The first year of one's life is quite momentous. Going from a squishy faced newborn with a bleating cry to a standing, cheeky, arm-waving, sweet-talking, tantrum-throwing toddler is no small feat, and it deserves a celebration to match, in my opinion!

I just read Ivy's birth story again. While it was the most 'straight-forward' of my labours, the intensity was unmatched in that last phase. I remember all too well the sensation of my body struggling to catch up to what had just happened to it! Most of all, I can't believe that my youngest child is now one year old. Now, the three are often off in cahoots together, wrestling, playing outside or playing finding games. The days were long and emotionally draining at times, but the year feels a complete blur.

Ivy was only six months old when I spied the cute black and white striped cupcake wrappers in Aldi. I snapped them up and determined to come up with a theme for her first birthday party that would tie in somehow. Enter the 'Jungle Safari' (heavy on the Zebra) theme.

I have a feeling that my party planning days might be numbered. The week before the party I switch into super-focused Event Planner mode. All the food in the fridge and pantry is somehow tied up in party preparations and every meal contributes somehow into the prepared feast. We decorate the house days before the celebration and all the chalkboards in the house are transformed into the relevant theme. Dave ends up escaping with the kids to give me space to cook and create and comes home exhausted from the switch in roles.

This time, though, he got a small taste of the satisfaction and excitement that comes with the joy of creating, by helping me assemble and construct the zebra cake. After the fire engine cake debacle, I admitted that I may be in need of some assistance in the structural area. So Dave scrutinised the template, brandished his knife and fashioned a zebra shape. The fondant icing was more forgiving this time around and we ended up with a cake to be proud of and a shared experience to celebrate.

I have a thing with wasting food. I hate doing it, and I also struggle with spending too much money on catering. Every recipe must be cost-effective and crowd-friendly, and preferably tie in somehow to the over-arching theme. I went with homemade pizzas (Chicken, Feta & Bacon, Salami & Marinated Zucchini and Greek Lamb) as the main event, with Tuna & Cucumber Sushi, Cheese Burek, snake sandwiches (ham and cheese offerings arranged in a spiral), Sausage Rolls and Antipasto. For sweets, Zebra Strawberries (dark chocolate dipped, with white drizzled stripes- thanks to Pat!), Fruit Skewers (courtesy of Laura), Chocolate Dip (Loren's creation), Rocky Road (my Mum's secret recipe with Clinkers as the surprise ingredient), Banana Pudding, Marscapone Brownies, Chocolate and Walnut Meringues and Jungle Cupcakes. As for beverages, Watermelon Mojito (very clearly labelled this time, after the 'Barney fiasco' of Hudson's party!), Jungle Juice and the usual beer/cider/soft drinks.

Thankfully my Mum and Dad came over to help out about an hour before the party, as my kitchen looked like this:

As for the birthday girl, she had such a good nap in the morning that I thought she was out with Dave and the boys and was surprised when they burst in from the car without her! Ivy did her usual bury her head in your neck move when she saw the crowd, but was very happy to socialise from the security of our arms. She spent much time being hand fed chocolate covered strawberries by Pa, and promptly rewarded him with a nappy bomb. Eli took about five minutes to feel comfortable enough in the crowd to strip down to his undies, and he and Chase tore around the place in their imaginary world, fighting baddies and being superheroes- fueled by pure chocolate, of course! Hudson was stoked to see his favourite friends Nick and 'Lawla' arrive, and exclaimed with pure joy when he saw them from across the room. Eli, Hudson and Chase were moved to awe by the 'Transformer' convertible car of Loren's and spent a fair amount of time spellbound in the vehicle.


I spent the majority of the party where I always do- in the kitchen! At one point Jam tried to usher me out, but I really do enjoy bustling about, feeding people, watching the hum and excitement from a little way back. Bringing people together over food, celebrating life together, to a 'vintage adventure' soundtrack is pretty close to perfect in my book.

Dearest Ivy,

You make me smile every day. 

When I open your bedroom door and you look up in surprise from playing games with Teddy as though 'I was just fine here, Mum!'. When you wave your arms vigorously up and down, eye-balling the necessary item, making urgent noises to convey your desperate need. Your love of the outdoors and lightning-fast bee-line for the door as soon as it opens even a crack. You have already figured out how to open the door for yourself because you are independent like that. You have such a look of pride when you loom up from the ground, standing strong in a wide stance like you could conquer the world. I hope that you do someday. 

