happy hearing birthday!

outside the weather was a little grey + rainy,

but inside it was the perfect day for a party!

 on saturday we celebrated 2 years since the first day m's cochlear implants were activated

and she heard her first sound.

we gathered music suggestions from friends near + far and compiled a big playlist of love...

i posted a huge list on one wall in case anyone wanted a peek 

at what other people had added to the list.

ironically, it was a listening party, but it was so noisy that it was hard to even hear the music.

it was so dreary outside this week that i envisioned an explosion of color inside.

paper products make me happy.

{other glimpses of rainbows}

 i was inspired by my friend hannah's chalkboard door in her kitchen, 

so matt painted the wall at the top of the stairs with chalkboard paint

so people could write or draw their favorite sound.

(or just scribble)

thanks to matt's parents + my mom, 

we had enough help with the girls and party prep to  somehow get everything ready in time.

 {matt's mom brought some colorful reminders of spring from her cutting garden}

fun people began to arrive to celebrate the miracle of sound!

we had little people food in case the littles didn't want what we made for grown-ups..

(including rainbow jello jigglers that my sister rocked.

i've actually never made m jello before, but i thought it would be fun for the kiddos. 

um, it was a huge hit.

apparently i underestimated the sheer delight that jello would bring the 7 and under set.)

and we had big people food

 including these amazing nuggets of goodness...devils on horseback. 

i'll post the recipe soon, because they were so.amazing.good.delicious.

matt made homemade lemonade & then for mixing adult beverages, homemade tonic.

{delicious}

 

taylor does a little taste testing

then for dessert we had three options:

 a shaker lemon tart that matt made from this recipe a la one of the pastry chefs at chez panisse.

very tart + marmaladey, but good.

and then my contributions, 

 this easy + yummy blueberry pie

and this yummy  6 layer cake....

 with a fun surprise inside!

 a rainbow!

(i love m's expression in the background of this picture-

she had no idea that a rainbow was inside the cake.)

worth every minute of making it

(ahem, that meant i went to bed at 2 in the morning)

 i have to say, i am not a cake person, and it was really delicious as well as super fun to look at.

in summary:

it was perfect.

just take a look...

 (and included a never-before-performed-in-public rap by uncle aaron about m's bionic ears...

to be posted soon)

 as evidenced by ellis, our party was a rager, even for the 2 and under crowd.

 {love our girls}

finally for the 

DANCE PARTY!

 

 and as the hours passed...

the party wound down, the toddler meltdowns increased tenfold and we said goodbyes

 (why, yes, i am breastfeeding in this photo. 

it's called multi-tasking, although judah looks quite concerned.)

 jonas and ashlynn gave me a preview of life in a few years

and the rainbow gave way to gravity...

i'm not going to lie- 

it was a little crazy at our house...

there were children everywhere...

(i think the party was an extremely effective form of birth control

for any of my friends without kidlets)

general mayhem...

a ton of half-finished conversations...

and it was wonderful.

it was a true celebration of the miracle of m's cochlear implants.

matt and i felt so supported and loved by people who come from all different parts of our life,

but who came together to love on and rejoice with our daughter

who is deaf

but who can hear.

we are gifted by the richness of relationship.

{and so very grateful for those of you who were with us in spirit.}

if a party can stand as a reminder of anything,

it was this:

we can't do this alone.

all
of us,

in the depths and in the heights, 

need people around us, 

all up in our business.

so very thankful to have friends 

be a part of this journey
-of life, marriage, parenting, deafness-

making us better than we would be left to our own devices.