six

Eva's birthday was on April 30, and I still haven't posted about it. This is indicative of the state of my life lately – behind.

Eva has been planning a puppy party for her sixth birthday almost since her last birthday. I had some ideas for parties that I thought would be really cute, but she would not be dissuaded, so a puppy party it was! She had some very definite ideas, too, so this event was not as fun for me as it might have been, had I had free reign. Oh well. It's all about the birthday girl.

The picture that she drew for the front of the invitations. That's a fancy poodle (as if you didn't know!).

When the guests arrived, we showed them to their dog bowls filled with puppy chow (Cocoa Puffs). Eva wanted them to eat like dogs, but not all of her friends were willing to comply with that request.

Some did, to her delight.

It totally cracked me up that Eva left the "No Dogs Allowed" sign on the door to the bathroom... er, grooming station. (She made it awhile ago in an attempt to keep Jack out. He pays no attention.)

We used dollar store headbands as collars, and the girls wrote names on their tags. Some wrote their real names, while others selected puppy names.

I used mascara to give them black puppy noses and whiskers, and handed out the felt puppy ear headbands that Eva and I made together (by far the most time-consuming task).

(Puppy Adoption Center, for the uninitiated.) (Also, no smoking, obviously.)

The only puppies we could find at the dollar store. We decided to spin them as obedience school graduates. I had a selection of ribbons for the girls to choose as a leash. I thought it was funny that no one seemed fazed by the fact that they were puppies and they were also adopting puppies...

I put Lucas in charge of making a puppy obstacle course in the yard. He used boxes headed for the recycling, a laundry basket, a jump rope, and our little slide. The girls all loved this activity, and kept going back to get in line and do it again.

We had a barking contest to see who could bark the loudest or the highest. Eight little girls can bark really loudly, and really high. Wow. They loved this, but Eva was plugging her ears.

We baked dog bone sugar cookies, and I gave each girl a ramekin of frosting and a bunch of sprinkles. They loved decorating them, and then they ate them! I can't believe I talked Eva into not having a cake or cupcakes (although I did make her a cake on her actual birthday).

We barked the happy birthday song, which delighted the girls to no end.

For favors, we had bandannas, brightly colored nail polish, tennis balls, and a couple of treats for good measure.

I tried to take a picture of Eva with each of her guests, but then their mothers started arriving to pick them up. Next time I think I'll have more of a photo booth set-up and make it a definite part of the party.

Incidentally, this was the first birthday party we've had where I was the only adult present, and I was totally impressed with how well-behaved the children were!

Eva had a wonderful time, and everything was just as she wanted it.

But now she's talking about having a kitty party, and then an anaconda party! No way.