3rd Birthday, the Prequel...

Eliana's Montana birthday party technically happened a week and a half before her birthday, before we went to Texas. Of course, using my highly developed sense of time and chronology, I have placed these pictures after the others here on the blog. =D Just grin and bear it, and be glad there are pictures. =D

The party was a little last-minute as we decided to go backpacking the couple days right before the party. So the prep work all took place on the afternoon of July 4, in about 4 hours. It all came together pretty well (except that I didn't have any candles for the cake), so I learned I can pull a party together in practically no time! Let's not do that again, though....

July = outdoor water party, so to spice it up this year we put a kiddie pool and hose to work to create a water slide for the girls...

(I don't know why, but I'm a fan of the play-by-play pictures.)

We put up a pavilion and had hot dogs for lunch, cupcakes, and lemonade. Several of Ellie's little friends came, including Elli Page, Zoe, Macie, Lily, Corinne, and Ruby. The older girl in the pictures is Ruby, my Mother's Helper for the summer. We have really enjoyed having her come over once or twice a week to play with and watch Ellie!

(I love how they look like they are making snide comments about the other party goers in this one! It cracks me up!)

3 Years Old

See this girl?

She's 3. She turned 3 while we were in Texas, so we had a little birthday party for her down there. (She had one here before we left, but I suppose I'll have to post those pictures separately.) She had some friends over, namely Josh and James, Alyse, Alexa, and Allie. My friends Charlotte (the girls' mom), Michelle (the boys' mom), and Angie came over, too. The kids had a great time, and even tried to see just how many 3 year olds could fit into a teeny baby pool! They also ran through the sprinkler...

Uncle Robert made very yummy casein-free (milk free) chocolate cupcakes for everyone and Eliana was very excited to get to blow out her candles (since she didn't have any candles at her first party). The downside to having an outdoor party in Texas in July in the middle of the afternoon, though, is that after the candles were blown out and set aside, THEY MELTED! Right there on the table! It was hot...

The kids didn't seem to mind the heat too much, though, and Eliana had fun opening her presents. She got a Memory Game, some 3D sidewalk chalk, fuzzy pictures to color, a doll baby with accessories, some cookie cutters, and an apron and baking set, and several dresses. And she got a musical card from Mommom and Poppy that we are STILL listening to. ;) (Good thing it's cute...)

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Eliana! We wish you a wonderful year!

Birthday Party!!

I can't believe Eliana's birthday party was 10 days ago and I haven't blogged it yet. My apologies to those of you who have been waiting for pictures!! I took advantage of the fact that Eliana's birthday is in hot July and planned an outdoor "splash" party. We put up a sun shelter to provide cover for the food and some shade and we let the kids have fun running around the yard! They played on the swingset (with new slide addition!) and in the pool, and in the sprinkler, and with bubbles. I decided that toddlers don't have the attention span for anything organized, and they appeared to have plenty of fun that way!

Here was the party setup... I decided cupcakes are MUCH easier to do than a cake, and you don't need utensils to eat them. We went with a beach theme (mostly because I found this cute beverage dispenser at Target for $6 and wanted to use it!) so the cupcakes were simple once I knew what I wanted to do!

This year Ellie got to blow out the candle on her own, which seemed to be exciting for her!

I also made some Martha Stewart ice cream balls on a stick. I probably won't do that again, given how difficult it ended up being, but the kids seemed to enjoy them. And given the blue frosting on the cupcakes and the sprinkles on the ice cream balls, can you guess what the party guests looked like for most of the time? Yes, much like this... (another good reason to hold the party outside!)

Ellie knew just what to do when it came time to open her gifts, though she wanted to play with the newly opened ones instead of opening the next. I suppose it's good that we didn't have 30 kids at the party or she never would have gotten through her gifts!!

One of the things she got from Grammee and Grandad was a $2 bill for her 2nd birthday. She pulled it out of the card and knew what it was immediately. "Money!" she said! It was pretty funny.

The party lasted pretty much exactly 2 hours, from 10-noon. It was a great party, judging from the kids' reactions. No real meltdowns (I'm guessing partly thanks to the party favors handed out just before the gift opening) and plenty for the kids to play with. Cleanup was a snap (no utensils or dishes to wash!!) and we enjoyed the rest of the weekend with Leif's family. So, late as this post is, I hope you enjoyed seeing a little of Eliana's celebration. She's finally two!