Birthday Party Picture Blitz

Norah had been asking for several months for a "Princess" party. No surprise there. Jason and I had it all planned out, complete with mental blueprints for a giant, homemade cardboard castle for the kids to play in. Then, just two weeks out, she went and developed her prerogative to change her mind!

"I'd like an 'OLIVIA' party for my birthday!", she exclaimed one night after dinner. (As mentioned in my previous post, "Olivia" is a fictional pig that our daughter has recently developed a taste for) Thankfully, construction on the cardboard castle hadn't taken off yet.

This was our most fun party to plan thus far, because Norah helped with everything, making it more her party than mine...which is the way it should be, I think. She told me who she wanted to invite-- "No boys, Mommy. Only girls. The boys can come to Eli's party." (Which, incidentally, was the same party, but I guess she wanted me to be clear that all male guests were there for her brother, and not her). She very proudly put the invitations into the mailbox, all by herself.

Since we had decided to have a joint party for both kids' birthdays, I went with a "Book" theme. (This would satisfy Norah's "Olivia" requirement, and also allow some individualization for Eli, as well--I decided to go with "Babar" for him)

We asked each guest to bring 0-5 gently used books from home for a book swap. I think it worked out great--we got a wide variety of fun books, and everyone left with a couple of new titles.

I printed off a few free "Babar" and "Olivia" coloring pages I found online to give the kids an activity while we waited on all our guests to arrive.

When we had a full house, one of Norah's favorite "grown up" friends , Jon Buchanan, treated the kids to two stories. "I am Not Sleepy and I Will Not Go to Bed" and "Olivia Saves the Circus".


Jon did an awesome job...the kids were completely mesmerized by his storytelling skills. I was amazed to see how well they all sat still and paid attention for that length of time (though, I do admit, intentionally waiting to have the cake and icecream-induced sugar rush until AFTER storytime was probably a good call on my part).

Norah's cake: strawberry flavored inside ("because it's pink"), with Olivia and her beloved "Missing Toy" on the outside. One night while I was getting Eli into his PJs, Norah rushed into his room with her "Olivia" library book in tow, with a big grin on her face. "Look Mommy! I found it! I want THIS picture on my birthday cake!" It was so much fun being able to get her input on what she wanted this year! (And even more fun to see her reaction and heartfelt appreciation when I delivered on her requests)



Eli is still a little too young to petition his requests (at least in intellegable words), so he had to settle for Babar. However, if you've met our son, you can vouch that most anything edible would have been deemed acceptable. He loves to eat...and he LOVES cake.


Norah blowing out her candles...









I love this photo...the kids are either celebrating her candle-blowing efficiency, or getting excited because they know the cake is coming!

Cal savored every bite of his cake. (This was another one of my favorite pictures... he's just too cute for words, Jenny!)











For party favors, I printed personalized book plates for each of Norah & Eli's guests. (With their names, not our kids', obviously) I found some great, vintage storybook illustrations online. There were about 6 different pictures, but these two were my favorites

And, thanks to the awesome Christmas present (an embroidery machine!) that the entire Robinson family chipped in on for me, I was able to make personalized bookbags for each guest to take home their "new" books in. (Well, technically, I didn't make the bags. I found a great deal on them. I did add the fabric patches and stitched the names on the front. Butterflies for the girls, and stripes for the boys)

This is another one of my favorite pictures. The kids had a ball playing with the balloon decorations. They pretended the balloons were "kites" and Chloe lead them all on a "Kite parade". It was a perfect example of how sometimes the best parts of a party are the unplanned moments. Priceless memory.

There was a set of bus seats being stored in the room where the kids had the party. Norah, Patti, and Cal made believe that they were the Little Einstiens, flying in rocket. So cute!

All, in all, I think it was a great day. Norah was thrilled to see her friends come, and Eli loved observing them all playing together (I'm sure he's just counting the days until he's big enough to run with the "big" kids, too!) PS--Please excuse the lack of Eli pictures, I had two people taking photos, and this was the Norah-intensive collection. Hopefully AA will share her Eli pictures with me soon!