I love the way you tell us 'stories' already, with the proper inflection and facial expressions. I can't wait to hear more of what is inside your mind. You have an incredible sense of humour, responding with cheekiness and a contagious laugh whenever there is a game of peek a boo or hide and seek. 

You know what you want already, making your acute distress unknown whenever your brothers decide they want to play with a toy that was in your grasp. I think you'll be able to stand up to them just fine! You three are inseparable, wrestling, laughing, being cheeky together. I hope that you will continue this friendship forever. 

Your Dad and I are pretty smitten by you and so proud of the person that you are already. We look forward to seeing more of the woman inside and celebrating with you at every step of the way. 

Love always, 

Mum

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Turns out that planning a birthday party for an enthusiastic almost three-year-old is a pretty rewarding endeavour.

Initially I had limited enthusiasm and motivation for Hudson's party, given the proximity of the event to Christmas, the relentless heat, and the lack of fixed inspiration for a theme of any sort from the birthday boy himself. The only 'theme' Hudson appears to be attached to in the everyday is as follows: (1) Anything that is in Dave's hands and (2) Technology of any kind. When I repeatedly tried to nail down an idea to center the party around, Hudson told me serenely that he just wanted 'sandwiches'. In the end I 'led the witness' into a fire engine motif, admittedly more for my passion and focus more than anything!

As the big day drew closer Hudson displayed an enormous amount of gratitude and appreciation anytime he spied me doing anything party-related. "Thank you for making the jelly for my party, Mum!" "I love you, Mum!" "Woo hoo" (with both small fists raised enthusiastically in the air).

When I plan a party, my mind goes into hyper mode for the entire preceding week. Every day I add to my list tasks that build towards the event, even planning dinners so that I can make double for the occasion. Dave, on the other hand, seems blissfully unaware that there is any impending event until approximately 24 hours prior, when he predictably does an emergency shopping run, suddenly convinced that I have underestimated the quantities of food required to feed the anticipated number and comes home with armfuls of chips, snacks, soft drink and chocolate 'just in case'. I secretly love this turning point (even though we always end up with oodles of leftovers) because it means the party has turned from 'mine' to 'ours'. Dave then motors around the house, moving furniture, blowing up balloons, planning party games and keeping the kids entertained so I can cater in peace. It's a rhythm that plays without us even having to discuss it, given the sheer number of events we have hosted in our home now.

I've never been brave enough to try using fondant before, and let's just say it isn't my spiritual gifting. Pretty much anything that requires precision, patience and mathematical estimations of any kind is not even close to my ball park. Thank goodness for licorice and buttercream icing to mask the construction failures and for little boy's eyes that light up at the reality of a fire engine cake, no matter how shoddy the design! As I was piecing the vehicle together I asked Dave for feedback... "Hmmm,.... It's not really straight, is it?.... but I guess that's what you are going for." Thanks Dave.

The morning of, Hudson came bursting into our room without even mentioning that the owl was green (the ingenious invention that requires him to stay in his bed until the owl's face changes colour at 7:00am), simply exclaiming, "It's my BIRTHDAY, everyone! I'm 'hweee'!!!" Eli was a little dubious in light of the fact that this event was unlikely to produce any gifts for him, though he did get more than his fair share of playing with the newly acquired loot due to Hudson's limited interest in toys of any kind. Dave and I took a gamble and gifted Hudson a real 'kid-sized' guitar, assuming that 'if Daddy has one' it might take. So far, so good.

I tried to keep the food simple this time, unsure of how the weather would play into the event, and wanting to be able to avoid oven usage if the day was sweltering. To cater to Hudson's emphatic request for sandwiches, I made Tuna & Pickle, and Chicken & Cucumber. For the main meal I went with barbecued meats (sausages, honey soy chicken legs, Moroccan marinated prawn skewers) and salads (a pear & walnut salad, a chicken & sweet potato creation of Mum's, and a tasty Mediterranean couscous offering from Monica). That morning I discovered our ears of corn were more than ready to be harvested, so I added to the menu oven roasted husks along with baked sweet potato. Dessert was a Raspberry Trifle with brandy soaked Madeira cake and home-grown strawberries, along with red jelly shots and loads of fresh fruit. There was also some Pine Lime Rum Punch which my Dad ended up sampling liberally, unaware it was alcoholic! My bad. Mum had to drive home that night.

