Connor's 1st birthday at Marmalade, Bangsar Shopping Village II

Well, our baby's ONE YEAR OLD and we decided to celebrate it in KL where our friends and family were instead of by our lonesome here in Jakarta. A friend suggested having the party at Marmalade which is a nice, family-friendly cafe in Bangsar Shopping Village II. I wrote in, got a speedy reply and within 2 days, everything was set.

As Connor was so little, I didn't bother hiring a clown or magician or organising any games. Unless the games are something like... oh... Chew On Daddy's Shoelaces or Pull Out Tissues From The Box Till It's Bloody Empty. Besides, there were only going to be a few other kids there, all about Connor's age and none able to comprehend something as complicated as turn-taking. I'll save the games and clown show for when Connor's older.

I invited all my close buddies from my ex-companies and a couple of old schoolmates. My family was there as well.... and did they make lovely babysitters or what! For the first time since I've had Connor, I could actually make grown-up talk with other grown-ups and not think about the baby. Dad, Mum and bro took turns watching over him.

I think the star of the show was this Thomas the Tank Engine cake I ordered. The baker is a working mum who does this for side income. When we showed Connor his cake for the first time, his eyes widened and he pointed excitedly at it, babbling all the time. Daddy had put the cake on the table and when I put Connor down, all he wanted to do was to leap up onto the table and play with the cake. Note to self: For Connor's 2nd birthday, please buy ugly cake.

Many thanks to all my friends who showed up. It meant a lot to me to see my good friends there on my son's first birthday. They brought lovely presents for Connor, many of them Thomas-themed, and more than a few of them slipped in a little pressie for me as well... THANK YOU, MUAH, MUAH!

When everyone finally left, we were absolutely exhausted and wanted nothing more than a nice afternoon nap. Unfortunately, Connor was on a sugar high and sleep was furthest from his mind. You see, the entire cake decoration was fondant and Connor had begged for the star shapes decorating the cake. My dad had given them to his precious grandson without a second's hesitation. So unknown to me, my son had spent quite a bit of time sucking and chewing on those sugar stars. It didn't help that Aunty Glam innocently fed him some more fondant. That's the first time in his life that he's had so much sugar in one go. Hence he was whizzing around like a top all afternoon and only crashed out at 6pm.

Connor is not going to remember one bit of it but we will. We've saved the sugar Thomas bit from his cake and the special My First Birthday candle I got him from Hero Kemang. We've got this poster with all our guests' signatures on it which I'll put up in his bedroom. We've got lots of photies and memories of a happy day with family and loved ones to share with him when he's older.

And the best bit is we've got something like this to look forward to every year from now on.