Party Party!

Saturday was CC's birthday party, and we had a blast. This is the first year that she's really understood what a party is, so there was much excitement leading up to the big event. It was so much fun to watch her enjoy it!

The theme of the party was dinosaurs, in pink and green. This was decided by both me and CC, negotiated down from spiders (no, just ... no). Party favors were stuffed dinosaur tails. Many thanks to my sister-in-law, Susan, who helped me make them all! Boys had green and girls had pink. They were a huge hit!

This was also the first party where CC's had any say in who was invited. In the past, it's been basically our friends and family who've attended. But this year she had some very definite ideas of her own. Consequently, it was a larger party than we've had in the past, with more kids her age. Thank goodness it was a gorgeous day! All the kids headed out to the swingset:

and the sandbox (aka Dinosaur Dig):

My mom made this amazing cake:

I know, seriously!! She continues to outdo herself. CC loved it. After it was cut and served, she sat at the dining room table and ate all the green frosting off. Can you tell?

We were lucky enough to have my brother Patrick come for the party, plus Jon and Susan with Dane and Hayden, MJ's parents, and my parents:

I decided to make more permanent decorations for this party, thinking they could go in her bedroom afterwards. So here's what I came up with:

My personal favorite. Can't wait to hang this on her wall!

I purchased this super cute felt garland off Etsy:

We also had this friendly guy (assembled by MJ and his mom) welcoming everyone when they walked in the door. He's holding her party invitation, which says, "Stomp on over; CC is turning three!"

Plus, a few bonus pictures from the day:

I can't get enough of the hand-holding pictures!

Thanks to Susan, who took this awesome
picture of me and Little Man!!

Whew. It's over, but we had a great time. Now I have four months to get ready for Sweet Pea and Little Man's birthday. Start the countdown!