The other day, Annabelle fell down and scraped her elbow. Whenever she hurts herself, she immediately asks me to kiss it. Then, after I kiss the boo-boo, she tells me it feels better. Not this time. I kissed her boo-boo just like I usually do, after which she said, crying, "That does NOT make it feel better!" "What?!" I thought to myself. "A kiss always makes everything better...no matter how tiny or big the scrape." That's when I knew. My baby is growing up. **sniff, sniff**
Annabelle enjoys playing dress up -- especially when she's dressing up like a princess. A couple weekends ago, she insisted on wearing a tiara into Target so she could look like her favorite princess -- Belle. I let her. While we walked across the parking lot to the entrance, she and I had the same conversation we always have before going into Target. "Annabelle," I said. "When we get inside the store, you HAVE to sit in a buggy." At this point, Annabelle usually whines and says she doesn't want to ride. This time, she didn't whine. She didn't cry. She didn't even scream. She stopped walking, looked up at me, her tiara falling off her head, and announced, "Belle doesn't ride in buggies. Belle is a big girl and she walks." Well, okay then. I obliged for a little while. I knew Annabelle would never stay right with me. Annabelle would run from one end of the store to the other, giggling with delight as I chased her, looking like a complete idiot. But I wasn't dealing with Annabelle. I was talking to Belle, the princess. Belle did behave herself...for a short while. I let her walk alongside me until she began to get into everything. When I could see she was getting an itch to run, I decided it was time to take charge. She threw a marvelous fit, but as she found out that evening, Belle can and does indeed ride in buggies.
Weeks ago, I started asking her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. Each time, she gave me the same answer: "A Belle cake." As much as I wanted her to choose something different, I knew she would love to have a Belle cake. I went with it. There was a time when I wasn't crazy about all the "princess stuff." I never disliked it, I just wasn't a big fan. How things change. I have now, admittedly, embraced the whole princess scene in a huge way. I can't decide whether this is a good or a bad thing. In any case, Annabelle absolutely loved her princess birthday party.
Of course, she had to dress up like Belle for the party.
And she got just what she wanted -- a Belle birthday cake.
Then the fellow royalty arrived...
There were plenty of commoners in attendance as well, myself included -- grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc... We kept the princesses from getting too out of control. As we all know, Belle can get pretty wild. :)
The little princesses got crafty and decorated tiaras with princess stickers and made their own wands.
After storytime and a princess tea party consisting of heart-shaped strawberry and cream cheese sandwiches, grapes, cheese, Chex Mix, and carrots with ranch dressing (Those are all princess foods, right? Right??), it was time for cake.
Then presents...
The princesses frolicked around the house for a while waving their wands and playing with the new toys. Soon, it was time for each of them to go back to their castles. Before they left, we tried to get a group shot. After all, it isn't often that you find so many princesses in one room. Most of the princesses, however, were not interested in this photo op.
It was a lovely party, fit for a three year old princess. I think all the girls enjoyed themselves and they all looked precious in their princesss dresses.
You may be wondering where Jacob was since he isn't in any of these pictures. I figured he would have more fun hanging out with a friend than hanging out with a bunch of princesses, so he went to our neighbor's house and had "boys club" with two other boys. He had a great time playing with garbage trucks and LEGOs while Annabelle and her friends played with baby dolls and princess wands. It worked out well. And don't worry, we saved some cake for Jacob. :)
Jacob sang Happy Birthday to his sister the next morning, on her actual birthday. And he made this card for her, all by himself. He told me he wanted to make a birthday card for Annabelle, so I gave him a piece of paper and he found a red marker. Isn't it the cutest thing that he drew a picture of Belle? So sweet!
Princess Party -- Behind the Scenes.........
Finding princess party decorations is easy. I knew that would be a simple task. Disney princesses are everywhere. I knew I could find everything I needed and more at the local party supply store. But, if you've never planned a party at the end of October, here's a tip: Never go to a party store the weekend before Halloween. I got to the entrance of the party store and couldn't even walk in because there was such a crowd of people. There was a security guard at the door and the check-out line wound around to the back of the store. Yikes. Thank goodness I was by myself. Had the kids been with me, I would have turned around and walked right back to my car without even trying to enter the store. Besides the large crowd, the spooky Halloween decor at the entrance would have given them nightmares. I think next year I'll start planning Annabelle's party at least a month...or two...in advance.
The cake: It was another 3 AM night. No matter what time I start the cake baking process, I always end up going to bed at 3 AM the night before the party. Things are never as easy as they seem. Thanks again to Erika for helping out this year! Heath also got in on the action, if you can believe that! He helped lay the fondant over the cake. First up was the smaller top tier. It didn't go so well. Heath and I carefully placed the fondant over the cake and...it looked awful. We ended up with a lot of excess fondant that we weren't sure what to do with. I was about ready to call the princess cake a total failure. Then, we laid the yellow fondant over the bottom tier. It turned out MUCH better. With a few properly placed yellow polka dots, I decided the top tier didn't look so bad. Thank goodness. I REALLY didn't want to have to make a whole new cake. When it was all said and done, the cake turned out much better than I thought it would. I was pleased and more importantly, Annabelle was thrilled. Even with the minor (and sometimes, major) mishaps, I love baking and decorating these birthday cakes. :) It's so much fun!
So, Annabelle, you are now three years old (even though you still tell people you are two). The past three years have flown by. Just yesterday, you were a teeny tiny baby and now you are a little princess...with a wild streak. :) And I love you for that. You make every day exciting and new and I thank God for allowing me to be your mommy. Happy Birthday!! I love you!!
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