BIRTHDAY THEME: FARM or BARNYARD ANIMALS

Some of us learn by reading, some by pictures/tutorials, some hands-on….Here I will primarily post photos which will give you some ideas: THIS PARTY WAS FOR YOUNG TODDLERS so there are not games per se, rather, activities. (the above photo: everytime I crop this and adjust lighting only the original transfers…rats! Will keep trying)

CAKE: Check out the cake Daddy made up for the party! (above)…little pig made out of starbursts, hay is yellow-dyed coconut with marshmallow behind for circular bale; cake = pound cake; walls of barn use red string licorice; roof = chex; fence = pretzels, 2 round 9'' cakes, icing and presto! Barnyard Cake. Blue icing for a pond, black for pig in mud, green for grass, red for some of barn. Notice the 2 round cakes are nestled within one another; cut out a portion of one to fit the other inside it. Feed the birthday child his first piece of chocolate cake iced separately with green icing. Everyone else has cupcakes…the following days the family enjoys the Barn Cake together. You can give the baby the entire silo to dig into! Oh man; oh fun.

CUPCAKES: Pigs, Chicks and Cows and Sheep:

1) Pig: nose = marshmallow dipped in sprinkles; string licorice chopped for nostrils; eyes =choc. chips; ears = pink starbursts

2) Cow: nose & eyes = same as pig; nostrils = choc. dripped through small hole in bag; ears                                                                 
   = pink mentos gum

3) Chicks: covering = yellowed dyed coconut; wings are gummies; eyes same as pig; nose (oops I forget - some sort of orange gummy)

4) Sheep: one large marshmallow surrounded by tiny marsmallows; eyes = drip like cow; mouth 
    =  pink gel icing. 

BARN YARD: (for mother's to sit with crawler's; or toddler's to play.) Place blankets/table cloths on ground and set around barnyard stuffed animals and books about farms for mom/dad to read etc.)


HAY RIDES: label a wagon with a sign and presto! Kids love taking rides in a wagon

You can include a ''waterpond'' if you don't mind the kids getting all wet. Heather did have this with towels nearby (no picture).

now for FOOD: 


Wanted you to see the pig placed in dark icing for mud; blue icing for a little waterhole and the hay is coconut dyed yellow with a marshmallow behind some to make a circular bale of hay.


The main theme was a garden patch of vegetables on a tray made to look like a vegetable garden. Place vegetables in rows and make some dip! (left front: with play fences on the sides. They borrowed my animal dishes/bowls for fruit; Oreo cookies labeled as 'spokes' of a wheel; Rice Krispie treats labeled "bales of hay"; the candy called 'Cow Tales'; and in the Crock-Pot were ''pigs in a blanket.''
Hot dogs wrapped in bacon cooked in a crock-pot ahead of time. Labels with a farm theme name and presto! Barnyard Party and Food.

What To Make for A One Year Old

        Baba            
 THAT'S WHAT!
   (Baba: knit project)

At the last minute, actually 24 hrs. before the birthday I thought, "I'd love to make Joel a huggable something." So, searching on Ravelry,
a knitter/crocheters' website, I found the perfect pattern to download by Shafer Dobry. Find her pattern on Ravelry.com or Etsy.
Ravelry is great to join, by the way. 

Store pictures of all your projects in one place, see what people all around the world are making, share ideas, free patterns, trade yarn, meet professional knitter/crocheter's and get advice etc. etc. etc.

PICTURES ABOVE of Baba: my son sent these to me in an email with the following captions:

"Waiting around for my little boy to wake up," says Baba (picture two)…."But first some fun!" (picture one). You see, Michael, age 29 is still a child at heart; the apple doesn't fall far from this tree! He has all the animals talking to his kids and being goofy and crazy well, like I was I guess. Michael you are a blast. Sometimes I am not sure who the children are; you and Heather?
(below: Baba ''hanging around in my flowers." NOTE: I'm a beginner knitter - easy pattern; written well.