Birthdays

March is a busy birthday month for our family! Sevak turned a big 3-0 on the 10th, and Rose just turned six on the 18th! We had very little fanfare on Sevak's b-day, despite the milestone that it was. Oopsy; my bad. We had just gotten back from Baganara island and I didn't quite get my act together on the birthday prep front, but I did make homemade hash browns and homemade almond joys--some of Sevak's faves.

 Fresh coconut played the starring role in these babies.

 Hard to limit it to just thirty!

Rose's party was a bit more developed, although still rather casual. For example, a few days before her birthday I realized we should get some invitations out to the kids in her class, so I quickly scrawled the date, time, and RSVP info on scraps of construction paper before the school bus came. Yeah, it was that kind of a party. However, we had face paint!! That makes everything seem legit.

We also had pizza!

And a chocolate fountain!

AND a piñata!

 (Piñata prep fail)

Piñata success!

 Our big buddy Eli helped us finally crack the thing open.

No candy...I filled it with little trinkets from Amazon (dot com, that is...not the nearby jungle)

It was a rather full house because a couple of peeps who hadn't RSVP'ed showed up, and parents also stayed. This added to the festive atmosphere, though!

 Make a wish!

 

I kind of made up my own recipe for a coconut-orange cake with chocolate frosting. I needed to use up some yogurt and orange juice I had in the fridge. :) It had a pudding or tres leches-like consistency, which I thought was actually rather yummy...if I do say so myself.

She got some little gifts from her friends and opened up a couple from us before bed (random stuff I had bought on sale ages ago and stored away for a moment like this). The most "thoughtful" gift, however, was a bird cage that just happened to arrive that very morning!

We filled it today...

I love how Jasmine is imitating Rose's excited gesture.

I just have to share the story behind the acquisition of "Flippity" and "Floppity." We crossed the Demerara River today for a church obligation, and decided to stop at a little pet store in Vreed-en-hoop (I say "pet store" lightly...more like pet stand). I think we totally lucked out because these birds appear to be brown-throated conures, which would go for well over a hundred each in the U.S. We paid $25 for the pair! I think they probably would've even been rather expensive in Georgetown because I imagine the pet store there caters to expats and/or rich folk. Incidentally, Sevak said that when he walked into the store with the kids, some lady made a big fuss over Simon, referring to him as "white boy." I'm sure that was the first time a white American family had entered the humble pet stand of Vreed-en-Hoop. Haha! Happy birthday, my March loves!