Saturday, September 11, 2010

Our Princess and her Party!

As Ella’s third birthday began approaching, I knew it had to include two things…dress up and princesses.  Now, seeing as how the majority of Ella’s friends are of the male gender, I knew I had to come up with something that could have a masculine touch, yet still honor my little girl’s most favorite things.  While searching the internet I found a fabulous Princess and Knight party by Jodi.  This gal knows what she is doing and was kind enough to give me costume pointers!  Now all I needed was an army of servants volunteers!!!  My best friend Mandi and darling husband came to my rescue and helped me crank out 14 costumes and a fairytale cardboard castle.  Oh, and lest forget the day-of-party helpers who saved the day!  My mother in law finished all those castle bricks while my own beloved mama wrangled kids and cut fruit!  Love those ladies!

Welcome to Ella’s Castle!

As the kiddos entered, they were dressed in their personalized princess or knight costume and headed to the backyard for the festivities!

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Craft table for the kiddos!  The girls had crowns, princess stickers, wands, and necklaces.

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Little knights got to decorate their own  shields and swords (balloon swords, mind you – ha!)  Y’all, have you ever tried to make one of those balloon shapes…my father-in-law almost passed out just trying to BLOW the thing up!  Kudos to Magic Mike – you have our sincere respect for your balloon-shaping talent!

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 Out in the yard, guests could choose the princess table or the knight table for their eating pleasure!

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And here’s Ella’s castle in all its glory! 

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Once all the princesses and knights had arrived and played a little while, a special guest show up – Princess Belle herself!  We do not watch many Disney movies (because of content), but Beauty and the Beast is on our [short] list.

I owe my niece a big, fat birthday present for this one ;)  Ella was AMAZED by her.  She dazzled the little princesses with one of Ella’s favorite stories, Birthday Presents by Cynthia Rylant, and even sang our current family favorite tune, Beauty and the Beast.  Good thing “Belle” is such a good singer!

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One of the sweetest moments of the entire party came courtesy of a certain little fella who has quite the personality.  As Belle sang our tune, Knight JJ came to Princess Ella and said, “Ella, can I ask you a question?  Will you dance with me?”  And that is just what they did!

I didn’t know whether to be smitten by the genuine sweetness of our fair-haired friend, or grab my sweet princess, run to Lowe’s, and purchase the strongest lock I could find for her bedroom door.  I decided not to cause a scene and just soak up the innocence – and maybe order the lock on Amazon ;)

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Ella loved her castle cake (and I even went to bed BEFORE midnight)!

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We love you, Sweet Princess Ella! 

We are SO proud of your sweet spirit and caring heart. You always look to help and never go a day without telling someone they are beautiful!  You love to cuddle, kiss my cheek, and sing into any microphone. You light up any room you waltz into and never meet a stranger.

Baby, we want you to know that YOU are the beautiful one!  Inside and out God has crafted you into a remarkable little girl.  You touch lives in such a special way.

Right now, being a princess to you means wearing a dress and crown, and twirling across the floor.  It makes you feel so special and beautiful.  Your Daddy and I want you to always feel like that princess - special, beautiful, loved, and unique.  Because you are, baby.  You are our princess.  Most of all, you our God’s princess, and there will never be a more beautiful you. 

We cherish you!

2 comments:

Lauren said...

Ok I have been busy with school and have not had a chance to read blogs at all. So here goes..
1. Ella had not a tear with that big boo boo! She is a true trooper.
2. Good friends are the best thing! Sharing all the emotions of a pregnancy must have been something together.
3. Ella's party was AMAZING!! The castle was awesome and having Belle come was such a neat idea. A memorable day for all!

Auntie Jo Jo said...

Wow, this is amazing! You did such a great job, and your post was so sweetly written that it brought little tears to my eyes!! You are an amazing mama! Congrats on a fabulous party, everything looks beautiful. I LOVE that big pink castle!