A 4-Baby Birthday Party

On Sunday morning, Audrey came down the stairs bright and early, and the first thing out of her mouth was, "EllieBaby and ElmoBaby and AbbeyBabby and SisterBaby are having a birthday party today because it's their birthdays, and they're SO excited!"

So over breakfast, we chatted about their birthdays. The smallest baby, SisterBaby, was turning two, as was the biggest baby, EllieBaby. ElmoBaby was turning one (again), and AbbeyBaby was going to be three. All on the same day.

Later that day, as Brother was going down for his nap, she asked if I'd play Birthday Party with her. How could I resist? But, honestly, how can one simply pretend to celebrate a birthday, when it would be so much better with real cake, decorations, and presents?

Audrey loved the idea of having real food that she could, as she said, "Put in my mouth and actually eat it." Yes.

In the hour and a half between Henry's nap and lunch, we made a little bundt cake, some paper birthday crowns for all the birthday babies, we threw up a string of celebration flags, and we made and wrapped new blankets for them all (size-appropriate, of course). When lunch rolled around, we set her table with the little cake, some popcorn, olives, sausages, and dried fruit, and then Henny and I were informed we weren't invited, and were promptly shooed out of the room (Daddy got the same message upon peeking in at the cuteness).

When lunch and cake were consumed and gifts were opened, I was summoned back upstairs with, "Mama, will you come up here and take away the dirty dishes, please?"

Honestly. She could have at least saved me a piece of cake for my trouble.

Yellow cake with apricot glaze

At nap time, as I was taking down the celebration flags, she begged to have another birthday party, this time for her stuffed animals, at dinner time.

Um, maybe another day.

Maybe.

All the babies tucked in with their new blankets at bedtime