life, as we know it: the party

so for beth's birthday, we took her to a bounce house in the morning (that was the family celebration), and then home for a nap before a few friends came over for the real birthday party. having read online somewhere (as i was deciding to give beth a party just 3 or 4 days before) that a good rule of thumb is to invite as many friends over as the number of years the kid is turning old, i commenced to do it. this is genius, i thought. i can handle 3 other little girls at my house for a couple of hours... surely i can come up with something to keep them entertained that long before they get bored and start crying because they want to go home. being as her birthday is in march, all activities needed to be inside, which freaked me out a little bit. especially considering 99% of birthday games and activities on pinterest are outdoor games. but i determined that 3 is good, i can do 3 in my house. remember, this is my first real birthday party too.

and so, the calling began... "oh hey, uh, it's lindsay. i don't have formal invitation or anything, but i was wondering if your daughter could come to a birthday party for beth that i'm putting together for her in a couple of days... yeah, i know, i'm totally on it... but if you could somehow squeeze it in, that would be awesome... it would really mean a lot to her..." groveling works friends.

we made out pretty good and ended up with 4 friends, which worked out perfectly. we played some balloon games, made bead necklaces, decorated cupcakes with the amazing sprinkle tornado i found on clearance at michaels, of course had cake and ice cream, and opened presents. thankfully at the end, i was running out of time, rather than things to do. whew...

and beth? well, she was in heaven. having friends come over to celebrate with her put her on top of the world. and the fact that they brought her presents too? girl couldn't have asked for more. after all the build up to that day on march 9 when it would finally be her birthday, i don't think she was disappointed. i think the expectations were met, perhaps even exceeded.

ps: thanks to friend sarah who took many of these photos