Her First Birthday Party

Sorry that I have been MIA lately. Things have been crazy around here for the last 2 weeks. It's all apartment related with things breaking, falling apart or about to fall apart. I have been beyond stressed and I hope nothing else goes wrong, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I postponed Melody's doctor's appointment because it snowed really hard on the day of the appointment. We went yesterday and she has been out of sorts. I am so glad we didn't go last week, which would have one day before her party. I think the 2 shots she got in her thighs are making her feel sick. She has been so cranky and not sleeping well during her naps in the afternoon. Lots of crying and wanting mommy to be by her side.

She cried a lot when we were at the doctor's. The new surroundings and people really scared her. She did not want to lay down to be weighed and measured. It made her cry the most when I had to have her lay on her back on the table. They numbed both her hands right when we got in, so that the doctor will have two choices. The doctor suggested I give her a lollipop while she drew blood from her hand. Melody has never had candy before so I wasn't sure if that would distract her. So, she was laying on her back and I had to lean over and put my chest against hers so she wouldn't be able to move. I held the lemon flavored lollipop so she could suck on it and she was intrigued. I didn't even see the doctor insert the needle because she was so swift, but I did see the blood going into the tube. The needle was inserted into the top of her hand. She was fine in the beginning, but started to cry and squirm a little towards the end when she began to feel the pain of the needle. After the needle was pulled out, she got the 2 shots in her thigh. She was not a happy camper.

The office called me with the results that same night and everything checked out fine. They were checking for Lead and Amnemia. My petite little girl weighs 17lbs and is 28.5 inches long.
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The birthday party was a success. A big thank you to my sister, Joanna, for making all the food for the party. I couldn't have done it without you, Jo! The only thing that I had to concentrate on was the baking and cleaning.

My sister made Turkey Meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese which we kept hot in a crock pot with marinara sauce. We put mini-rolls next to it so people could make mini meatball subs. She cooked and cooled/chilled 2lbs of fresh Jumbo Shrimp to make a Shrimp Cocktail Platter. Then she made Peanut Sesame Noodles with Soba Noodles that was delicious. And because she knows I love Smoked Salmon, she made Smoked Salmon Crostinis with herbed cream cheese and diced red onion. My cousin offered to make a salad, so she brought a salad made with ingredients from the Organic Food Co-op that she belongs to. Sadly, I didn't remember to take any pictures of the food. I could tell that everyone loved the food because there was hardly anything left at the end of the party.My friend, Jen, had given me this birthday crown over the Summer in anticiptation of Melody's first birthday. The crown is made out of fabric and the number 1 is velcroed on and can be removed to put the numbers 2 or 3. She also got me the matching bib and socks. Melody used the bib when she was eating and it was very cute.She immediately took it off after I took the photos.I chose a Bee theme for the party with Winnie the Pooh as an accent. My sister thought of the accent because Melody loves Winnie the Pooh. She bought the plates, napkins, cups and yellow and white streamers to hang around the dinning area. We used Melody's Winnie the Pooh toys to decorate the rest of the place.My sister also bought these Winnie the Pooh Ears head bands for the kids to wear. Here is my little Pooh Bear wearing it.Yes, she immediately took that off too. The other kids at the party didn't mind wearing it, but she doesn't like things on her head. A lot of us, the adults, starting wearing them for fun. It's really hard to have a serious conversation while wearing Pooh Ears.The cake is really how I chose the theme for the party. I had seen a Beehive Cake in a recent issue of Donna Hay's magazine (I love that magazine, even though it's pricey in the US.). In the magazine, the cake was baked in a domed pan or even a stainless steel bowl would work and the hive was piped in a spiral with buttercream.

A few days before my sister was to arrive in NYC, she called me from her local shopping mall about a Beehive Cake Pan she saw. She never goes into Williams-Sonoma, but she had time to kill that day. The clearance section had a Beehive Cake Pan on sale and she thought it would be perfect for the party. They don't seem to be selling it anymore, but I found this link on their site. I recently saw it on another site, but I don't remember where. The pan is heavy and solid and made by Nordicware. The only difference I see from the one that I have is the color of the pan. Mine is a gold metal color and the other sites sell the regular gun metal color. I think they jazz it up a little for Williams-Sonoma by making it gold and having the Williams-Sonoma label on it.The cake is baked in 2 halves. I didn't use the recipe that it came with. Instead, I made a chocolate cake because who doesn't like chocolate? After letting it cool, you have to trim the halves to make it even. I "glued" the 2 halves with buttercream frosting and then carefully drizzled the icing on top. Some of drips and drizzles had to be nudged in the right direction, but I think it came out well.

I am not sure if you can tell, but the pan has bees on it (it sticks out from the cake). So, you don't really have to decorate it with additional bees if you don't want to. For me, the bees was what made the cake special. The night before, I made the bees out of Marzipan. I used food gel to tint it and the wings are sliced almonds. I have never done this before and was surprised that it wasn't too hard.I had bought a generic number 1 birthday candle. My sister brought a Winnie the Pooh Birthday Candle instead. It was so much better than the one I got at the grocery store.I also baked 1 dozen vanilla cupcakes. After I baked them, my sister drizzled the icing on top to match the cake and we made extra Bees to add on top. Everyone had a slice or two of cake and then a cupcake. I think that was party was a success. Melody had a ton of fun and needed a nap afterwards. My sister and I can't wait until next year's party. I wonder what theme it will be?
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This year, Chinese New Year is on Monday, January 26th. That also happens to be my birthday. I am making a Chinese New Year dinner on Sunday, the Eve. So, I have lots of cooking to do this weekend. This will be my first time making a Chinese New Year celebration and I am excited. Growing up at home, my mom always threw a huge party and made a ton of food. Ever since I moved to New York, I have never gone home for Chinese New Year because it's not a holiday in the US. In past years, DH and I have eaten out or did nothing at all. But now that I have my own daughter, I want to pass our traditions and heritage onto her. My cousin who lives nearby will be joining us with her baby boy and husband.

Happy New Year! (It's the Year of the Ox.)