Smash Cake on Aadi's 1st B'Day

The Smash

I didn't know what a smash cake was until Ankur got one from the Kwalski's Market (it was free) for Aadi's 1st B'day. We decided to have a small family celebration on June 4th, Fri (which was Aadi's real b'day) - a day before his b'day party.

Ankur and I debated for a few minutes on whether we should have Aadi all dressed up or be just in diapers. Finally we decided, what the heck, his 1st B'day is not going to come back. So, after a few minutes, Aadi was in a brand new Indian Kurta (Panjabi), sitting on a washable mat, and with the smash cake laying in front of him. 

For the first few seconds, Aadi was not sure what to do. He looked at the cake for a while (he had never seen a cake before). Then finally he decided to do a little experiment. He gently placed one finger on the white icing - he just wanted to feel the texture. 

Well, it definitely felt nice and smooth and yummy, because what happened in the next 30 sec can only be described with pictures!

The Real Disaster

We anticipated it'd be messy, but not thaaat messsyy!! 

After diligently smashing the cake, Aadi was super-thrilled and started walking towards the sofa. Ankur and I were a bit inattentive (fiddling with the camera and making sure the pictures came out ok), and were a few seconds late. The real disaster took place. Before Ankur and I could spring upon Aadi, he neatly cleaned up all the white creamy mess from his hands onto our brick red sofa! 

How could he do it that fast - he just turned ONE?!!

Afterword

a) Diya kept jumping on the sofa and shrieking in delight at the top of her voice while we stood there discombobulated!

b) Maple had a jolly good time licking up all the cream and cake from the mat while we were still digesting the nature of the calamity.

c) After 30 min we gave up on removing the stain from the sofa, and started planning on how to hide it before the real party on Sat!

In case you are wondering what happened to the cake ... well ... here's a picture:

He did it !!! (Aadi's B'day Party - Part 4)

He is walking AND he has popped another tooth .... and there is still a whole week to go before his B'day party !! We are no where close to finishing our side of the preparations. He is rejoicing in his clear victory and teasing us mercilessly.

I am on my way to Party City. We have to salvage whatever is left of our reputation.

Raising the bet .... (Aadi's B'day Party - Part 3)

The fountain is in place. We are still trying to figure out our true feelings for it. While at times it looks gorgeous & breathtaking, perfect fit for the space ... at other times we have second thoughts because it is totally not our style. I guess I can say that the fountain is at home but we are so not !! Some gratification came when Diya exclaimed "wow wow wow WOW !!!" when she first saw it. She also named the lady (yes its a statue!) 'Ariel Rosetta Maya'. Which are the best names in her repertoire.

Meanwhile, Aadi has decided to raise the bet by starting to practice climbing (up AND down) the stairs now that he is getting more and more proficient at walking.

I need to think of a way to surpass that .... maybe we should get a clown for the party !!

Few Steps Ahead .... (Aadi's B'day Party - Part 2)

Aadi walked all the way across the family room today. And once he did that he kept going back & forth many times with minimal casualties.

On another front - after a very long day at work, I came back home to find that the landscaping work has already started. The ugly bushes have been ripped & the base for the fountain is ready. I am very optimistic now that this project will get completed before Aadi's party. Even though we did not have much to do with this progress - except hiring the right guys for the job - I felt quite proud! I have also managed to squeeze in some vacation time in my schedule so I have some time to prepare before Jun 4th.

Despite all this planning and progress on our end - it is quite clear that Aadi is "few steps ahead of us" on his side of the bargain ... no pun intended :)

Putting things in perspective .... (Aadi's B'day Party - Part 1)

Aadi will turn 1 yr old on Jun 4th. Our plans for celebrating this auspicious day have gone from "keeping it short and sweet and private" to totally uncontrollable guest list and complete lack of planning on what the menu is going to be, should we plan any activities, etc .... we are even second guessing whether we should do it at home or at a restaurant. We are succumbing to mayhem and panic as the day draws closer. To increase the chaos we have also commissioned a landscaping project both in the front & back yard which may or may not get completed before this much anitcipated and now much hyped B'day party. To add to the confusion, Golu Mamu is flying in from Boston just for the event and has some ambitious plans to make this day memorable.

I was just wondering this evening how we got ourselves into this - Suvo & I typically being quite organized (which is a gentle way of saying - otherwise control freaks). While I was reeling in the stress - it suddenly hit me that Aadi has his own preparations going on for this important milestone in his life. We have set clear expectations for Aadi that he should pop another tooth & learn to walk by 5pm on Jun 4th. And while his goals for this day are set quite arbitrarily and he has little control over the turn of events, he is not letting himself get stressed out and working towards his target with persistence and perseverance. His dedication has given me a new perspective in life :) As Krishna said in Geeta - "Karmanye wadhika raste; ma falesuhu kadachana" (for those weak in sanskrit and/or mythology- it means - "Do what you have to do and stop obsessing about successes"). I have found a new guru in him!

I will keep you posted on how our respective preparations go .....