Penny's Birthday Party

Ok, a short break from moving/unpacking while Penny naps and I get to decompress...

This weekend was a whirlwind! It started on Friday night when my parents and brother drove up to have dinner and help out in the morning for the party. Saturday was Penny's birthday party - with probably over 30 adults and close to 10 kids. It continues ended on Sunday with us moving to our temporary home for the next 6 months.

Side note: My mom is the party food QUEEN. She knows how to arrange a veggie / fruit / cheese & cracker platter like none other. Although I would say that I inherited her love of entertaining, I definitely did not inherit her platter arranging ability at all. Everyone has their niche in this world, and I guess that is one of my mom's. Sadly, looking through the pictures from this weekend - there are no pictures of the food :(

On the menu:
melon balls wrapped in proscuitto
deviled eggs - it's not a party without deviled eggs, in my opinion. 
various platters of veggies, fruits, crackers and cheese
smoked salmon with cream cheese and pear jam dip
Rigatoni "Pasta Pie" with ground turkey and mushrooms - a big hit!

Marble cake with butter cream frosting and ice cream.. I was going to attempt the paper towel trick for a fondant look a like, but got side tracked and ended up just frosting it. Oops!

do you think her cake topper is adorable? It was a custom order,
but you can find more of the artist's work here.

And what you've been waiting for.. {cup}CAKE SMASH!

There were actually 2 smashes for Miss Penny. A week before her birthday, we scored an awesome deal at Target and got her one year pictures taken. Here's a sneak peak..

 And the real deal. As you can see, her practice the week before came in handy!

Also, at Adam's request, we had a pinata for the kids. Which really ended up being for him.

It was a crazy, hectic and fun party and I couldn't imagine celebrating Penny in any other way.