Elly's 5th Birthday- Princess Party!

Elly turned 5 last week. I can't believe it. We had so much fun planning birthday fun for her!

On her actual birthday, she got to take cupcakes to share with her school friends. I brought them to her class when they were already seated. Miles didn't skip a beat; he just found an empty chair (nowhere near Elly), sat himself down, and waited for his cupcake like the other kids. He's ready for preschool!

After school, K-ma and Lily came from Salt Lake and the four of us (Thank you, Karen for taking the Boy home for a nap) went to Color Me Mine. It was so much fun! Then, we went to the Pizza Factory for some birthday dinner. They made a personal pizza for Elly in the shape of the number 5! She opened presents from
K-ma & Doc and Keri & Lily.  We went home and opened one million teeny tiny pieces from her Littlest Pet Shop, Strawberry Shortcake, and Arial sets.  It looks like a lot of presents, but I think they are just big packages.

The Birthday Loot from Mommy and Daddy, K-ma and Doc, and Keri and Lily

On Saturday, we invited her friends to dress like princesses and come to a Princess Party! It was so fun to see all the girls in their princess attire. But, the best part of the party (according to Elly, herself) was that the REAL Cinderella came to her party!!! She made a grand entrance and all the girls were completely shocked! They just stared at her in amazement. It was adorable. She read them a story and taught them how to be princesses, including how to be kind to everyone, walk like a princess, and dance like a princess. Then, we took a photo of each girl with Cinderella and she had to get back to the castle. They were all thrilled that she came in person!

Guess who would NOT let Cinderella leave without getting his picture with her, too?

A friend of mine has a small cake business out of her home and she is AMAZING! She made this awesome Castle Cake for Elly and I was floored with the amount of detail work. She is awesome. Thanks, Caytee!

We sure love that 5 year old!

4 Years Old!

This girl is 4 years old today. I don't know how that happened. It went by so fast. We love almost every minute of her, though.

Today, she requested these waffles for birthday breakfast and healthy chocolate milk. She also requested the birthday present she accidentally found when I gave her a time out in the room I was hiding it in yesterday (whoops). Then, she went to dance class where she shared donut holes from Provo Bakery with everyone. Right now, she is playing with two of her favorite friends. And later, a friend of ours is coming to watch Miles (Thanks, Elisa!) while Mommy and Daddy take Elly out for a special birthday dinner and ice cream all by herself. She has requested Panda Bear Food for dinner. It's going to be a good birthday.  We love you, Elly bear!

A Tea Party Birthday

Elly is turning 4 tomorrow, so we celebrated on Saturday and had 7 of her friends over for a little Tea Party. It was super fun and several parents have told me that their girls have wanted to have tea parties non-stop since then.

The Email Invitation

I bought tea cups at D.I. and let each girl take hers home.  I painted their names on little wooden hearts for place cards. 

I bought the roses at Costco and put them in this cute white pitcher.

As each girl arrived, I took a picture of her with Elly.  This is Elly's cousin, Lily.

Elly's playmate from the neighborhood and our ward, Addy.

The table

We had so much fun serving them hot chocolate and I pulled out some herbal tea, too. We let them put their own marshmallows or sugar cubes in their drinks. I think one girl put 10 sugar cubes in her tea. It was hilarious. My favorite was the little girl who asked to switch her tea and have hot chocolate instead "this tea just tastes like water"...indeed.

Elly and Ayda...isn't her hat adorable?

The stirring with the tea bags was a little tricky.

Ahhh, the presents!

It's cupcakes for our parties from now on...sooo much easier and no one has to eat a piece of cake that the birthday girl/boy has spit on!

Elly is 3!!!

Elly turned three last month and she is all grown up now. Her favorite thing to say is "I can have three treats, because I'm three."
 

She sat still while I did some "Special Birthday Hair" for her, just on that day:
 

Doesn't she look all grown up?
 


We had a really fun Birthday Ball for her at our apartment with some of her friends.





She's still young enough that I don't have to plan her birthday parties in detail. I just invite some of her friends and their parents (our friends) over and we all eat dinner together and then eat some cake. This time, one of her friends (who is a little older than Elly) kept asking me when the games were going to start. Whoops. We improvised with some Duck, Duck, Goose and some freeze dancing. I guess I'm going to have to actually plan something next year!



When we brought the cake out and everyone started singing, it took her a second to figure out what was going on. Then, she realized that everyone was looking at her and singing to her! So...naturally, she decided to give us a little show for our trouble.



It was an amazing birthday party for her and I couldn't have done it without the help of my mom, who came down from Salt Lake that day when I called her in a panic. Thanks, K-ma!

Elly's Birthday!

For Elly's 2nd birthday, we met the family at the Farm at Thanksgiving Point. Elly loves the animals and couldn't get enough of the pony ride. My family was great to come down and meet us there and I think everyone had fun. Then, it was on to...The Party!




Our lovely Neighbor/Friends stopped by for cupcakes and ice cream...


Keri and I made these fantastic cupcakes using the book "Hello Cupcake!" as a guide. We definitely did our own thing on most of them, though. Also, I made this little train for them to ride in:

Elly displaying one of her much-loved gifts:

By the way, when your mom is a photographer and takes too many pictures of you altogether...this is what you do when she calls your name:


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUBBUSH!