Yesterday we celebrated Grandma's 80th birthday. I believe the headcount was at 56 for her party with even Jeff and Julie Minch coming in from Redlands and Will and Amanda flying in and Dan Durney and his family coming in from Mesa.
It was held at a church building near Grandma's house. My parents picked her up and she came and we all sang happy birthday to her. We had catered chimichangas, refried beans, and Spanish rice. Family also brought Jello salad and a veggie tray. I had tried to feed Theo a tuna sandwich and cucumber slices before we left since I figured it would be easier at the party if he wasn't starving. He had spat out the tuna, ate some of the bread and some of the cucumbers.
When I gave him some bites at the party, it was apparent that he hadn't been hungry for tuna, but was very happy to eat beans, rice, and Jello.
We sang Happy Birthday again and cut the cakes. We ate 90% of the chocolate with chocolate frosting cake and 10% of the vanilla with vanilla frosting. I guess my grandma's progeny mostly has similar tastes in cake flavors. I let Theo have a bit of the vanilla ice cream.
After that all the great-grandkids except Rachel and Theo sang a song, "A Grandmother Just Like You." It was very cute with actions. Caleb really helped lead the kids. Then Zinah sang, "Jerusalem" with her pretty soprano voice. Christina accompanied on the piano and did such a nice job. Theo had been clingy to me and Jay wasn't there and I was nervous about the next part. But Theo was so interested in Zinah's singing, he happily was handed to her when I went up for my group number.
I had organized a group to sing, "How Great Thou Art," which I'm pretty sure is one of Grandma's favorite songs. We did a version Paul and Cathryn did at Grandpa's funeral -- mom had actually paid to print 2 copies of it but never had. The catch? The arrangement is for a solo. Cathryn had written a second part, some of it was notated in pencil. Anyway, it took watching the video of them lots of times and taking notes on the sheet music to record the 2 parts. Not only did the women and men take turns singing harmony, but there were parts that echoed. By the time it was written in, some of the singers were struggling to read it.
So Friday (the day before the party) I downloaded free music software, learned a bit how to use it, and compiled the 2 parts and piano part. It was a lot of work, but I had bought more rights to the music and told mom the sheet music was a birthday gift for her, so I figured my work could be part of the gift. Now the music is written out and can be easily used in the future.
Back to the party: my dad played and Jared, Daniel, Will, Mom, Lisa, and I sang. Davy wanted to but couldn't get off work. We did well for a lot of it, I felt, but got off the piano at a few points. Next time we should have someone (Aunt Lori) direct.
It still made Grandma happy. Luckily Theo was content throughout it. He had been so excited by Zinah's singing that he went to her very willingly. That was great since he has been super clingy in public recently.
Later we unwrapped gifts and it was very nice.
Uncle Kenny B. gets the award for the coolest person there. Theo didn't seem sure about the party until I took him over to where Uncle Ken had his toys -- a giant Lego train set. The giant Legos, called Duplos, are big enough no one can choke on them, but fun enough that even the oldest greatgrandkids, the 11-year-olds, were over there having fun. They also had dot to dot coloring sheets to keep the kids happy.
The party went from 4-6:30 p.m. Theo fell asleep on the drive home, but I woke him when we got to the store to pick up a few essentials before Sunday. He enjoyed pushing my cart. He loves to be in my arms while I shop and he pushes the cart and I seriously only steer. My strong baby will push the cart forward and backward a few inches back and forth whenever I stop. Wheels are fun. We got home and Theo didn't go to bed until 8 p.m.
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