Teddy Bear Tea Party

I was privileged to be invited to Iris's birthday party last Thursday. It was adorable with the mini tea party set up for the little girls. Jan also set our a gorgeous spread of tea food-quiche, biscuits, scones, muffins, clotted cream, a jam assortments strawberry feta spinach salad, fruit, chocolate banana bread champagne, orange juice, sparkling water, and tea among other things. It was a lovely time with some great ladies, some of which I already knew, and other I was glad to have met. It's so nice to have friends and acquaintances in the neighborhood. I told Jan I'd be happy to make a cake for Iris. The sweet 3 year old only had a couple requests: pink and flowers. So I pulled out my rusty flower skills, that I was never really good at anyway, and made a lemon cake with raspberry filling. It was fun getting all my tools out again. I've never been an exact sort of person. I like things free-form and rustic. But it's also good to have a few easy tricks to fake around with. When she was opening presents, mine happened to fall last out of the bunch. When I saw this gift, I knew it might be a huge problem (for me as a babysitter, and her parents). She opened her gumball machine and the kids went ballistic. I told Jan sorry in advance for the possibility of having gum all over the house and that they'll ask for it ever five seconds, but she loved it assured me that they are responsible with gum, and they will use it as a reward system if it gets out of hand. I said I'd be happy to brink a box of KIX cereal or something to refill it next time. Wade was especially thankful for this gift. I think he even used the the word "love" when describing his feelings about it. The party went really well and all the little ones had a great time as well as the adults. Iris was her little princess self the whole time. That includes a little whine every now and then, in true 3 year old style. I have loved babysitting this family for the past year and watching them grow. I was so grateful that she wanted me there for her special day. Happy Birthday IJ (Iris Jane)!
Yeah, she was posing for the camera. She kept saying, "Now look at this, Emily!" How could I resist.