It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want to.....

So I hosted Grace's "friends party" on Saturday, which really just means a party for my friends who have young kids, and for those friends who were there and are reading this, you know exactly why I titled this post the way I did.  Grace had a fantastic time.  For the first half.  Then she fell asleep and woke up grumpy.  Poor thing was inconsolable.  Until the cake came out and happiness arrived once more for Grace!!!!!

Here's how it went:  True to her Gracey self, she did not nap well before the party.  I blame it all on the propane guy.  I needed to fill my propane tank so that we could BBQ the hot dogs, so I drove all the way across town to the place I knew that had propane.  Something was up with their phone system or whatever it is you need to process credit cards and it was chaos inside the convenience station store, people searching for cash to pay for gas, people angry, it was a scene.  I quietly wait my turn in line, all the while, Grace is getting closer and closer to her nap time.  He finally gets to me and says he'll be out in a minute.  Well, one minute turns into 10 and Grace is now really in need of a nap.  I don't want her to fall asleep in the car, because I had last minute stuff to do at home and needed her to sleep at home!!  The propane guy tells me my tank is too old, he can't fill it, something I had suspected but was not worried about because the sign outside the door says "New Propane Tanks Available Here."  So I ask for a new tank.  He doesn't have any, tells me I have to drive to Walmart or Canadian Tire or somewhere like that and buy one myself first.  Both of those stores are at least ten minutes away.  If I drive there, Grace is sure to fall asleep.  I consider what people might think if I just boiled the hot dogs even though the invitation clearly said Barbeque.  Would they notice?  I decide I had better make the drive to Walmart and get a new tank.  In the meantime, I am singing, clapping my hands, tickling Grace's head, doing everything I can do to keep her awake.  My efforts were fruitless and she fell asleep on the way back to the Petro Canada.  So Grace slept soundly as the guy filled the tank and I drove home.  A 20 minute errand had turned into almost an hour.  I slowed to a crawl as I came in the driveway but, alas, it was not meant to be.  Grace's eyes popped open and there it was.  I could almost see nap time flying out the car window.  She smiled (because now she's had 20 minutes of sleep and feels refreshed!!!) and started babbling to get out of the car.  So to end this long drawn out saga, that's how it came to be that Grace had a great time at the beginning of her party, then crashed at 4:30 in my arms.  

Enough about my troubles, now on to the party!!!  It was a lovely afternoon and the kids had a blast running around the yard, chasing each other, pulling kids in the wagon, playing with the toys and eating junk food.  Grace did wonderfully, mingling with the kids.  She showed them our raspberry patch and the kids went to town finding all the ripe berries.  Grace is getting more and more confident every day and I love it.  Everyone got fed and enjoyed a drink or two and then the cake came out.  As you can see in the video below, Grace liked being within "dipping distance" from the cake at all times.  She enjoyed her own cake, yes, but liked to be able to dip into the main cake once in a while too.  Too funny!!!!

Thanks for barbequing Steve!!!

Someone had to take a little break from all the partying!

I want some cake from this side too!

The Morning After Party......