Hudson's impassioned request for his party was that he would be able to use a real microphone and be the 'emcee' of the event. The excitement in his eyes was palpable as he swayed from side to side, burying the instrument in his lips, looking from face to face of his captive audience as he sung songs and singled out people to sit down and listen to him: "We're starting, everybody! Welcome to my party!"

There is always a moment, mid-party, where I look up, face flushed from the oven or from hauling platters out of the refrigerator, and I 'see' it. People in animated conversation, groups clustered around the bench sampling antipasto and drinking wine, kids shrieking with delight and running half-naked on the deck, laughter, excitement, fun, family and dear friends all connected together and forming memories for years to come. Yes, putting on a party for every birthday is a significant effort and Dave and I inevitably collapse into bed after the last crumb is vaccuumed up and the furniture returned to our usual living arrangements. But the privilege of creating that moment and seeing the unrestrained joy in Hudson's eyes as the anticipation grew, that is so unbelievably worth it!

Tonight as I was tucking him into bed, Hudson looked up at me with a serious expression.

"Mum,... it's not my birthday today."
"Yes, that's true, it was your birthday yesterday, wasn't it?"
"Mum... I want to have a birthday again!"

I know what you mean, buddy.
....

Dear Hudson, 

You are a whirlwind, vivid and fast, passionate and emotional. 

You know what you want and you aren't afraid to go for it. 

I love just watching you. When you stand close to your Daddy, by his side, always asking to be his helper, wanting to be a part of our 'grown up' lives already. 

You gravitate towards people, exuding life, light and joy. 

My heart melts when I see you ask your brother if he is okay in your sweet voice, tilting your head down and to the side as you gaze in deep concern at him. 

I love it when you get excited about something, your whole body can't even contain the energy and you do a little leap into the air with both fists above your head. 

You are hilarious in your attachment to technology, successfully pick-pocketing many a hapless victim as you turn on the charm while patting them down to find out where their phone is secreted. "Where's your phone, Mummy?" is probably one of the most common questions I field from you! And "I'm just, just... working!" is your inevitable frustrated response when I find you quietly hidden in a corner, having located Daddy's computer, usually by climbing precariously to get it. 

Your passion for 'Open House Kids' is endearing. It is one of your main topics of conversation, even to people who have no idea what it is. You speak about helping to set up for the gathering almost daily, and are devastated when it isn't your turn to go with Daddy. 

Words can't even come close to describing my love for you, my son. You have changed our lives in your three short years and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so excited to see how your strengths and passions develop as you journey through this life. Thank you for being Hudson. There truly is no one like you. 

Love Mum

I read somewhere this week that in order to be existentially fulfilled, one should do whatever makes one forget to eat or sleep. There are two things that fit this bill for me- writing and party planning!

Eli turned four this week and we had already been enthusiastically planning for his pirate party for most of the year to date. We spent the entire week leading up to the party creating the 'Pirate Music' soundtrack that would lend the right swashbuckling atmosphere to the event. It ended up being a perfect mix of Pirates of the Caribbean style scores and toe-tapping reggae. Hudson still requests 'py-ate mooosic' as one of his top two playlists (the other one is zumba)!

In the week leading up to the party I used every meal time as a strategic preparation time, making double of at least one part of the meal to be frozen and baked later. We had Serbian cheese burek, sausage rolls, and I made extra sweet onion chutney, smoky eggplant pickle and guacamole. The kids helped me dip the pretzels in white chocolate to make 'crunchy bones', the inspiration for which was, of course, Pinterest.

The highlight for me, though, this time, was the decorations! I felt like a kid again drawing a mysterious treasure map for the kids to follow and find the pirate coins (of which we had enough to kick start a pirate company after Dave got completely carried away at the shops one evening!). Dave took the kids out a couple of times to give me space to create and indulge my obsessive side and time absolutely flew while he was gone. There were Jolly Rogers adorning our black doors, piratey slogans on the blackboards and a Pirate Menu decoding the fare on offer. We christened our 'ship' the Black Pearl and stuck up some 'portholes' on the walls to give the feeling of being out at sea. One would think, from my unbridled enthusiasm for such events, that this was MY birthday!

