Olive's 3rd Birthday Party - January 26, 2013

It's always nice to have something to look forward to, especially when that something is your cousin's birthday! Lucy pays much more attention to the calendar these days, wanting to know what fun things come after Christmas. She had been anticipating this event since the holidays even if she wasn't the one receiving any presents. But sometimes, it is just as fun to give a gift (and get a goody bag and eat treats) than to receive.

All the kids had the opportunity to do some coloring on Olive's tablecloth that Auntie Heidi gave her for Christmas. It was the perfect thing to keep them busy until everyone else showed up. And the theme of the party was "Once Upon a Time" so all the girls wore princess dresses. I totally forgot to get Lucy dressed up which was the cause of quite a few tears but Olive graciously allowed Lucy to borrow one of her many princess dresses.

Emily kept it simple with cupcakes and I even think that she delegated the frosting and decorating to Jared.

The all important snack table - bottle water, fruit snacks, Jello jigglers, strawberries, and chocolate covered raisins. I think that I ate more of these snacks than all the kids combined. But hey, I was a pregnant lady!

Super cute decorations from Pinterest. Lucy got to take one of these home and it is still hanging above her bed.

The gift table and balloons. Lucy let Olive borrow her castle to add to the decor as well. So glad these girls get the opportunity to share with each other.

The little craft was decorating foam crowns with stickers. I think that Emily and I both learned our lessons about doing too much for birthday parties in 2012 and opted to keep things much simpler with a much smaller guest list.

Lucy chose pink, of course! She was just trying match her dress. Olive went with purple to match her dress - what a burgeoning fashion sense these girls already have.

Singing Happy Birthday. I love the way Olive is wearing her crown and how she is flanked by her two cousins. I'm so glad these girls can be such good friends.

Gift time! I think that presents are much more manageable the less guests there are. I thought long and hard about what present Lucy should give Olive because as a mother to young child, although I love seeing the excitement of new gifts, I'm not a big fan of the clutter and figuring out where to put it all. So I opted for a Disney princess coloring book and some art supplies - something that would eventually be used up so it wouldn't take up as much space. And really, gifts for children are getting so extravagant these days so simple always seems better to me. Also, I'm a total cheapskate!

Last activity of the party - COLORING princesses! It was the perfect, low-key way to end the party while we waited for the parents to pick up their kids.

Lucy also had the opportunity to share her pink canopy that Baba gave her with Olive to help with the decor. It was the perfect backdrop to get some cousin pictures

Happy Birthday, Olive!

For Emily's account that she posted months ago, click HERE.