Let’s back it up a bit shall we?

Two days before the girls and I jetted off to California, we threw a party for Lark’s first birthday here in Amsterdam. We invited all of our local friends and were lucky enough to have my parents visiting as well, so we had a nice turnout of folks celebrating our little Larky-Lou.

I kept the party prep pretty simple (there’s only so much you can accomplish when you have two crazies running around), making a big a cheese board and green goddess dip with crudite. I put most of my effort into the dessert selection, making this Smitten Kitchen recipe into a two-tier cake, along with peanut butter brownies (after badgering a friend for the recipe, this one has become my go-to, replacing the caramel topping with creamy peanut butter instead). I also made a smash cake for Lark, turning the applesauce muffin recipe into a small cake + six cupcakes. I replaced the sugar with 1/4 cup of maple syrup and made a cream cheese frosting sweetened with maple syrup as well.We bough tulips for decor, both because Lark is our little Dutch baby and because they’re insanely cheap this time of year over here. And of course, what does a child’s birthday party need more than a solid selection of wine and beer? Our party drink tub is back in California, so we make do with a grocery crate (thanks, Albert Heijn!) lined with a plastic bag over here. We’re verrry classy.

All in all it turned out to be the perfect day for our little love. I can’t believe that she’s one already! (And that when Prim was the age Lark is now, I had already found out I was pregnant again. It seems completely nuts to me now.)

Lark’s party made me excited to celebrate Prim’s birthday in just under two months, and Prim has since become obsessed with asking everyone when their birthday is and informing them, “my birthday’s in May.” When people ask how old she is though, she usually answers, “Six,” and when people press her on it (because OBVIOUSLY SHE’S NOT SIX, GUYS) she tells them, “Three.”

Well, close enough, right?