4th Birthday... 1st Birthday Party!!!

Avé and I are sharing a birthday- (you can read about how that came to be here)- and sadly, she's kinda disgusted about it.  "Why me share my birfday?  Why Jack and Ben no share their birfday?"  Such a woman.  Choosing to share my birthday with her made more sense than just randomly picking a date in the fall, but I did, for a moment, consider letting her have her own date after she kicked up a fuss.  (See- we haven't finished our re-adoption here in the states which means we can make both her name and her birthday whatever we want them to be at this point.  I have GOT to get started on that paperwork!!!)  But when I mentioned to Mick about giving her her own birthday he said, "You've already let her change her name.  Don'tcha think that's enough power for a 3 year old???"  True enough.  So, we share.

But Saturday we celebrated HER and only HER!  We kept it small.  I've noticed that in situations that feel a little out of control to her she tends to withdraw and wig out a little.  And wigging out for her involves telling me "NO!" a lot and that's super irritating.  So in order to avoid being annoyed w/ my daughter on her special day, we kept it small and simple.

I think I'll just let the photos tell the rest of the story:

First... we had to make cupcakes.

One of the MAIN reasons for making cupcakes
is so that you can lick the beaters!  

Then just before bedtime a last minute decoration:
Hello Kitty lipgloss rings get shoved into all the cupcakes.  

And then the next morning...
your heart stops just because she is so beautiful.

She loves her new PINK cowboys boots, natch!

We made tu-tus for each girl- and Avé had to wear hers
even over her pretty party dress!

Auntie Kelly and Annie (or as Avé calls her "AY-nee")
making a crown and a necklace.

Kelly and Ellie making a crown.

Ana and Essenney making a... what else?
Every princess needs a tu-tu and a crown.

Princess Sakari

Princess Avé

Princess Ellie

Princess Essenney 

The Princesses chat over popcorn.

More Princess chat.

All the Princesses and (of course!) their Queens!

First Birthday Candles...

First time blowing out the candles!

The sweetest Princess EVER.

Adore.

Double Adore.

Precious friends gathered to shower her with
their love and their gifts and their prayers.  

Oh!  My heart...

And what do Princesses want to do after they have made
crowns and jewelry and tu-tus and  have a sugar rush to burn off???

They want to JUMP!

And JUMP!

And on a rainy day that is also a
FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER,
Princesses are allowed to do whatever they want.  

It was perfect.