Lily couldn't wait for her birthday party on Friday afternoon! Her original idea was to have a "reading party." When I asked what she meant by that, she said she wanted to have friends over, and they would all read books to themselves or listen to me read books. Have I mentioned that I love how much she loves books? Anyway, we talked about that how that idea might not work out as she expected, so I gave her two ideas that came from a "reading" idea. First, we could take her favorite book and have a party around that (like a Fancy Nancy theme), or we could have a "school" party and reading aloud could be part of it. Lily took the school idea and ran with it. So, we invited some of her closest friends from school and church and had a blast!
Ready to have fun with her reading shirt on!
Welcome students!
The birthday cake is ready!
Appetizers for any parents who stayed (we offered for parents to drop off their kids since we were at home).
Several of the girls had fun playing in the playhouse while we waited on everyone to arrive. We were so thankful it was a beautiful day outside!
The first part of our school day was Art Class. All the girls painted treasure boxes to take home with them. It was so fun to watch them paint and hear them chatter to one another. This is such a fun age!
Lily was loving this!
Mia was having a blast painting her treasure box.
Everyone finished up about the same time, so we moved from Art Class to Recess. We headed down to our backyard. Kelsey started everyone out on the sidewalk chalk.
The bubbles were a huge hit. McClendon and Nara had fun trying to catch them on their wands.
Lauren got one!
Rachael did too!
Mia couldn't resist trying out the bubbles.
Lily was thrilled that Anna was able to come!
Mia had a great time mixing the sidewalk chalk and bubble soap to paint on the sidewalk!
Lily, Jill and Callie had fun on the slide together.
The girls also played with some balls, swung on the swings and played on the trapeze. Really, they just had fun together which was great!
Finally, it was time to line up to head back inside. Of course, Lily insisted on being the line leader since it was her birthday.
We settled down a little bit for Library Time. Lily picked her favorite book (Princess Bedtime Stories) and her favorite princess (Ariel), so we read "Ariel's Special Song." The girls were all very attentive listeners as they heard about Ariel's friend gathering her courage to sing at King Triton's birthday celebration.
After Library Time, we headed into the playroom for Lunch. Each girl had a brown bag lunch with a turkey and cheese sandwich, apple slices, small box of raisins and a baggie of goldfish and pretzels. They each picked up either a water bottle or juice box too. We parents enjoyed taco soup that had been simmering all day.
Everyone sat down in a circle to enjoy lunch together.
As the girls finished up, Lunch spontaneously turned into Music Class as they started singing "In My Father's House" and "Father Abraham." They were having a blast!
We decided to keep Music class going and brought out the cake and sing Happy Birthday. Lily blew out her candles, and then we sliced up the cake and handed out the ice cream (thank you Pintrest for the idea of scooping the ice cream into cupcake liners before the party so we could hand out an individual serving).
Lastly, it was time for Show and Tell when Lily opened her presents. Below is a picture that exemplifies what I mean when I tell people Lily is my mini-me. On her own doing, she pre-made thank you cards. I have worn into her how important thank you cards are, so a few days before the party, she made each girl a card that said "Thank you (girl's name)," and she decorated it with drawings and stickers. As she held up a present to open, she asked the gift giver to raise her hand and I handed out the thank you note. She had every detail planned.
She loved each of her presents...books, new monogrammed shirts, art supplies, craft projects, Barbie supplies...it was all welcomed and appreciated.
After everyone left with their painted treasure chest and goodie bag (a pencil bag with bookmark, stickers, pencil, eraser and sharpener), the girls played with the new toys some and we relaxed and calmed down from the excitement of the day. Just before bedtime, we headed outside to release most of the balloons from the party. What a fun way to end the day!
Welcome to being 6 Lily!
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