the princess tea party

I had fun planning this party!  It was our first tea party.  She loved it!  I had heard that her 5th birthday was a good year for a special girlie party.  Who knows how long she will still be into all of this princess stuff?  

She is turning 5 on Monday.

She plans her birthday party all year!  No doubt, tomorrow she will be talking about next year's party theme.  I think she thinks she was born for parties and all things fun.  It has been a busy week for me running errands and last minute plans.  But last night she prayed just before bed, "God, help me to enjoy my friends at my party and for it to be a good day."  That made me feel so good.  It took the pressure off me over the little details that wouldn't get done.  She loves the people more than the party "stuff."  With that said, there is still a lot of emphasis on presents...but we have room to grow there.  

The girls made beaded bracelets, decorated their party hats, and then went to their tea party.

My mom helped me turn the back porch into a magical princess party.  This canopy was a bargain find at Ikea and the garden latterns were from the Dollar Tree.  I was working that budget!  The girls and I watched a cooking show a few months ago that gave us ideas for all of the food.

Of course, I can't believe she is turning 5.  She seems so big to me all of a sudden.  I am fascinated these days by her imagination, the way she articulates her many thoughts, how her nurturing side is showing up, and how she seems so ready to be a big girl and go to school.

She was funny opening her presents.  I asked her one time, "What if we asked your friends not to bring presents and we just got them treats to make them feel special?"  She responsed with a few tears, and "Why would you do that, Mommy?"  But I will say, we think gifts are one of her top love languages.  She always remembers who gave her something, and there is always meaning attached to gifts she recieves.  Today she kept saying, "This (said it about everything)...is what I have always wanted!"  I think we heard that about the first 5 presents she opened.

I will say, almost all of these girls we invited have brothers who are our friends too.  I heard a few stories about how the boys didn't understand.  One little boy said, "It's just not fair...she's my friend."  I thought this was hilarious.  But we did our first all girl party, with one exception, we invited Daddy.  Like a Dad, he managed to entertain and get them rowdy from time to time.

Well, this is probably the longest post I've ever had.  I set a new record for us - 184 pictures, one party (I had help).  I wanted to remember such a fun day.