Happy Birthday, Papaya!

There are many reasons I've been a terrible blogger lately: my mother-in-law's 10 day visit, our insane planting and yard work mania (which deserves an entry to itself), and last but not least, the Papaya's 4-year birthday party, which was yesterday (his actual birthday is today).

It was, of course, a Lightning McQueen birthday party, and it was a lot of fun to plan and host. Since Memorial Day is not a great day to host a birthday party around here (most people get away for the long weekend), we only had two families show up. But those families brought 7 kids between them, so it was the perfect number for the Papaya. I made 2 large pizzas, the cake (pictured above, a race track scene with Lightning pushing the King across the finish line - the Papaya's idea), and cupcakes with "wheels" made out of Oreos on top. Papaya Daddy made a large wok of yummy fried rice and some cold lemon-mint tea using the abundance of mint growing in our yard. For games, we had a spare tire beanbag toss & the ever-popular pinata (a birthday party tradition in this neighborhood). It was a fun, low-key time and most importantly, the Papaya loved it. In fact, he spent the entire afternoon leading up to the party just staring at the cake and Cars-themed decorations. He wouldn't even leave to watch a video. And the guests brought more Cars-themed toys as gifts. Life doesn't get any better than that.

It was fun to honor the Papaya with a party. He's a sweet, imaginative, and lively 4-year old (if a bit manic at times). He seems to have grown up so much lately, wanting to do everything himself now. I look forward to seeing how he's going to grow and change in his 5th year with us. He is so dear and so loved.