We celebrated our daughter’s birthday this last Saturday. Her birthday is especially fun because she shares it with her grandfather. So we celebrated him too. (Love you Dad.)

In our home, we are too lazy to throw fancy birthday parties. I bake a cake, make a dinner, we sing, open presents, pray and we’re done. Some parents would call us mean and unloving for not lavishing our children with mylar balloons, clowns, hosting dozens of sugar-high children, and giving out fancy party favors. But come on, really. It’s not important. It’s like a wedding. The only thing you need in a wedding is a Pastor and two witnesses. So, yeah, if our daughter wants a fancy wedding she’s..well, thats another post. I would say the only really important part of a birthday is cake. We don’t candles either because of the carcinogens.

Anyway, this year I thought I would have a few decorations. I didn’t find anything that tickled my fancy. All the birthday party decorations were chinsy and ugly. Not even what Pottery barn had to offer impressed me. So I made my own. And they came out pretty good if I say so myself. I made a Happy Birthday banner with her name on it and I made one for Dad. He’s a retired forester so I made his banner with a Douglas fir theme. My daughter’s birthday is in Spring so I have flowers and Spring colors.

We had a lovely steak dinner. I made a chocolate cake with fresh strawberries and white chocolate frosting. We like our parties small and intimate. We had grand-parents and great-grandparents so our table fit our party of 7 comfortably. We had a wonderful time. We bought our tot old-school toys like bubbles, a slinky, a bell for her bike and a fancy Westminster tea cup and saucer. My in-laws gave her the best present of all. My daughter loves rocks. They gave her a pail full of painted rocks with the letters of her name and numbers. It is adorable and she loves it. My daughter is so cute. So yeah, we had fun.