Countdown to a Birthday Party

Kardelen had her third birthday party today! When I asked her what she thought of it, she said, "I thinked it was a beautiful day." I'll post pictures soon, but first I thought I'd give you a peek into the last few days of our party preparations. Taking the whole week to prepare was intense, but I found that it made our day today relaxed and enjoyable. I'll share the last two days now, and save the party for a future post.

Friday
At 9:30 we had running water again--yay! We spent time together as a family, reading and playing; then Jacob played with the girls while I cleaned the bathroom. Then our chairs arrived (our landlords are lending us some, and they match our color scheme perfectly). They're former restaurant chairs and very sturdy, but in need of a good cleaning. I brought out the dress-up bin for the girls to play with while I began. Pretty soon, two ballerinas were helping me clean, and were cleaning more than chairs:

After lunch and the girls' nap, we went outside to "catch snowflakes," which Kardelen wants to do every time she's seen snow this season. How sweet!

The evening was cupcake-baking time. I asked Kardelen whether she wanted chocolate, chocolate-chip, or yellow cupcakes. Her response? "Lello! 'Cause that's my favorite color!" Once the cupcakes were in the oven, Kardelen and I mixed up buttercream frosting in yellow, pink, and blue while Sofia "cooked" with muffin tins and played peek-a-boo in the corner cupboard.

Kardelen volunteered to be the taste-tester and decided the frosting was yummy!


Saturday
The girls and I decorated the cupcakes in the morning, and my parents pitched in when they arrived, too. Jacob had surprised Kardelen with yellow dusting sugar (her favorite color!) and an assortment of Christmas sprinkles, so we had lots of messy and creative fun.

Sugar rush, anyone?! (Cupcake decor courtesy of the birthday girl.)

Mom and Dad took us to Jo-Ann Fabrics so the girls could pick out fleece for scarves. While Bia and I chose puppies on a pink background for her, Kardelen chose red and black fleece with a car print from the movie Cars. (We've never even seen the movie!) I was surprised and realized that I had hoped she'd choose something girly and pink. But it was part of her birthday present from "Nana" and "Papa," so we let her get it! Ladies don't always need to wear pink, do they?

In the afternoon we had a little birthday party for Kardelen with my parents (since they can't come to the party on Sunday), with a special little cake they'd brought. It was the highlight of her day. And after we sang "Happy Birthday" to her, she grabbed the whole cake and took a bite! It's her birthday cake, right?

We had a wonderful visit with my parents, and the girls got piles of kisses and cuddles.

Evening: everything was coming together and we were basically ready for Kardelen's birthday party the next day. I finished decorating the gingerbread house (pictures are in yesterday's post), swept and mopped the floors, and Jacob worked his magic on Kardelen's birthday movie. I'd given up hoping it would be finished for the party, but he worked hard on it through the evening and it was nearly finished.

I have to say, I was looking forward to getting more sleep after the celebration was finished! There have been many things to do (most of them very fun) that I'd stayed up late all week. But I was very excited for Kardelen's party, and couldn't wait to see the birthday girl enjoy her special day!