The "Zero Birthday" Party

We've made it through a little over a week as a family of six.  All things considered, we're doing pretty well.  One of the definite highlights of the week was having a party for Natalia's "zero birthday."

I recently saw a picture a friend had posted of her newborn with a birthday cake in the baby's bassinet at the hospital.  I thought it was an adorable idea, and that planted the idea of a Birth Day party in my brain.  Meanwhile, my mom was having similar ideas, and from there, the party idea was born.  Ree, of course, was a huge fan of the idea and named it Natalia's zero birthday.

None of us had discussed when we would have the party - whether we would celebrate at the hospital on the baby's actual "zero birthday" or when we came home.  Either way, it didn't matter.  With the madness of Natalia's birth, the party got postponed.  As it turns out, we ended up celebrating on Natalia's one week birthday.

To get ready for the party, the kids baked and decorated cupcakes with a little help from my mom.  The kids made heart shaped cupcakes, bug shaped cupcakes, and plain ol' round cupcakes.

My favorite decoration was the cupcake Michael embellished with a leftover chunk from a cupcake he ate.

Ree also made a birthday sign.

Ree and Gran went shopping and came back with flowers and balloons of Ree's choosing to make the house more festive.

The kids insisted that we have shrimp for the party, so I made gumbo for dinner.  Following our feast, we opened presents.  There were a few baby gifts for Natalia, and even better, Natalia had "party favors" for the kids.  Each got a new activity book and a new Color Wonder coloring book with markers.  Good stuff.

However, as with all parties, the highlight was the birthday child.  In this case, the birthday girl slept through her entire party.  That seems like the perfect way to celebrate a zero birthday.