When I woke up this morning, I walked out of my bedroom door and saw Abby laying on the carpet just waiting. She was so excited for the day to start that she couldn't stay in bed. Right now, she's sleeping in her new Cinderella pajamas with a beautiful ballerina doll and she looks so blissfully happy that I want to remember this day and document it for her.
Today was her 4th birthday party and after a hectic morning - in which I didn't have a chance to blow dry my hair or apply makeup to my suddenly teenage skin - the party started. In the rush of last minute things, a few things slipped through the cracks. I was disappointed that my pretty pink tissue paper flower was never hung and my mini-cupcakes didn't make it onto the tiered stand that I borrowed from a friend but it all worked out. I'm confident the kids couldn't have cared less. The party was fun! And two kids actually cried at the end when they had to leave. And they weren't my kids. Hooray! Abby's friends wanted to stay and were so cute that I actually wouldn't have minded.
The promised pictures (lots and lots of them) . . .
The pink "gardening table."
Abby showing her handiwork.
Abby and Oliver
Right before the girls started working on their flower pots, at the beginning of the party, Abby asked for some lemonade. She then gathered up her friends and they sat around the snack table and sipped on sparkling raspberry lemonade for a bit. It was like a preschool coffee break or miniature tea party in the midst of her birthday celebration and it was hilarious to watch.
Oliver showing off his button flowers. I think he made more than anybody else and they turned out great.
One of my friends helped with the planting.
Grandma Harris and Evelyn. Evelyn had a minor meltdown before my mom had the happy thought of providing her with a shovel. I think she held it almost the entire time.
"Dirt cups" in pink and purple.
Gummi worms for the more adventurous eaters.
Abby loving every minute of the party.
Either Abby's getting ready to blow out her candle or she's expounding on something very important.
Waiting for the spoons and sneaking in a hug.
"Back-up" cupcakes for any kids that were suspicious of the dirt cups (and for moms too). I love sprinkles and had fun making these. The royal icing bugs are from a cute bake shop in my hometown called Clarice's.
See? The cupcakes didn't make it out of my trusty Pyrex but it all worked out.
Mini cupcakes are fun to eat and just the right size for tiny hands.
"What are you looking at?" Ha ha! Abby wanted Evelyn to wear her matching dress so that they could be "twins."
Chalk. We had two of these little buckets on the gardening table.
Oliver's button flowers (and potted pansy).
Abby's decorations, for the most part. The funny pink cloud looking thing is mine.
Here's Abby's finished pot. Love her button flower and that she picked each one herself. That's it for Abby's Garden(ing) Party!
i love creative party's. this is such a great idea and something i might try in the future if i ever host another party. last party i put on was for 3 hours and the kids had played all the games, eaten all of the food and done the cake in the first 40 minutes. even though it had been raining, we had to pass some time outside so we had a few wet bums from water on the slide. i told myself, never again :-)
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