All Girls Momma!

Devi, the Birthday girl turns 4

While one small princess drifted off to dreamland the eve before her birthday party, the house became a flurry of activity as Pat and I brought the Ross kingdom to life. At Devi’s request, a Princess party - “All girls mom, no boys” - was planned to celebrate her entering her 4th year.

As usual, these themed events have a way of taking on a life of their own as the creative side of Pat and I are sparked and the party, once geared for a 4 year old, becomes an outlet for the adult exploration. For the past couple of weeks, long after Devi had gone to bed, we have been secretly having a blast creating a castle, puppets, games and treats in our basement. Much to Devi’s surprise, our house was decorated for royalty when she woke up on the morning of the party. I absolutely love that breathy awe and wow that follows when surprising little kids. It makes it so worth every bit of the effort.

The air was magical on party day, as 8 mini princesses entered our home in their glitter and finery. Devi had been practicing her curtsies and twirls wearing her new princess dress in the mirror long before they arrived and was ready to greet her guests. I had to laugh as each of the girls, whom I know from Devi’s school, arrived in character dressed as the beautiful princesses that they all are. It was so cute.

Our party was designed to help these budding girls learn the qualities that a true princess must possess and with each activity they earned a gold nugget candy to put in a wrist bag to mark their accomplishments. We expressed our “friendship” through hugs and posing for a group photo whilst holding hands. They showed “bravery” while tossing apples to a hungry dragon that had wandered into our living room. Music brought out their “grace” while twirling and dancing with scarves. The “kindness” of kisses were given to our troubled frog who magically turned into Prince daddy after much kindness contemplation. He helped them to engage their “brains” while focusing on the reading of “Do Princess Really Kiss frogs”. True princess “manners” were discussed and displayed throughout lunch which consisted of the guest of honors favorites - PB an J in crown shapes, mac-n-cheese, and magic wands made of fruit. “Sharing”was the attribute in play while meeting our puppet friends, Pricilla the princess and her prince Henry, Aneil and Asha, the Indian prince and princess and lastly Oscar, our friendly pet dragon. After showering Princess Devi with gifts, the girls demonstrated their ability to carry the sweetest of tunes while “singing” the birthday song, earning their last gold nugget. Devi required some help blowing out all four candles and invited her guests to give a blow, which was very cute.

The Cinderella carriage that Devi really hoped for.

The cake from Blue Vanilla Bakery - my friends new store!

One of our gifts to Devi was the table cloth castle and puppets I made.

As each guest left, they showed me a glimmer of the gold in the bottom of their wrist bag which entitled them to a “happily ever after” prize of goodies to take home. Soon thereafter, our little princess drifted off to dream land, napping in her princess gown with her hair still up in a royal bun! When she awoke, she threw her arms around my neck and said, “Thank you for the Princess party mom. It was so great!” which naturally melted my heart.

The Old Spaghetti Factory was her choice for dinner on Monday, her actual birthday. She wore her crown and announced to anyone who would listen, “It’s my birthday. I am four. On my next birthday I will be five. I’m gonna be a big sister.” We had to finally squelch her enthusiasm when she started yelling this trivia to people seated at tables outside of earshot. Once home, we opened a few gifts from us and a couple that had come in the mail with our friends DiAnna and Tim. Tim brings a bouquet to Devi every year, a tradition that he started with his own girls now grown. She thinks it is quite grown up and so therefore it is really cool.

Posing with her favorite toy, new nightgown and twirling skirt.

Falling into bed was an understatement with all the celebrating that had been done, but soon after saying our good nights, a huge wind storm blew in and we lost power for the first time in 14 years since living in our home. As soon as the night light went dark, Devi let out a blood curdling scream of terror. I dashed up the stairs and rescued her, having not heard this kind of cry from her ever before. We made camp around our fireplace and got everyone calmed down when “John-boy Walton” arrived. “Good night mommy...I love you....sleep well....have happy dreams." Later I heard, "It is okay, Mother Nature, I forgive you for being so mean. Why did you make Mr. Wind so mad?" Honestly, I had to bite my lip in the darkness as I listened to her continue to lull herself to sleep.

Another favorite gift...a unicorn pillow now named Mckenna.