The cake.

Three tiers.  The 12″ bottom tier was a dark-chocolate butter cake with cherry pie filling.  The 9″ tier was strawberry with fresh strawberry filling.  Those were the two flavors Jovan and Rocky requested for Averi’s first birthday cake.  They left the top 6″ tier to my discretion.  So I baked my pumpkin spice specialty and filled it with a cream cheese icing.  It was all butter-creamed (or chocolate-fudge butter-creamed, as appropriate) and covered in 10 pounds or so of pink marshmallow fondant.

The decorating inspiration was from Averi’s gray and pink owl invitations (created by her Aunt Stormie).  I really hated the the big gray branch I made and placed on the middle tier, but once on, it was too late.  However, I enjoyed the owls.  I had only planned for one (chocolate chips for eyes), ended up doing two and could have done whole rows of them.  If I had it all to do again…

Averi had a “personal” cake, a 6″ funfetti with whipped cream spooned over.   She had never had cake or icing before, so we wanted to make sure she didn’t go in to sugar shock.  She could not understand why so  many people were asking her to dig in to her cake!  Averi was seated for the cake photos in the high chair her mommy celebrated her first birthday in!

It was pink.  And it was owls.

Jovan cut out gazillions of paper owls which hung everywhere and adorned all the little party hats she handmade for all the kiddies from patterned scrapbook paper.  Pink and silver balloons.  Pink satin.  Pink ribbon.  Pink flowers.  Oh and, cookies-on-sticks as favors, delish!

The petting zoo.

Farmer Wrex (do not mistake him for Old McDonald – for Wrex is hip and cool) and his amazingly gorgeous wife, Stefane (stunning in her red hoodie), so kindly made Averi’s party the block extravaganza of the subdivision’s winter by bringing over a few animals for the use of her (60+) guests and all the neighbors.  We had 2 bunnies, 2 rather opinionated and slightly irritated ducks, 1 classic chicken, a black calf that nearly inhaled everyone’s fingers (and Pastor Scott was giving it Pepsi…tsk), a mama goat and her 2 four-day-old baby goats, and one Welsh pony for rides.

One day Averi will look back and think she had an amazing party when she turned one.  But she really was not in the mood to ride a pony!  Not at all.  She cried and held all animals after that in suspect.  But everyone else enjoyed the petting zoo and pony rides up and down the street very much!  Stefane and Wrex are the BEST!

Averi’s 1st birthday celebration  (planned meticulously by mommy-Jovan) was a hoo, hoo-t!,  Get it?…Jeanie

NOTE TO SELF:  Don’t let cake sit in the sun before the party-near disaster!!

pictured: click on thumbnails for a closer look