Malia's Month

I know, I know.... it's been a while since I posted something substantial. I've had a really busy April. An insanely busy April.

The first week in April we had 7 Mai's over for a visit from Thursday to Wednesday. The second and third week we went to San Jose for Spring Break. The fourth weekend my parents came down for a wedding and crashed at our place until Monday (while Kael had birthday party commitments both Saturday and Sunday). That takes us to the first week in May where the last of the Mai's (Trieu and Ingrid) made a visit before heading off to Colorado. Their visit coincided with Malia's first dance recital (Saturday) and her birthday party (Sunday).

So here we are. The second week in May. I am free at last!

Until I got a phone call Friday morning at 7:30am and it was Robert. At my mother-in-law's apartment which is 5 minutes down from my house, asking "what's for breakfast?"

So yeah. It's been kind of busy. Nice, but really busy.

While in San Jose, we celebrated Malia's birthday. Then we had her actual birthday party down here with her friends (a Princess Tea Party). Then on Tuesday we had another mini-party for her at school (just pizza and cupcakes). With all this hoopla for her, Malia thinks her birthday is some kind of month-long celebration. Which in reality I guess it is.

We gave her a few options for her birthday (like at a bounce house, a park, her dance studio, etc.) and she without hesitation stated she wanted a Princess Party at her dance studio. The girl knows what she wants. I attempted to steer her towards the bounce house so that we could invite some boys and perhaps some of Kael's friends too. But nope. It was a Princess Party or bust.

After discussing the options with the dance studio, it was decided that it would be a Princess Tea Party (which is fancier than a mere Princess Party). Because of this, I decided to invite just girls and ship Kael off to spend the morning with Grandma. What would boys do at a tea party anyway?

I also decided to make the cupcakes myself. Why? you ask. Well, if you asked some friends of mine, it's because I'm crazy. However, if you asked ME why, I'd tell you.... actually, I don't know what I'd tell you. I just woke up one day and decided to make the cupcakes myself. I don't like the store bought stuff and... well, maybe I am just a touch crazy.

I can't tell you how many cupcakes I made in my quest to find the right recipe and frosting. It was a lot -- like over 100 cupcakes, easily. Luckily my friends were all good sports and were willing to eat my test batches. Truong however, has banned me from baking any more for at least another month.

Back to the party. The night before, Kael decided he wanted to crash the party. He didn't want to go with Grandma. He wanted to go to Malia's party. I could completely understand why he wanted to go, afterall we were talking up the party so that Malia would be excited about it. After checking the RSVP list of which of Malia's friends were attending, I called up 2 families with older siblings who happened to be Kael's best friends and told them to bring along the big kids too.

It was a great party. Malia had a fabulous time. I have never done a party like this so it was a treat for me to watch the girls get totally Princess'ed out. Before having kids, I remember saying I would never raise my female child to be such a girly-girl. No princesses, no dolls, just sports and bikes. I want a tomboy!

Ha! I have to laugh at myself now. I didn't raise Malia to be like this. She picked it up all by herself. And sure, I allow it, even encourage it. This is a part of her personality, what makes her uniquely Malia. And quite frankly, it's hard to take away something from your child when they enjoy it so much. I'm sure at some point in her life she will pick up a volleyball or a pair of sneakers and ask me to take her to practice. Until then, I'll make sure her tiara is bright and shiny.

Enjoy the pictures.