She went and did it.

Yup, she did it. She turned one. I told her it wasn't a good idea, encouraged her to embrace her youth, whimpered how mommy would miss her widdle baby, all to no avail. She just went and did it anyway. Kids today. Sheesh.

As with her older siblings, Kiera has had a birthday luau in the works since before she was born. In the cold, wet, sometimes dreary Seattle weather, I love this one tie to my beloved Hawaii-love it so much I torture myself with weeks of planning, shopping, planning, making invitations, planning, ordering, and planning, all capped off with three solid days of cooking.

Getting things set up, bday girl asleep on my back

For those who aren't in the "know," it's tradition in Hawaii to throw a big luau for your baby's first birthday--this is left over from the days when babies had to work pretty hard to survive that first year, and doing so was cause for celebration. Depressing, yes, but still a great reason to eat too much food! Also, for those who haven't had the pleasure of experiencing a real Hawaiian luau (meaning in somebody's backyard), you probably won't find "grass" skirts, definitely no coconut bras, an MC or fire knife dancers. It's all about the food. You make lots of it and you eat allllll day. We do it up cheesy tourist style with our decorations, cause it's fun-but we still focus mainly on the food. Kahlua pig, shoyu chicken, chicken longrice, baked beans, potato mac salad, fried rice with portugeuse sausage, sticky rice, fruit, and some veggies for you mainland people who think that should be part of a meal (drooling yet? No? Then it's time to discuss the guava-infused yellow cake with cream cheese/whipped cream frosting and guava gel on top, or how about the chocolate haupia layered cake with coconut cream frosting? How 'bout now?)

And man, was it good food (if I do say so myself). Poor Kiera didn't even end up eating any of it, aside from her little cake.

Grandma, Papa, Sk8tr and Kiera at the cheesy tourist photo op-they and my sister's family drove up CA

All in all, it was a very successful party-we even almost started on time (if I hadn't tried to pare things down by only buying 3 water pans and then forgotten to get a 4th (for the hot food chaffing stands), thus requiring Troy to run to the party store for another while the guests were arriving). Kiera had fun seeing all her people (I really do think she believes we all belong to her in some capacity), though I could tell she was trying to figure out what they were all doing at the park. My favorite part of the event was, hands down, the lei making. I got this idea in my head a couple months ago and while it was a bit of a pain to organize and the flowers I wanted were super-perishable which was tricky as the party was on Sunday and FedEx doesn't deliver Sunday so we got them Sat and they were late which made me nervous and I had to just lift the cooler lid really fast to peek and make sure everything was there before rushing them into the cold basement to sit overnight because there was no refrigerator space due to the growing quantities of food and we just prayed they would make it to the party still pretty which they did so WHEW!! Feel my anxiety?

So worth it, though. One guest told her daughter, who was hesitant, the she needed to make a lei because "when will you ever get this opportunity again?" So cool. The smell was heaven, and Morgan and I got to wear "real Hawaiian flower necklaces" (as Garrett calls them) and flowers in our hair when we danced later (she did Pearly Shells, so cute). Talk about the memories......ok, I'm back.

We all had much fun, and were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather (until cleanup time, when a frigid nasty wind kicked up and nearly stole my pa'u skirt). Kiera had a ball wiping every last speck of frosting from her cake, of which we have no pictures-my sister has some, and Uncle Dewey, I know you have some to! When we get copies of those, we'll get them posted.

Troy's family, who drove from far away

Finally, the birthday girl on her actual birthday (Tuesday), eager to get her fingers into her cupcake (she recognized the frosting).

Happy Birthday my sweet baby, the day you were born was possibly the most perfect day I will ever have. You brought together nearly all of my favorite people, and sharing your arrival with your father, brother, and sister was beyond sublime-an experience none of us will ever forget. When you are 16 and tired of hearing that, be patient. The day your family is born you will understand.