26 December 2012

Isabelle celebrates her 1st Birthday with a Hootabelle cake (15 Dec 2012)



A hoot of a 1st birthday

I think a 1st birthday is more a celebration of the parents surviving one year of bringing up a new born baby and in this case it's my daughter's 1st birthday. You certainly learn a lot about yourself and discover a new level of patience in the first 6 months that you never knew existed. I always feared the sleep deprivation that comes with parenthood but nothing prepared me for the crying of a baby in need of food, change of nappy, being too hot or cold or for some unknown reason that couldn't be deciphered in the middle of the night. I personally couldn't have survived without the amazing support from my beautiful partner Lorraine — super mum to Isabelle. 

For the party my brother kindly offered his humble abode for a gathering of guests and kids in tow. If you're ever planning a 1st birthday at home make sure you try and kid proof the place as much as possible — they will certainly entertain themselves by any means possible. I can now understand why parents have their kids birthday in parks or party venues. No need to then worry about the aftermath cleanup or the possibility of precious items being broken as they run amuck. I'd like to thank all our friends and family for their generous gifts and making it a very special day. Also a very special thanks to Fintan and Chris for organising the fantastic Hootabelle cake from Sweet Stix.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Adults can have just as much fun as the kids at a 1st birthday
CONS: Best not to have a kids birthday in a confined space — they need room to move and are guaranteed to make a mess when chips fall on the floor
MUST TRY: Finding a suitable venue for Isabelle's 2nd birthday
VERDICT: If you're in need for a special cake then Sweet Stix might be able to help. Also make sure you label the alcoholic punch so parents know not to serve to their kids.
Hootabelle 1st birthday cake created by Sweet Stix — very cool


Kids it's time to look away now

Hootabelle's spongey inners

Hootabelle meets Face/Off

Kids and adults young at heart love chocolate crackles

It's not a 1st birthday without fairy bread

One dip wonder Mexican salsa — tasty and so easy to make

Tasty homemade mini sausage rolls disappeared quickly — thanks Dom

Good old fashion sausage sizzle plus some Madam Char Char salads — they make a might fine potato salad

Great present for the Christmas tree and mummy and daddy's sugar fix

Isabelle is a big fan of Giggle and Hoot

Pink and purple balloons from Balloon Saloon

We always seem to end up with more alcohol than we started with

Thank you for all the generous gifts for Isabelle

OK Isabelle, you can now touch your toys now that daddy has taken a photo of them

11 comments:

Sophie @ teathymes said...

Happy Bday to your daughter Isabelle! The cake looks super cool wish I could have an awesome 1st birthday cake like that too. :)

Sara - Belly Rumbles said...

Happy 1st Brithday Isabelle. I am in love with her cake, too gorgeous. Happy first year milestone to both you and Lorraine, how quickly time has flown!

Christine @ Cooking Crusade said...

Aww what a great first birthday! That cake is fantastic - it almost seems a shame to cut into it! Epic gift swag too, woohoo!!

OohLookBel said...

Wonderful party. Happy birthday, Isabelle!

Eha said...

Oh, methinks Isabelle had just a tandy birthday, - JUST Mom and Dad, congratulations on having survived it! Wait until she is six or so, and a houseful of minxes think it hilarious to cover chocolate cake with tomato ketchup: yup, personal experience :) !

Richard Elliot said...

Happy Birthday to Isabelle and I'm pleased to hear you and Lorraine have survived the first year too! :)

Simon Leong said...

hi sophie, i think in my days a 1st birthday would have been a simple sponge cake with icing

hi sara, time sure flies quickly with a baby. they grow so quickly.

hi christine, it did feel a shame to cut it but it was very nice to eat too

hi bel, thanks for the wishes. worked out to be a good party in the end.

hi eha, chocolate cake with tomato ketchup sounds crazy. i'll be sure to hide the ketchup that day ;-)

hi richard, here's to another year of surviving. they say it gets easier, i'm assuming same same just different :-)

penny aka jeroxie said...

So much LOVE! Lucky lucky kiddo

Nic@diningwithastud said...

Hahahahaha "I want to take your face.....off" Looks like a fab party!

Mary @ beyondjelly said...

Ha! Isabelle learning early that she needs to wait for you to take photos before consuming? ;)

Simon Leong said...

hi penny, lucky parents too :-)

hi nic, i wonder what she'll be into next year

hi mary, gotta teach them early :-) and as soon as she can hold a camera she'll be my +1 guest as well

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