And for the kids:

Beverages were assorted beer and wine, some N/A offerings and juice boxes for the kids. Halfway through the party it looked like there was still a lot of food on the table and I was worried, but then everyone kicked in to eating mode and it was really the perfect amount. I was so happy...and relieved!!

My friend Shanna brought a five-gallon bucket full of amazingly gorgeous dark red and pink dahlias from her garden and we made three large bouquets - two for the mantle and one for the table. I'm pretty sure they are my new favorite flower. These were in addition to the ginormous bouquet that arrived on my doorstep Friday afternoon from my old boss at TNTETDWTLAWBISITKWIRL who had heard about the party way back on the East Coast. (For the record: I love her. She is the girls' godmother. She was not the problem at that job by a long shot.) I do have some pictures of the flowers.

You should've seen the number of ridiculously cute kids here. They ran and played and colored and danced. And there were only a couple time-outs that I was aware of - NONE for my girls (can you believe it?!). Speaking of Belly and the Bug, they were very, very good and very, very excited to be having a party. One of my favorite parts of the whole event was watching the Bug repeatedly (as in multiple five-minute sessions) standing by the table, standing on her tippy tippy tiptoes to reach in the bowl for a chip, getting the chip just so in her hand, then reaching way way way up into the bowl of onion dip, scooping out a bunch, licking it off the chip, and double, triple, quadruple, quintuple dipping. When that chip was too soggy, she'd eat it and repeat the process. ONION dip, people. She didn't go for the brownies or cookies or cheddar bunny mix. The ONION dip. I love it. Later in the party, she got herself a big spoon and made short work of the blueberries on the fruit plate. I managed to get a picture of that, too.

I was afraid that I would spend the whole party worrying about there being enough seating, enough food, enough drink, enough FUN but I didn't at all. I just had a great time! And as is the case when an event that I've been planning for awhile comes and goes, I'm left thinking about what I should plan next. A good friend here in Portland is about to go away for a couple months, so I think I'll be having a "ladies night" sometime in the next two weeks as a send-off for her. I'm thinking lots of wine, lots of plates of "small bites" and stuff like that. I can't wait!

About 45 minutes after the last guests left (minus Dan and his girlfriend who stuck around), Jonas arrived. He was taking a red-eye last night to Costa Rica to pick up my niece and nephew from his ex-wife. We had planned for him to leave his car here and I took him to the airport. He brought with him the most adorable play kitchen I have ever seen that he made for my girls. It is THE BEST! Check it out:

And you can turn it so that the two sides are back to back!

Those little knobs for the stove? Those came from an old van that my dad had given to Jonas a few years ago. I love that Jonas thought to incorporate those. The girls saw this when they came downstairs this morning and I expect that their reaction is pretty much what Christmas morning will be like this year. They were so excited! They played with it aaaallllllllll morning.

So, here we are - successful party, happy toddler play kitchen, lazy Sunday afternoon. I'm ready for a nap.