Happy Birthday Lily!

It's official!  Lily is 1 year old.  It is hard to believe that a whole year has flown by.  June 12, 2009, this sweet little girl made her entry into the world:

We have had the joy of watching our precious girl grow and her personality to continue to blossom.  With plenty of spunk and an independent spirit, Lily is on the move, and we are trying to keep up!  :) 

She had a blast at her birthday party with plenty of family, friends, and yummy food.  As you can see, she takes after her mom in her deep appreciation of food (translation: she loves to grub down).  Fortunately for her, she got to dive into Indonesian BBQ'd chicken, nasi kuning (a celebratory rice), salad, fruit, and chocolate beet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  Here is a view of the food table:

In order to get a little nutrition into her first bites of chocolatey, sugary goodness, I added pureed beets (before you say "yuck!" - you must try the moistest cupcake ever, with barely any taste of beets).  And, rather than using that nasty red food dye #40, I colored the frosting with the beet water from the roasting pan, rendering beautifully pink frosting!  How did she like the cupcake, you might ask?  Well, see for yourself: 

She ate the ENTIRE cupcake (after eating a whole drumstick, rice and watermelon juice).  What was Lily's method of destruction?  It started with a fistful of frosting that was administered to the mouth and held there, as if she needed a ventilator for oxygen.  After mommy broke the cupcake in two, it was then followed by grabbing an entire half and placing it in the same position, so she could conveniently get more as needed.  Here you will see her going in for the cupcake (just after eating the frosting):

As you can see, she is not afraid to be in front of a crowd.  Her focus is astounding! :)  

Our friends, Bart and Linda Tarman, provided the space for Lily's birthday bash.  Here are some friends and family, eating out on the patio.

Jason was the grill master, delivering tender and perfectly bbq'd chicken!

Here some friends enjoy the Swedish game, Kubb, provided by our friend, Sean Whiting, who lived in Sweden for 3 years (or so?).

Lastly, Lily had a great time with her Oma, who came down from Oregon for 10 days to celebrate and play with her.  Lily ate Indonesian delights, knocked down towers that Oma built with foam blocks, danced, and giggled.  She can't wait 'til the next visit!