surely expect a specialty cake like I had made for them way back when. Craziness. I'm just too tired to pull it off well these days. I won't even tell you how long it took me. So thankful for Darin's steady hand to ice the wheels and write her name. At midnight Friday, I was a little loopy. 

Even though it looks rather silly to me, I hope I never forget the look on her face when I showed it to her Saturday morning. 

She was happy, excited, and surprised!!! However, I officially retire from making cakes like this. 

I'm going to stick with rectangular cakes from now on. :) 

Such a lovely day of celebrating our little butterfly. I was relieved she handled it all so well. 

I'm think I'm growing accustomed to expecting the unexpected with her. Or at least, trying to not be so surprised when something triggers a difficult reaction. I'm thankful for a smooth day. I needed it after my late night cake creating. :)