A Kitty-themed pool party

Per Hudson’s request, his fourth birthday party was a “kitty pool-party with his friends, chocolate cake, and the caramel sauce that goes on ice cream.” Why a kitty party? We have no idea, but the wish was consistent for months.

Some photos from the celebration…

I’ve come to love setting up some sort of backdrop and asking the kids to let me take their photo in front of it—the pictures of these little guests, many of them the same and yet looking so different every year, are so fun to look through. (They don’t always feel the same, of course.)

The party was about as simple as can be: just pool and cake and a few buddies. (And I love how the cake turned out!) But we never fail to do something that’s unnecessarily complicated and this year it was those folded paper cats! Warning: there’s a lot of cutting and gluing and assembly involved in Paper Source garland kits. A lot.

The inflatable kitty (which was the opposite of time-intensive) was a hit—especially with Skyler, who gave it lots of hugs and kisses.

There are a lot of baby brothers and sisters now, so it’s nice that the kids Hudson’s age are starting to get more comfortable in the water. Many are becoming good swimmers!

We saved the cake for the very end. (I love spotting Aron’s mom behind me, ready for the bait-and-switch: we made three layers and had the third cut and ready to serve as soon as the candle was blown out.)

Skyler was pretty insistent on sitting with the big kids. She’s actually really great at a picnic table. Eating cake with a fork still needs a little finessing, though.