I really think I enjoyed getting ready for Zetta's party more than the party itself. The party was a lot of fun, but I liked the planning & crafting & decorating & baking more.
There is no sort of party supply store around, so I had to improvise with what I had/could find. The theme of the party was wild animals, so I put together a bunch of toilet paper binoculars for the kids to go on a safari with. I printed off pictures of wild animals and covered them up with paper except for a little square. The kids went around and looked through their binoculars and guessed what the animals were. I bought a pack of animal figurines to give out as prizes. It was a big hit, the giraffe was the first to go, the poor rhino never got picked.
I had planned on making a Lion face cake, but I should have known that even a simple cake was aiming too high. My neighbor Fatima has a nice oven, so Zetta and I went over with our cake mix and baked in her kitchen. The cupcakes turned out great, but the cake was another story. The first half didn't come out of the pan very well, and the top half cracked when I put it on top because I didn't let it cool enough. I ended up frosting and decorating it for our bible study instead. Matthew made a banana cream pie for the party in place of the cake.
Decorating was fun. We put up green streamers to make it look like a jungle, and we put up balloons in every place imaginable. I made a sign for the front door and hung balloons there too.
The party was here and gone before I knew it. Lots of our Moroccan friends and neighbors showed up, it ended up getting really crowded in our living room. I was too busy running around to really enjoy the party and take it all in. I'm just starting to realize that Zetta is already a year old, it's hard to believe she's 1 already. But it's hard to remember when she wasn't around, she's really brought so much joy and excitement into my life.
I haven't had the motivation to take the decorations down yet, I think I need to enjoy them just a little bit longer!
