The girl is 3! Unbelievable, really. I mean, look at this squashed up thing:

I love love love that little girl, but she was not a cute newborn. Sorry, sweetheart, if you’re reading this a few years later.

We threw a party for her, of course. I know she won’t entirely remember it but why shouldn’t she get to feel special for a day?

For the party, I got bags and wrote the kids’ names on them and had fabric markers at the party for them to decorate. Honestly, this didn’t work very well since once there as more than 2 children they all started running around like crazies. But it was a cute idea, no?

I made the paper circle garland in the pic above, using a 2 1/2″ craft circle punch, cardstock and some twine. I love it! We haven’t actually been able to make ourselves take it down yet, we like it so.

I’ve really been trying to avoid all the waste that often goes into these parties. From the paper or plastic goody bags (replaced by the canvas ones described above) to the junky plastic toys that are handed out at them, there’s just so much that ends up in the trash it’s appalling. For party favors, I cribbed one of the ideas I crowdsourced on facebook–painting terracotta planter pots with chalkboard paint, giving out chalk, dirt pellets and seeds.

I let my kids have at them before the party, and they loved them! I hope all the other kids had as much fun with them.

and for my fancy little girl, a Fancy Nancy cake!

So very cute. I ordered it from a local bakery to whom I gave minimal instructions and it was just lovely.

As for the party itself, I was of course running around and not very focused on getting pictures–I left that to the grandparents.

In a rather random twist of present-ing fate, my parents bought the girl an umbrella in China for her birthday. My mother-in-law sent a box with a raincoat and rainboots. All of this was completely unplanned, yet happened to be the exact same set. The girl could NOT have been more thrilled.

Happy Birthday, little girl.  May you always feel as beautiful as you do in your pink rain gear, whiskers painted on your face.