P-P-Party Queen

Under the heading "Better Late Than Never" here are photos of Liliane's first birthday party. Not her FIRST BIRTHDAY (just in case y'all forgot how old my preshus baby is), but the first party that she was INVITED to. It was her daycare pal Kassandra's 3rd birthday and she got a real invitation and everything. The theme? Princesses. Naturally. Are we only a year away from the whole princess thing? Sigh.

Party outfit, party hair:



The first person we spot is Liliane's old daycare teacher, beloved Rosa.



Then oh happy day. Her favourite person in the males-under-the-age-of 5 category: Thomas from her old daycare.


Hey... isn't that...

Thomas! Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!


Maman! Thomas! Maman! Thomas! Thomas!


Thomas! Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!

You get the picture.


The birthday girl herself flanked by her surprise guests:


Liliane has become a regular Dora aficionado, but seeing her live was weird. She was excited. From a distance.


I kinda couldn't blame her.

See, a little freaky, right?


Don't even ask me what this game was. Liliane wouldn't get near it.


She was down with the frog hopping game (or whatever). I lost track after the prancing produce with the googly eyes.



We left just as the pinata came out. I couldn't see anything good about children swinging bats around to whack open a treasure trove of choky hard candy and plus Liliane's lack of naptime was starting to show. We made it to the car before the screaming started, but just barely.

We missed the cake and the presents, but it was otherwise a pretty successful first foray into the storied and mystical world of the preschooler birthday party. I picked up a few tips for Liliane's upcoming fête actually:

1) Kassandra's Mom had about 50 balloons blown up and just drifting around the house. The kids were all over those freaking balloons. I played with a bunch of them for like an HOUR throwing them around, tying strings to pull them around, smooshing them up against our faces, whatever man. Balloons are the bomb.

2) There was BEER. For the adults. And cool snacks. And styrofoam cups that the kids put THEIR snacks in and walked around with.

3) There was good music. I didn't hear one Raffi-esque song in the bunch.

4) Activities are key. Even if you don't want to phone up the Dora/Princess team, it seems that a successful party for that age group means a lot of PLANNING and stuff to DO.

Any other birthday party tips you guys want to share? Please leave me a comment!

Liliane's birthday/our Housewarming (we're cleverly calling it the 2 for 1 party) is happening in two weeks so don't be like me and leave it to the last second! I need your input now so I can get on that whole planning/organizing thing. It's tricky because it's not strictly a birthday party although a bunch of kids are invited (and hopefully coming) but not all the same age. Stéphane has decided to take on the loot bags (what's the deal with that anyway?) but that's where my ideas for "kid party" grind to a halt.

Oh, except when I saw this on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site, I had the mad urge to try and make it:



You see why I need help?

Anyway, if I can tear myself away this weekend from pre-party prep and celebrating my church's 100th anniversary and hopefully taking Liliane to see her first MOVIE, I have so much more to share! Our last photos of summer plus our barf-filled apple picking adventure last weekend. Don't worry, I didn't actually catch the hurl on tape or anything, but I can't talk about that day without mentioning it because it just made such an impact. It was like a tidal wave, people. A tidal wave of mostly digested breakfast. And our two dear friends were with us. In the car. A small car. And I didn't have a change of pants in my barf kit. Let the fun begin!

And please leave me a comment! Sorry about the barf, but thanks for dropping by!