The day before Mirei’s actual birthday, we threw a small, intimate birthday party to celebrate the milestone of her turning one! We were admittedly feeling a little overwhelmed (and a little lazy) about doing a big celebration, but we kept the guest list short and decided we’d just do what we could and that helped ease the pressure and stress on us parents. π My brother Ted and his wife Elisa were gracious enough to reserve the party room at their condo for the celebration. Unfortunately, it snowed the morning of the party and some of our guests couldn’t make it because of the weather, but we still had fun with those who were able to make it, and we stayed warm and cozy as the flurries swirled outside!
First year poster for Mirei
Birthday cake for Mirei… intended to be smashed later in the party.
A tower of birthday cupcakes
Dan and I made these cake toppers — both the “one” atop the cupcakes and the one with her name on the smashcake.
hydrangea cupcakes
The items for erabitori
Cookies to be taken home as party favors.
lollipop party favors
First birthday sugar cookies
Don’t look too closely… it was my first time using gold dusting powder on sugar cookies!
Special thanks to Miwa, Hyo, and Elisa who all helped with getting the party decorations up!
Everyone crowding around the birthday girl!
The adorable kids arriving
The aunties
Cutiepies Mirei and Cara
So glad Nancy and her girls could make it! Welcome back to the States!
The birthday girl walking around
Pat and I with our baby girls. Thanks so much for coming! Γ’β’Β₯
Mio with her aunties, posing for our makeshift photobooth.
We had set up our own little “photobooth” with an iPad app, and the kids had so much fun with it! It was really fun to see the collection of pictures at the end of the party:
We felt so blessed to be able to celebrate Mirei’s first birthday with such loving family and friends, and are so thankful that she is such a happy and healthy one year old! More posts to follow with the first birthday activities from the party — stay tuned!
Dan’s company had a holiday party at the McLean Hilton this year, and it was grand! It’s nice to get dressed up and go somewhere without the kids once in a while, and we thoroughly enjoyed the festivities!
Main course of filet mignon. My favorite part, though, was the ginormous cocktail shrimp they had among the hors d’oeuvres (not pictured). Heaven for a shrimp lover like me!
My favorite kind of bar = a hot chocolate bar! Dan got the Olaf and I got the Elsa and they were both amazing.
Fun in the photobooth Γ’β’Β₯
Chocolates from Dan’s company as a gift for him helping them prepare for the party. Yum!
I’m thankful that Dan is such a hardworking husband and father — it’s thanks to him that we can provide for our girls, and we can enjoy company events like these from time to time. His company and his team are so wonderful too, and he loves his work — I’m so happy for him that he found this opportunity that brought us back to the East Coast two years ago.
There was a photo booth from Magnolia Photo Booth Co. at Jason & Tarrin’s wedding last Saturday, and we had a lot of fun with it! Such a great idea — a big thanks to the bride and groom for letting us indulge in it. Here are some of the memorable ones….
We were wondering what Mio would look like with a lot of hair. Now we know.
She’s doing the kissy-face, too!
Here I am as a jolly pirate (with a feather boa!) with my awesome coworker friends: Pharaoh Estella and adorable Sarah.
We decided we needed some more Allen family photos, so the three of us stepped into the photo booth once again… but Mio was sleeping. :(ΓΒ She retains the same face throughout with those bulldog cheeks, until the last one in which it crumbles from the frustration of disturbed sleep.
Estella, Mio, and I were lucky enough to get a photo opp with the lovely bride, Tarrin!
Last Saturday, Dan and I attended the 2nd Annual Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco. Held at the festival pavilion in Fort Mason, over 200 craft artists came together to show off and sell their goodies — all things handmade including clothing, jewelry, stationery, bath soaps, ceramics, posters, plush dolls, even cupcakes! We had a great time exploring all the crafts that the huge variety of artsy fartsy vendors had to offer. You can get a glimpse at some of the lovely items here, although I admit I was too busy checking out the goods to take too many pictures.
They had a photo booth there, and Dan and I had some good fun snapping some silly shots:
The Renegade Craft Fair toured four big cities this year — Brooklyn, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. I already can’t wait for it to come back next year!
