Li'l Lily's Birthday Party

We had Lil's birthday party on the weekend, and were once again reminded how handy it is to have family around when Mum, Edith and Rach all brought food, and I caught Mum and Edith doing dishes part way through the day :) I'd modified a picture of Li'l Lulu to make it Li'l Lily for the invites, and that set the general theme for the party - tiny versions of food (mini party pies and party sausage rolls, little quiches and pizzas, hotdogs made from a cocktail frank and dinner roll, chicken nugget parmas, and Cheryl's delicious mini muffins and tiny rumballs). Thankfully we made up for the size with volume, and I don't think anyone went home hungry.

Lil had an amazing time. She tore through presents while we were getting food ready, but lucky for us Mum and Auntie Denise were there to write the gifts on the back of the cards so we knew who gave what, and Carolynn took some photos for us too. Actually there were a few people taking photos over the day (Joel took the ones in this post) so we'll have to gather them all together for a look.

Then we had a bit of a treasure hunt outside (little bubble blowers and a chocolate ladybug) and the kids returned to doing what they do - drawing on the pavement with chalk, playing on the swing set, riding bikes around and generally enjoying the beautiful weather in the way only small children can :)

Back inside for an amazing cake that Cheryl had made (and that she cut up perfectly - there was only one small piece left over after dividing it amongst 30 or so people) plus the aforementioned muffins, cupcakes and more cookies than even I could eat.

That led, of course, to even more crazy running around until the end of the day. Not having relied on Cheryl's family enough already we went there for dinner. Combined with the dishes being done already it meant there was not nearly as much packing and cleaning up as expected.

It was really good to catch up with everyone and to see the kids all playing together. I think Cheryl did an amazing job getting everything organised beforehand and cooked on the day, and I know everybody loved the party bags she put together - both the kids, who got big ones, and the adults who also got one :) Huge thanks to everyone for the help, especially Mum! Also Edith and Rach, not that they'll read this ;)