Tales from the Crib: Our Little Mermaid

Elizabeth's 3rd Birthday Party was on Saturday.

It was LOTS of fun!

Here are the pics from Elizabeth's special day!

"The Invite"

Thinking that September is typically extremely hot and muggy, and considering we hadn't had a drop of rain in months and the weather had been scorching hot--we decided a water-themed party would be perfect. Of course, the day of the party, after setting everything up outside (sprinkler, sandbox, picnic tables, etc.) it decided to rain. And not just rain--but pour buckets. I suppose it really was a water-themed party.

Fortunately, I'd set up all the food on our screened in porch where it couldn't get wet. The kiddos played indoors some, and when the rain cleared up, they played a bit outside as well. Not exactly what we were planning--but it ended up a lot of fun nevertheless.

"The Cake"

Pretty sure I gained at least 10 pounds making it--but so worth every pound! It turned out pretty cute, especially with it being my first attempt with fondant--which I used for the words/shapes/seaweed/etc and buttercream for the rest!

"The Spread"

I tried to make everything "ocean" themed.

We had goldfish crackers, shell-salad, sushi sandwiches (made from cucumbers/carrots/turkey/cream cheese/dill--and rolled to look like bits of sushi) along with PB&J that I cut into a fish shape using a cookie-cutter--and added raisin eyes. I found some cute "oceaned" themed outdoor accessories at end-of-season discount to add to the tablescape--like the octopus bucket for utensils, and the little mermaid doll.

During setup, Elizabeth and Liam thought the balloons were the coolest things EVER. We don't usually let the kids play with balloons since they are a choking hazard--so they were pretty stoked about the new toy--in fact it was a total gigglefest and they had lots of fun.

I decided I wanted to hang up pictures from Elizabeth's trips to the beach or pool. I put some out on the table display, and hung the rest on a ribbon using basic clothespins. I had SO much fun looking through my online albums at pics of Elizabeth (and Liam) at the beach/pool over the years! Hard to believe we only live 2 hours from the beach and haven't been at all this year! We definitely need to make another trip soon!

I didn't make these cupcakes--but at last minute thought we might need some extra. I did however find the cutest mermaid & pirate clipart (same that I used with the invitations) to add as toppers. I'm totally OCD though and when I knew there were a few "redheaded" girls who would be at the party and when there wasn't a redheaded mermaid--I just HAD to fix that. I spent a good hour editing a brunette mermaid in Microsoft Paint to have redhair. Yes, I'm weird. If you're a redhead, you'd understand, though.

"The Brownie Pops" turned out okay--but tasted much better than they looked!

"Pin the Crown on the Mermaid"

The kids seemed to enjoy this game--although it was a bit chaotic, and I totally forgot you need a blindfold--so it was kind of the honor system as to whether or not the kiddos had their eyes closed. Of course, to the 3 or 4 year old crowd--it didn't seem to make a difference! Lol!

Here are the kids getting ready to play.

I had "prizes" in a treasure box that the kids were supposed to get after the game. But Elizabeth had her own idea and started passing out Princess mermaid tutus, tiaras, and pirate hats before the game began! She's so funny sometimes--she was very concerned that everyone get their prize and put it on.

I think the funniest part was that even the boys seemed very excited about getting to put a crown on the Princess ;)

The final outcome.

Ariel never looked so good!

Next up...

Time for Cake.

Apparently, Elizabeth couldn't wait for mommy and daddy to find a lighter/camera/etc. She helped herself to a cupcake before we'd even begun. Oh well, I guess she's the birthday girl after all!

Time to sing... as you can see, she's half way through her cupcake at this point--lol!

"Happy Birthday To You..."

"Happy birthday to you" my sweet Elizabeth!

Time for one last sneak of icing... lol.

After cake, the rain cleared up some, so the kiddos went out to play.

I buried some "treasure" in our sandbox. Elizabeth LOVED this activity. Toward the end of the party, she went over to a little bell we have hanging in a tree, and she started ringing it saying, "It's time for everyone to go home!" When everyone left, she played in the sandbox, looking for treasure for at least another hour.

Liam also loved playing in the sand. He kept pouring it from the shovel and saying "Ooooooooo". Pouring in on his head a time or two--silly boy!

We turned on the sprinkler, but most kiddos weren't in their bathing suits (due to the downpour) so we decided to turn on the bubble machine instead.

As previously mentioned, Elizabeth asked her guests to donate to Charity:Water this year in lieu of birthday gifts. If you've been following the blog, this is a special tradition we do with each birthday--a different charity to match each theme. Our goal was to reach $100--giving access to clean water to five people. I'm happy to report that we reached our goal and then some--currently $354 raised; 17 lives changed. My heart is overwhelmed and humbled by the donations--many of whom gave SO much toward the charity! From the bottom of our hearts... thank you to those who gave!

Of course, mommy and daddy (and the grandparents and some friends) couldn't NOT get our sweet girl something on her special day. So later, we opened the additional gifts. She was totally spoiled once again. And it's always the smallest gifts that she loves the most. She's been eying this small, rubbery Cinderella doll (that they strategically put on the bottom shelf of the checkout aisles at Target) for the past few months. Anyway, that was definitely the biggest hit--along with some princess lipgloss she's been begging for at the dollar store every time we go.

I got her this little outfit one day when Crazy8 was having a big sale. SO cute! I also got her a little bag w/her name to put her ballet/dance shoes in during class from Etsy.

I had to get a few shots of our little Princess!

The next day, Elizabeth Liam and I had a BLAST playing Pirates w/some of the left over party supplies.

Elizabeth's Pirate costume was a gift from Nana who picked it up at a garage sale one day. Since I had the foresight to buy the kiddos' halloween costumes last year on clearance--then it won't be needed for Halloween. But it was too cute not to post here!

Seriously, this pirate costume just might be the cure for the Princess phase--she LOVES it!!! She's also been getting into the Peter Pan story at night! And we had a blast pretending to be good pirates today--fighting off Captain Hook!