a tea party

We had Adeline's birthday party today. A lovely little tea party. This year it was really hard for her to wait so long after her birthday to have the party. Must work on that next year. Surely I can get it together a little earlier. I think. Maybe with a little forethought I could get it together before the holiday rush. Oh, who am I kidding?

Anyway, this year Adeline requested a "Princess Dress-up, Mommy, Daughter, and Babydoll Tea Party". It was so fun to plan. Adeline was really, really into it. She helped pick out all the teacups, brainstormed craft ideas with me, posed for invitation pictures, picked out dress up accessories for the guests, and helped with the baking. She thanked me for making the decorations, thanked me for picking a special cake for her, thanked me for organizing the princess wand craft. A mommy's dream, I tell you.

{Invitations : The back of the invitation listed party details and asked everyone to wear their fanciest clothes and bring their favorite doll or stuffed animal}

The party was a dream, as well. There were 5 little girls including Adeline and Claire. We were sad that a few of Adeline's friends couldn't make it, but the small size made everything so manageable and easy.

When the girls arrived, they got to choose from an assortment of crowns, ring, earrings and necklaces for themselves, and we also had tiny crowns and wands for the babydolls and stuffed animals.

Next everyone made a magic princess wand. Then on to the tea and treats! The "tea" was actually apple juice and the girls got to choose from two different types of sprinkles in lieu of cream and sugar. Well, I guess actually the sprinkles really were sugar, but still. The menu was decadent. We skipped any sort of "real" food. No tea sandwiches, no fruit, no cheese and crackers. Just sweets. Lots of sweets. I don't think the girls minded one little bit. I'm still a little astonished at how much sugar those little bodies ingested.

And would they truly be little girls if they didn't get just a little dirty in those fancy clothes? Of course not. After a little more indoor playing and artwork, they headed outside to the trampoline. Today was the first time I've had to evoke the "No high heels on the trampoline" rule. Sorry girls, it's just dangerous. Funny, I really didn't think that rule would ever come into play.

{The party table}

{I had been looking for a reason to make these pompoms}

{The "tea"}

{Treat table : Raspberry chocolate cake, mini cupcakes, sugar cookie 'flowers', suckers, and pink lemonade... plus a special little layered cake for Adeline to put her candles in}

{Bernard the dog wearing his crown}

{Wand making station}

{Birthday girl}

{Fancy jumping}

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{Favor boxes : whole wheat tortillas covered in pink baking sugar then baked until crispy... yummy!}