Last Updated on Sunday, 18 July 2010 16:03 Written by Meg Sunday, 18 July 2010 15:09

Maggie turns one on Tuesday, but we celebrated with our friends and family here on Saturday night.  It was a blast, and it is the last huge birthday bash we are going to host for awhile.  :)  The theme was butterflies, and the party served as a great opportunity for us to invite just about all the contacts we have made in our family.  It was quite an assortment of people, and most of them came.  We tried to do some things like the culture suggests here for the party, but we definitely didn't do it all (like hire a clown and send cake home in boxes).

It was a special celebration because Maggie is our first Arequipeña.  About a month ago, Greg and I asked Alfredo and Judith to be Maggie's godparents here.  "Padrinos" is the word in Spanish.  They graciously accepted and we talked about the significance of it for us.  Godparents are huge in the Catholic faith and there is a large financial obligation.  We explained to Alfredo and Judith that they would be under no such obligation but would be like a support to her in her life here.  They still wanted to take part in providing something for her first birthday so they bought the most beautiful cake (it was hard to think about cutting it).  They also asked for pictures of Maggie ahead of time and printed multiple copies to place in glass frames to give as a party favor to each family that came.  It is a special relationship, and we look forward to growing our bond with them and raising our family with their emotional support here.

We served empanadas of cheese and meat and tamales (from the best little bocadita store in the city), Cheezitos (a Peruvian party favorite like Cheeto Puffs; also a Maggie favorite), popcorn, and candies.  Greg grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and we served them with all of the fixings.  I organized the activities.  Rachel did a wonderful job face painting, the kids colored butterflies for "Pin the butterfly on the flower," and we had a ring toss and a game kind of like musical chairs.  The interns and my gringo family helped so much--I couldn't have done it without them.  Also, my friend Elizabeth made a butterfly cake (mostly cupcakes) for the kids.  We explained to the Peruvians that in our tradition the first birthday is a time for the baby to taste cake for the first time in front of everyone.  Maggie loved the frosting on her cupcake.

I hate that family from home can't be part of special events like this in person, but I wanted to give you a detailed post of what went on and lots of pictures to share with you.  We missed having you here, but we are so blessed by the friends and family of God that we have here in Arequipa. Maggie has had a wonderful first year, and this party is a testimony of all the people God has blessed us with in that year.