I can't even begin to put into words how it feels to have Elizabeth turning FOUR!
It literally seems like just yesterday that she was born, and yet, at the same time I can't really remember a life void of her, or Liam for that matter. They are both growing up so quickly. Not only did she turn FOUR last week, but to top it off, both kids have started back to preschool (pics coming) AND for the first time in 4 years, I no longer have a child in the nursery at church! Oh be still my beating heart. On top of all that, my baby brother is getting married at the end of the month. So it's been a hard month on me.
But along with being emotional...
I'm proud.
Proud of my big girl and the little person she's become.
And so... of course, we HAD to celebrate!
After Liam's birthday party, Elizabeth really got the concept of "themed" parties, esp. since she helped me a lot w/all the fun "Sesame Street" ideas for Liam's party. So not a day after Liam's party, she decided she'd start planning her own--lol. Her idea: a "Princesss, Pony, Minnie, Tinkerbell, Girl, Tea Party."
A Princess Tea Party sounded perfect!
However, I was just simply NOT up for having anything at our house. I don't know how other moms do it, because it takes me MANY days to get the entire house spotless, and in just a few short hours it can be a complete disaster again. So, I knew it would be too much work and stress to have something at the house--especially with a yard of weeds from this "too-hot-to-get-out" summer we've had. So I knew for the first time, we needed to find something elsewhere.
Well, I quickly googled some places in the area that do "parties." You know... Children Museums, Bouncy Places, even a cute little Princess Tea place one town over. BUT... I was flabergasted at the COST! There was no way we were going to pay $200+ for the party. No way. I figured I could do it for WAY less. So that was my plan.
I decided a Tea Party would be perfect at one of our local B&Bs, and if that fell through, there is a charming Rose Garden Park not far from us that I also thought would work. My preference was for a B&B because it's closer/more convenient, and a more "fitting" spot. But wasn't sure if they would agree or if it would be in my budget. Well, the first place I contacted said renting their space for the morning would be $1200... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Um, no. Moving on.
The second place said they didn't really have a space for something like that. But the third place (The Rosemary House B&B--pic above), and my favorite B&B of the three options, came back saying we could use their back patio/garden area (and dining room in case of rain) along w/their tables/chairs/linens/etc. for $40!!! I was SO happy!!! We usually spend at LEAST that on pine straw just trying to get our yard to not look like a jungle! So it was settled! I was thrilled we wouldn't have to stress about cleaning the house/yard and could have a fun party for the girls.
Anyway, I quickly googled crafty ideas for a Tea Party and decided I could come up w/some fun decorations for WAY less than what they charge in party stores/etc.
I was VERY proud of my tissue paper pom poms (WAY cuter than balloons, and since we already had the tissue paper and pipecleaners, it didn't cost me anything!) I also reused things we had in the house. My jewelry stand, old fabric I'd bought previously but hadn't used, a stand up mirror, our tea pot, picture frames, the silver three-tiered tray we used at our wedding, lots of little things we already had and didn't need to buy. Really, the biggest purchase was renting the B&B, and I paid a girl from church $20 to dress up and make an appearance with the girls. The cake/table cloths/paper plates/etc. were very inexpensive.
I DO think I spent more on this party than I did on any previous parties we've had... BUT, after adding it up I was still under $100 (FAR less than what the museums and other places charge), AND it was totally personalized and fun to do (unlike the prepackaged parties that don't allow me much creativity or room in the budget for creativity). The plus, too, is all the things we made we can keep, and some of the items (hats/tea cups/etc.) I might even be able to resell on craigslist--putting my overall budget even less.
All in all, I was happy w/the way everything turned out. And to top it off, it was FUN! Before the big day, Elizabeth and I went shopping in search of inexpensive tea cups and big hats at goodwills and thrift stores.
One of our favorite local, quirky vintage stores had some really cool old/vintage ladies hats... it was fun to take Elizabeth to help me find some for the party.
The day of the party, daddy dropped Elizabeth off and early and she had the biggest smile and said everything looked so pretty and jumped up and down in excitement for her party!
