We celebrated Kate's 3rd birthday a little early this year. Her birthday is actually this Monday, but Mark and I are taking her on a little trip this weekend.
We celebrated at Uncle Scott's house with a fall party.
I took it easy on this party. I felt way more relaxed, too. Her past two birthdays have been huge affairs, where I was up all night before her party making things and doing last minute preparations.
Last year, I actually made her dress (what possessed me to do that, I'll never know) and her ladybug cake (my hands were stained with black dye for the fondant for DAYS!). It was pretty ridiculous.
This year, I made her banner. That's about it. :)
Sam's Club made her cake.
Uncle Scott's big windows provided most of the decorations, anyway. It was such a beautiful day!
Snacks were super simple. We made some pumpkin dip that, oh my goodness, is like heaven on Earth. Seriously.
We made a seven layer dip. Mark's mom brought a yummy veggie pizza. The Moore's brought some pasta salad. We had chili later in the party.
Seriously simple this year. It was great!
Mom and I made mini loaves of pumpkin bread for people to take home.
My sweet little Jack-Jack before the party.
Mark made the sweetest video with pictures from the past year. Once I figure out how to post it on here, I will. Tissues might be required.
We had hayrides on the tractor.
We had a pinata, which lasted all of about 5 minutes. Once someone bigger than a three year old took a whack at it, it broke in half right away. ha!
Does this picture scare anyone else besides me?
We had Kate hit it a few more times, even after it was broken open. Had to get our $9.99 worth.
Shakin' out the goods
Papa brought one of his huge "cloudbuster" balloons.
Kate got TONS of wonderful presents!!
Each one was so well suited for her. It's sweet to know that everyone knows our girl so well.
She got lots of art supplies.
She got a cute Pillow Pal.
Jack cruised the table while his big sis opened presents.
And he got to play with the paper when she was done.
She got baby dolls,
a brand new Barbie,
a paint set,
cute clothes,
a Caboodle and TONS of lip gloss from almost everyone... ha! They know my Kate!!
She got a kid camera,
a new winter coat,
and a dress up set.
She got lots of other gifts, too. Seriously, she racked up! The next day before we could put anything away, we literally played with it ALL. She loves everything!
Jack was so easy going through the party. He ended up going to sleep and slept on a blanket on Scott's floor. He is the BEST baby!!
We also had a bonfire. That night, the weather.com app on my phone sent me weather alert for our area. It was a warning about conditions being right for fires to spread, so "outdoor burning" was not recommended at this time. Oops.
It was a pretty serious bonfire.
More hayride fun!
Then, it was onto cake. Everything was going so well, until...
... we started singing. Funny how my girl that LOVES to make herself the center of attention gets all freaked out when she is put on the spot.
Ha! Priceless.
When the cake started getting cut, she was fine again. Hmmmm....
It was such a great day. We are very blessed with wonderful family and friends that love our kids as much as we do. Thanks, everyone, for helping us make these memories!
