Kylee's Bday/Gotcha Day Party

Well, I think I went overboard celebrating Kylee's birthday this year. We were planning on having a party for her a few different times, but going back & forth to the U.S. made that a little bit difficult. Even though Kylee's birthday was 5 weeks ago, I figured that her "Gotcha Day" was the perfect excuse for us to throw her a late birthday party! When Kylee turned 1, we just had a little family party, so this was her first big birthday party. It was a blast! Some of our guests stayed for over 4 hours, which I think means that everyone had fun. :)

We had a brunch with Costco muffins, yogurt & granola, bananas, watermelon and juice. We set up to have most of the party inside, but everyone ended up staying on the front porch the entire time, which worked out great. There was less clean-up for me, and the weather was PERFECT, plus the kids enjoyed playing in the back of the truck. (That's usually where the kids congregate when we get together with friends anyway.)

We bought this adorable Minnie Mouse pinata for the party...
(I love that the pinata is bigger than Kylee! They sure do know how to make them here in Mexico!)

Giving Minnie a kiss...

Kylee, Riley, Eva & Dylan with Minnie...

Kylee was pretty timid when it came time for her to hit the pinata...

The last kid to hit the pinata, broke it, which turned out perfectly! I bagged the candy beforehand so each child had their own bag of candy & everyone got the same amount. (I got that idea from our Hiatt Christmas Party & I think it is genius.) We splurged & had some American candy in the pinata: Ring Pops, Lifesavers & Jolly Ranchers. We threw some Pelatons (chocolate marshmallow suckers) & Nucita (neopolitan frosting) in there so that Mexico was represented too! 

The kids loved the candy... :)

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Kylee & ate chocolate cake...

Kylee loved having all of her friends in one place, celebrating her! I wish I would have gotten more pictures of our guests, but here is Kylee with one of the twins who lives a few houses down from us. (I get the two mixed up, so I don't know which one this is!) Anyway, she & her two sisters teach me Spanish & are SO good with Kylee...

Montse made this apron & chef's hat for Kylee's birthday. Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?! Kylee LOVES it!!!

I think this shows how much Kylee enjoyed her party...what a mess!

I meant to learn the "Pinata Song" & teach it to Kylee before her party, but I forgot. Next year, we will know it for sure! I asked the Mexicans at the party to sing it & they did a great job. Seriously, I love the fun Mexican traditions here!

In case you are curious to know what the "Pinata Song" is, I won't leave you hanging. Everyone sings these words to each child while they take their turn hitting the pinata:

"Dale, dale, dale. 

No pierdas el tino.

Porque si lo pierdes.

Pierdes el camino.

Ya le diste una.

Ya le diste dos.

Ya le diste tres.

Y tu tiempo se acabo."

And the English translation:

"Hit it, hit it, hit it.

Don't lose your aim.

Because if you lose it.

You lose the way.

You hit it once.

You hit it twice.

You hit it three times.

And your time is up."

Our neighbors also sang a really cool "Happy Birthday" song to Kylee in Spanish when we brought out her cake. I'll have to ask them for the words to it!

We had such a great time celebrating Kylee with our friends here! I've decided not to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed anymore trying to speak Spanish here, and it is paying off. I am making new friends & learning new words on a regular basis. Kylee is too! In fact, tonight she wanted another blanket & said, "Una mas!" It was hilarious. I am so thankful that we have this opportunity to learn another language & to become close to people who have totally different backgrounds than we do. We are so lucky to live here!!!