the pink party

Let me just start by saying that I was prepared for the worst at Eva's first birthday party: tantrums, screaming fits, emotional meltdowns caused by being the birthday girl and thus the center of attention, arguing over the opening of the gifts, etc. And I could not have been more shocked by the way the party turned out! It was the calmest, quietest party I have ever seen. The guests and even the birthday girl were all polite and well-behaved.

We invited 6 little girls. Jill's niece, Ashley, couldn't make it because she lives in Freakin' Eagle Mountain and her mom had to work. Another little girl from Eva's Sunbeam class was taking a mega nap and her mom couldn't wake her! (which was really sad because it was going to be her first birthday party as an attendee and she was very excited) Perhaps it was the fact that we only ended up with 5 girls total that accounted for the quiet nature of the gathering?

Since the party didn't start until 3:30, Eva had a lot of time to fill. She kept asking me all day when her guests were going to arrive. Mostly we worked on party prep, such as making and frosting the cupcakes and going to get balloons, but we also took time out to paint her nails with sparkly pink polish. We had to put on two coats to satisfy her need for glitter.

before the guests' arrival

I bought a kit of 30 foam crowns at the craft store (thanks for the tip, Jill!). I could not believe how focused the girls were on decorating their crowns. I think this quiet activity lasted about 30 minutes.

We had another little activity where I passed around a bag of rice that had sparkly gems buried within. After each girl had found two gems, I took them and hot-glued them together with a paper clip sandwiched between. We then strung a sparkly cord through the paper clip to make a necklace for each girl.

Comparing necklaces.

A variation on Duck, Duck, Goose was very popular. The person who was "it" would walk around the outside of the circle and quietly drop a pink napkin behind someone else. That person would, in theory, jump up and run around, sitting down before getting tagged. In actuality, it ended up being kind of a running free for all, with the girls sometimes running in opposite directions and then bumping into each other. They didn't seem to care, it was all good, and I think they played this game for at least 20 minutes!

Pink table settings for pink cupcakes, strawberry ice cream, and pink lemonade.

She must have told me 20 times throughout the day that she wanted the cupcake in the middle with the most edible pink glitter. Yet, just prior to the candle lighting, she pointed it out again, lest I forget.

She could use a little practice with her blowing technique. But look at that concentration!

Our little pink princess holding court.

When all the little girls were leaving, we gave them the party bags we had assembled -- filled with pink items, of course! (bubbles, Littlest Pet Shop velvet art, giant rings from the dollar store, balloons, YoGos, pink-wrapped peppermint patties, pink bubble gum)

Our little neighborhood friend actually told me she had a lovely time! I could not believe it, especially from this tomboy.

To sum up, it was unbelievably calm and smooth. But I was still glad it was over. For this introvert, planning and pulling off a party is a stress. Worth it, of course, but I'm glad I have a good long time before another one rolls around...

p.s. I'm so glad Marc was on hand to take pictures!