The Princess Party

Before I begin I would like to say..... you will have to excuse me for all the photos I posted of Carlee's birthday (and to think this was just the first party). I really wanted to capture the day and have this for the future. Also, I wanted to add that I woke up on her birthday not feeling well. I had some stomach pains and my body was a tad achy, but I did not let that stop me from celebrating the day. There's no way I could have taken that from her, so the party went on.
It really was a special day for Carlee and our family. I spent days prior to the party decorating and it was a complete joy to bless Carlee with a beautiful room adorned just for her. I'll never forget the sweet surprising faces she made when the mosquito nets went up in each corner of the room. I still feel like I am in a big pink cloud or bubble taking in the whole day. It was a day I hope to always remember.
This picture was taken just prior to things starting and Carlee is wearing her Grammy's tiara.
It's sad, but only the funny picture of us came out the best. I'm hoping my friend Amy got a better pic.

It was a good thing we had Carlee open her present from us before the festivities began or it would have been chaos later.... more to come.

Besides giving Carlee her beautiful dress, she also got a swirl art project, a pony (which she saw around Christmas time and daddy bought it for her), and a wall decorated verse for her room that says, "He hath made all things beautiful."

Here's a closer look at the pony

The dining room table all set and ready for a party

Excitement

The food was perfect for Carlee. All her favorite (strawberries, apple, carrots, pretzels, and chicken nuggets). Here she is with her Grammy and Nana.

Love this..... funny how the tiara keeps changing. She just couldn't decide which looked or felt better.

Some guest have arrived (her best friend Lily and Aubrey). They look like Cinderella and Belle.

Since all the girls came dressed as princesses, we supplied the finishing touches....we began the party putting on make-up (blush, eye shadow and lipstick) and painting fingernails. All the moms tried to help, but some of the girls wound up taking over and trying themselves.

They each had their own mirror and Mary Kay packs. This made this part very easy with not a lot of clean-up.

My mom and I helped Carlee with her make-up, but Carlee took over to do the blush. Thank goodness for powder. haha

Allison and her daughter Hope (or Sleeping beauty). Allison supplied me with some of the decorations for the party. She's a girly girl like me and was a great person to ask for help. Hope and Carlee take ballet together.

They watched a short video "Gigi- God's Princess" while the moms got the lunches ready. Prior to the movie, they all played a game like musical chairs, but instead of moving from chair to chair while the music played, they passed the teapot around. The only thing was the music I played for them was a DVD song from the "Gigi" movie and they all ended up getting too distracted by the movie that they would forget to pass the teapot. It was funny. If the music stopped when they were holding a teapot, they could then take a candy out of the teapot and sit on the couch while the game continued. (I got this idea off the Internet) Carlee or Rachel ended up winning....

Carlee ate her strawberries on her finger just like she always does. I'm not sure how much of this food she actually ate, I think everyone wanted the sugar cookies to come. (We threw so much food and drink boxes away)

Tired princesses

This moment was particularly one of my very favorites. I lit the candelabra (just to give them a more beautiful atmosphere) and all the girls started standing on their chairs and blowing out the candles. It was so cute and funny. I wish I would have done it over and over again. I think this was the the girls favorite as well. Instead of having two cakes in one day, we iced sugar cookies for this party. I made the dough and Greg made the shapes. The girls chose from crown, glass slippers (not really), stars, and hearts. Carlee choose a crown.

Zachary had his own special airplane cookie to decorate. It's funny because not much of the cookie part got eaten it was mainly the frosting and sprinkles. I could have given these gals a cardboard cut out with a big tub of icing and they would have just licked the frosting off and been great. Maybe next year.... haha

These girls look so grown-up at this big table with the decorations.

The present opening was a lot of fun. Everyone was involved. All the girls were so excited to give Carlee their gift. Sarah gave her this princess nightgown (that was the first gift she opened)and I have no idea what everyone else gave her.

Here is a crazy picture of Carlee holding up her book with all the girls around her. They all got closer and closer the more presents that were opened. It's a good thing we only had 6 girls come.

Ella came too and was a delight to Carlee's day. Ella just turned 5, they have been friends since Carlee was born. Since Ella came towards the end of the party, they hung out outside and played while Lisa (her mom) and I chatted. It was a nice break in between parties.

This party was a lot of work, but a whole lot of fun. After doing this one so extravagantly, I'm thinking this will not happen every year. Turning 5 just seemed like a good time to do a blow out party. I'm so glad we did even though I ended up running a temperature in between the parties. It was worth every moment of sacrifice.

Thank you to all her friends and family for making this day so special for Carlee. Thank you Lindsay and Hannah for bringing food (sorry about the misunderstanding). Thank you Amy for taking pictures of the day. I can't wait to see them all! Thank you Allison for providing some of the decor and my super cute shoes:). Thank you Lisa for helping yourself around my house when I was tired and worn out (now I know it was due to the fever coming on). I hope I didn't pass anything on. Thank you mom for helping and providing the bows for the girls hair, the table clothe covers, the food, and the love and support. Thank you Randle (mom #2) for lending me the pink table clothes, supplying the food, and for your love and support as well. I love you all!! What would I do without my gals!