Everyone knows that the crux of the whole party is the birthday cake. Not really, but it sure can feel that way with all the amazing fondant covered works of art that adorn Pinterest. Based on my past experiences with this part of the proceedings I approach the cake with awe and caution. On Eli's second birthday I attempted to use a car mould without first reading the instructions and when I opened the oven to check on the progress I was greeted with a now half-filled mould that was in the process of pouring batter out of every side with a thick burnt layer now stuck to the bottom of the oven. When searching for pirate ship cake ideas I came across an incredible one but was very careful not to show it to Eli in the (very likely) event that mine would look more like its 'cake wreck' version.

I made two rectangular cakes two nights before the party and began assembling the cake on Friday night. I started by cutting the base into an elongated arrow head shape, then placed a triangle of the second layer at the front on top and a smaller rectangle on the back of the base. I placed a smaller version of each of these on top again and then covered the whole thing with chocolate buttercream frosting. As I placed the frosting covered pretzels around the edging and eased in the hazelnut chocolate portholes into the sides, it began looking more and more like a galleon! I edged the top with licorice and looped some blue and green sour straps as waves around the base of the ship. When the skewer sails were erected, I stepped back and surveyed the result- it actually worked!!

Eli awoke on the Saturday and came tearing into our bedroom- "It's my PARTY today, Mum and Dad!!" He exclaimed. Hudson was still catching on what all the fuss was about, but he was his usual excitable self all the same. We gave Eli a couple of presents but decided to save the main ones for his real birthday on Monday. He immediately raced off to adorn himself in his new pirate costume and recklessly brandished his sword at everyone. I became inspired to draw eye-patches on everyone with my waterproof black eyeliner, though that may have backfired when Eli belatedly decided he didn't want his anymore and made his eye red by trying to remove it. Dave, the party pooper, wouldn't let me near him with my makeup. I can't understand why!? I had grand plans of making him look like Captain Jack Sparrow, but alas, it was not meant to be...

When the guests arrived, the food began to leap out onto the bench, and, as usual, it seems I had prepared enough to feed double the intended amount of people. I covered the bench with my staple- brown paper- and arranged the antipasto ingredients directly onto that. Next to that went the home baked olive bread, the mini ham and swiss cheese filled crab croissants, the frankfurt sloops and galleons (mini and normal sized hot dogs with all the trimmings), mac and cheese bites, jelly ships, rocky road, fruit platters, burek and vanilla cupcakes.

Dave is the games master and he had the children eating out of his hand with Musical Pirates, Pass the Treasure Parcel and then the much anticipated Treasure Hunt! He gathered the kids and they traipsed from the Black Pearl, through the shipwreck (our deck), the Captain's Quarters (the cubby house), the murky swamp (the trampoline), the Pirate Coffins (our veggie gardens) to the quicksand (our sand box) where they unearthed an authentic looking treasure chest! Searching for treasure can't be that easy, though, so the next challenge was to tackle the meanest looking pirate (my Dad) to steal the key to the locked chest. When the lock clicked open the and the pirate coins spilled out, the look of wonder on the kids' faces was absolutely priceless!

When the food had been eaten and the presents opened, we were left with a quiet sense of satisfaction mixed with exhaustion at a memorable and incredible day. Eli did an amazing job throughout the day, responding with appropriate manners when opening presents and not obnoxiously asking people if they brought him something when they came through the door. He cracked it at one point when we went to play the pin the eye-patch on the pirate game, but quickly recovered when I took him aside to calm him down. It turned out the pirate was just a bit too scary looking.

We've already started thinking about Hudson's birthday party (a Postman Pat theme is the current favourite) and Eli has decided he wants a circus theme for his 5th party! Planning parties are such a fun part of being a mum, even if I do become slightly obsessive in the lead up.

It is a little crazy to think my eldest child is now four! Eli Thomas Hughes, we are in awe of you and who you are becoming. You are so mature that sometimes I forget that you are still a little boy. You have an incredible understanding of the world and are such a great big brother to Hudson and Ivy. I love watching you create games and scenarios out of your vivid imagination and I love our special times chatting when I put you to bed. Thanks for all the humour and light you bring to our lives. We truly couldn't imagine life without you.

Side note: Dave got a little inspired and has changed the layout of my blog so there are a few elements that need a bit of rearranging and tweaking. And no, that profile photo is not me, but trying to decipher html code is about as fun for me as poking myself repeatedly in the eye, so it may hang around for a little longer until I can get up the motivation to try changing it!