Que los cumple feliz...

Dinosaur cake

These were the carefully laid plans:

Two weeks out: email in-laws to find out if they will be able to make it to Rosario for Gabe’s party. All confirmed positive.

Thursday: Bake cakes and do all shopping for produce and fresh goods (all other items were purchased two weeks earlier when food strike was announced).

Friday: Assemble and decorate cakes, slow-cook meat for French Dip sandwiches, prepare artichoke dip to be baked on Friday, make hummos. Put Gabe to bed early and decorate house.

Saturday: Get up at 7:30 and shower before baby is awake (7:30 is early for me). Make sure Gabe is up by 8 so her will nap by 10 and be well-rested and able to make it until 3:30 when party will end. Finish decorating cake, assemble salads, bake appetizers, and heat sandwich meat.
Gabe, Sofia and Mateo playing in his room.

This is what really happened:

Thursday: while baking cakes husband calls to tell you that in-laws can’t come because the truckers are angry that the farmer’s aren’t sending any food to market (because they are still fighting with the government over the soybean retentions) so have blocked all roadways…again. You begin praying that truckers, farmers, government, anybody will be reasonable.

Friday: Get cakes mostly decorated, but fear moisture from fridge ruining fondant icing, so decide to cover well in plastic then aluminum foil as instructed by internet and save buttercream frosting finishing touches for the morning. Get other food prepared, but don’t finish decorating because husband says balloons won’t last until morning so we should wait. Find out that prayers are NOT being answered, that neither set of in-laws is going to be able to make it for the party. Get really depressed because you were so excited to see them. Put Gabe to bed at 8:30 as planned. Husband invites a few friends to fill the holes in our party.

11:00 Gabe wakes up crying. Feed him a bottle while you think about his teeth rotting out of his head and put him back to bed.
Love this picture of Mario's parents.

2:30 am: Gabe wakes up again crying. Give him a bottle in bed and mentally start setting aside money for caps before the age of 2.

Pilar longingly waiting for time to cut the cake.

5:00 am: Gabe, your child who has been wonderful at sleeping through the night since the age of 8 weeks, wakes up crying AGAIN. You are convinced he CANNOT be hungry, so hold him, sooth him, and put him back in bed. Get back in own bed and listen to him cry for 30 minutes, during which time you crab at husband “No I am NOT giving him a bottle, he CANNOT POSSIBLY BE HUNGRY!!!” Decide that you are not picking him up, but not sleeping anyway so you might as well be useful, get up and decorate cake. 10 minutes into cake decorating husband takes child out of bed and lets him play. You finish decorating cake and hold child while you watch a baby Einstein video together, and at 7 am he finally falls asleep. You put him in bed and crawl back into bed yourself, turning off the alarm that was set for 7:30.

Feliz Cumple to Gabriel!!

Saturday around 8, phone ring: You hear something about lifting and okay but are too tired to process, fall back asleep.

Gabe gots lots of help to open his many very fun presents.

9:30: wake up yelling “It’s 9:30, crap!” Decide to get yourself then house ready first, guests can wait for food. Ask husband what phone call was about, he reports that it was your MIL calling to ask if there were any news on the traveling in-laws, but the strikes are still on.

Too tired to be sure how he feels about his new car.

9:45: child wakes up. You realize this will mean he is ready to nap just as guests are arriving, and that he will be a mess all day. Oh well.

Not sure what he was expressing, but he felt strongly about it.

Noon: Just as you are expecting your first party guests, hear your Sister in-laws voice out the window!!! Husband LIED about the morning phone call, it was Paco and Alicia calling to say the strike had been temporarily lifted and they COULD travel. Prayers are answered, literally start crying with joy.

Gabe finally enjoyed some cake on Sunday after church, Saturday he was not capable of sitting in his chair.

So Gabe was too tired to handle anything, would start laughing and then switch to crying in the same breath, but we had a great time and a 1st birthday party is really about the mom anyway, right??

Mandamos muchos besos a Paco, Alicia y Pilar quienes viajaron tanto para pasar muy poco tiempo aca, unicamente por el cumple de Gabriel. Estamos MUY agradacidos por su sacrificio, les queremos muchisimo!!!