I told her I wanted to take a few pics of her to remember. Now, normally, a request such as this is met with all out refusal. She is in a big... "No pictures, please" phase. But not on this particular day. She actually told me, "Oh, I have a great idea for a picture mommy! Why don't I pretend I'm sipping tea!"
So while she was in the mood, I snapped a few pics of her w/our party set up.
I love her SO much!
She also got to sample some of the goodies before her guests arrived. I bought the meringue candies at TJ Maxx of all places. And the little pink/white marshmallow cookies I found in the Hispanic section of our grocery store. Perfect, no?
Above: This might be my favorite shot of the day! You can tell she's getting into it now...
Anyway, it wasn't long before our guests arrived. We ended up having 3 more girls than expected, which was fine... we just pulled up a few more chairs.
They all sat down. I think some of them were a little nervous and not sure what to expect.
I love this one of our buddy Caroline!
And this one w/buddy Olivia
Of course, as soon as I poured the tea and passed out sugar cubes, I think the girls relaxed and enjoyed their "Tea"
We served little cookies/candies and heart shaped PB&J sandwiches, along w/pink "Tea" (aka raspberry lemonaide)
After all the girls had time to eat their sandwiches, cookies, and drink their Tea, we then had a special visitor--Cinderella! I asked a girl from church (who helps in the nursery/toddler room a lot and who is great with the kids and VERY outgoing) if I could pay her to do the gig. She agreed. 
I thought she did a great job. The little girls all seemed to be fooled. Our buddy Delanie asked me at one point, "Cinderella isn't her real name, is it?" and I could just see the wheels in her head turning--literally! Later she had this real serious look on her face (again, I could tell she was really thinking) and she said, "Is Cinderella's carriage going to come pick her up AFTER the party?" SO stinkin' CUTE! Our other buddy, Caroline told Cinderella, "I have your movie, and your step sisters are mean and so it that cat!" Lol! Love those girls!
Elizabeth LOVES all things Princesses, so I thought this would be such a fun surprise for her! I also thought this might spare us a trip to Disney, which I'd be toying with since I'd love for her to have a "magical" princess experience before she grows out of that stage. I was surprised, though, when she was a little hesitant of Cinderella. It wasn't until the end of the party that we got this shot.
I was also worried she would recognize Cinderella as Brooks from church. And figured since she is SO blunt, she would say right away "That's not Cinderella, that's Brooks!" But since she didn't say anything, I was certain she was totally buying it! Well, that night when she was talking to Nana, she said, "And then Cinderella came to my party!!! Only it wasn't the REAL Cinderella, just a girl from church dressed in a costume." I tried telling her that WAS the real Cinderella, and she's related to Brooks--they're cousins. But she just smiled. I guess I couldn't put one passed her!
After Cinderella read the girls the story and took some pictures, we then had birthday cake. I was a little disappointed with the B&B. They had actually double booked two events--our Tea Party, and some sort of News interview that was going on INSIDE the house all at the same time. The news crew and staff kept coming out to tell us we needed to keep it down and at one point, even locked the back door so we couldn't go inside. I had left the cake in the kitchen to keep it from melting, so it was frustrating at this point to be locked out. Later, when we went to take pictures on the front porch, we had only been on the front steps for half a second and not even all the girls had made it up the steps, when a news guy came storming out telling us they were taping and we needed to be quiet. I was so embarrassed. And it's sad too, because if they hadn't been so rude, they might have had other moms sign up to have similar parties at their place. Their loss.
Anyway, before we took pictures out on the front porch, Vassil went around to the front and went in and got the cake. We sang Happy Birthday and cut the cake for the girls.
Here's our family shot! :)
Elizabeth had helped me a few days before the party make our "favors." I'm not a huge fan of goodie bags in general, and thought these would be a nice/easy alternative. I dipped the chocolate, and Elizabeth did the sprinkles. Pretty sure she ate more sprinkles than she poured. It was fun! And she was SO proud of our work. When it was time to leave, I almost forgot about them... not Elizabeth.
She reminded me and then proceeded to take the tray around to each girl. She was SO proud, and I honestly think this was her favorite part of the entire party.
Anyway, here we are out on the front porch. We couldn't get a good shot since we had to be quick. Ugh.
I ♥ those girls!
Then we said goodbye!
