Memorial Day was Ella's birthday. Her 3rd to be exact. It's bittersweet in a way. I'm happy to be done having kids, but I sure do miss the baby phase we've enjoyed for so long. Ella chose a Dora the Explorer theme this year, so off I sought to find a cake pan. Voila! Dora and Backpack. It was a strawberry cake with
butter cream frosting. I think this may be the last cake I ever decorate. I've always made my kids' birthday cakes for their home parties and then ordered for the big parties (the older kids), but it leaves me so exhausted in the end and I think they are now old enough to understand and be okay with store bought cakes, or at the very least, homemade cakes with just a plain layer of frosting and maybe some sprinkles. This cake took me 4 hours to decorate and that doesn't include the baking time. It doesn't leave much time for cleaning and prepping the house for visitors.
Daddy lighting the candles.
Blow them out and make a wish!
Missy and two of her kids came for the day. Jason grilled hamburgers and
hotdogs. I made potato salad, corn on the cob and baked beans. We had a small feast for sure. Missy had to hold
Kolton down to get a picture with him.
The girls enjoying the gift from Nana & Papa.
Aunt Mimi, Uncle Jamie and family gave her a 3-D Crayola creation kit. It had paint and chalks for the sidewalk. She and the neighborhood kids have thoroughly enjoyed this gift.
Nana & Papa gave her a
Zhu Zhu pet starter kit. It contained one pet, her baby, a double stroller and the little tunnel for them to play in. So cute!
The
Zhu Zhu.
We had a pinata...our first one ever. I wasn't impressed with how difficult it was to stuff, how little it held, and how hard it was for the candy to fall to the floor. The girls loved it, though, and that's all that matters. Rather than hitting it with a stick, this one had 8 strings hanging from the backpack. Each girl took a turn pulling a different string until one actually pulled the backpack open and the candy was supposed to come tumbling out to the floor.
Missy had to help it along. What you don't see is me tossing candy onto the floor as she's working on the pinata. It was so funny and the girls didn't even notice. We had a bowl full of candy that didn't fit in the pinata so I decided to just throw it on the floor handfuls at a time for the girls to pick up.
The kids were playing in the small pool we have to keep cool. It was so hot and muggy. We eventually had a
downpour later in the afternoon. We kept waiting all day for it to rain but it turned out to be just perfect. It held off until our grilling and the outside playtime was done.
Nana called to wish Ella a happy birthday.
Ella accidentally hung up on her. She held up the phone to me and said "where she go?" So cute.
Now she's talking. We got Nana back on the phone and Ella just started talking up a storm telling her all about her day and thanking her for the present. We had a wonderful day and Ella was so tired at the end of the day that she was asleep by 6:30 and slept 12 hours. It's good to be 3.
Daddy lighting the candles.
Blow them out and make a wish!
Missy and two of her kids came for the day. Jason grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. I made potato salad, corn on the cob and baked beans. We had a small feast for sure. Missy had to hold Kolton down to get a picture with him.
The girls enjoying the gift from Nana & Papa.
Aunt Mimi, Uncle Jamie and family gave her a 3-D Crayola creation kit. It had paint and chalks for the sidewalk. She and the neighborhood kids have thoroughly enjoyed this gift.
Nana & Papa gave her a Zhu Zhu pet starter kit. It contained one pet, her baby, a double stroller and the little tunnel for them to play in. So cute!
The Zhu Zhu.
We had a pinata...our first one ever. I wasn't impressed with how difficult it was to stuff, how little it held, and how hard it was for the candy to fall to the floor. The girls loved it, though, and that's all that matters. Rather than hitting it with a stick, this one had 8 strings hanging from the backpack. Each girl took a turn pulling a different string until one actually pulled the backpack open and the candy was supposed to come tumbling out to the floor.
Missy had to help it along. What you don't see is me tossing candy onto the floor as she's working on the pinata. It was so funny and the girls didn't even notice. We had a bowl full of candy that didn't fit in the pinata so I decided to just throw it on the floor handfuls at a time for the girls to pick up.
The kids were playing in the small pool we have to keep cool. It was so hot and muggy. We eventually had a downpour later in the afternoon. We kept waiting all day for it to rain but it turned out to be just perfect. It held off until our grilling and the outside playtime was done.
Nana called to wish Ella a happy birthday.
Ella accidentally hung up on her. She held up the phone to me and said "where she go?" So cute.
Now she's talking. We got Nana back on the phone and Ella just started talking up a storm telling her all about her day and thanking her for the present. We had a wonderful day and Ella was so tired at the end of the day that she was asleep by 6:30 and slept 12 hours. It's good to be 3.
