Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Sammi's Olivia Party Picture Overload


So it's official.  My girl turned 5 on Monday.  Memorial Day, with extra memories to store away then recall with a swelling heart and an overwhelming sense of pride.  My girl, now able to use a whole fist full of fingers to tell her age, who now happily says, "I'm five" when asked.  My girl who is now officially older than Caillou...

Favors from a well-planned party, a vision in my head a month in advance. That never happens. I'm glad it did for such a monumentous occasion. Can't guarantee it again for 6...






In my attempt to masquerade as a crafty mom, I even went out and bought a hot glue gun. And yes, it's definitely smaller and lighter and a heck of a lot easier to load than a sewing maching...


A new friend donated her brilliant party-planning services to help me with some of the crafts, cutting figures out by hand late into the night and making these adorable cupcake toppers. I am so grateful to her, and grateful to another new friend who introduced us. Thank you so much Brooke and Kasha!




My mother baked and decorated these beautiful, beautiful cupcakes from scratch! And they were truly delicious.  (Oops, snapped this pic before all of the toppers could be placed!)


My poor birthday girl was hot and tired and was not happy about the traditional singing of the Happy Birthday song. I hoped, yet again, that this year would be different, but know there will be many other years in which to overcome that hurdle...




Daddy comes to the rescue...


...and cake fixes everything.




And just in case the cake didn't fix everything the first time, a second cupcake can always do the trick.





17 children came to help us celebrate Samantha's birthday.  I love this age, now, where they can run and play so beautifully together.  Where they can enjoy each other's company, and appreciate the things they do for each other.

Overheard from Samantha on Monday upon the arrival of her bff from her "typical" private preschool, bearing a gift, "A present?  For me?  Thank you, L.!  Look, Daddy!  L. brought me a present!

Where does this kid get this stuff?



26 comments:

Sally said...

LOVE this little girl! Fabby party pics Momma - well done. Give her smooches from Bondi Beach, Australia. xxx

Cathy said...

Goodness gracious, Momma...you set the bar pretty high for future parties!! LOL!! Fabulous decorations. Not nearly as fab as the birthday girl. Happy birthday again, beautiful Sammi.

my family said...

priceless.....looks like a great party...minus singing happy birthday :)
Five is a fun age so far for my little man (he turned 5 march 3)

CJ said...

Beautiful party! Happy Birthday!!

Beth said...

Next year, maybe don't sing the song. She doesn't like it, so no need to do it. Maybe you can have everyone whisper "Happy Birthday", or have cupcakes, each one with a candle so the friends can blow them out at the same time? She'll get there. I have friend whose daughter cried at the "Happy Birthday" song until she was 7--and she was typically developing. She's 20 now and she sings with gusto!

alicia said...

who was the cutting cake part?? :) i think i remember you said before she didnt like that part

well you did an amazing job! everything was beautiful

glad she had an amazing birthday wit amazing family and friends! she deserves it!

Deanna said...

I'm totally impressed by your crafty, hot glue gun wielding self...looks like it was a beautiful party!

Anonymous said...

Great pics! Daddy to the rescue is my favorite!

Lacey said...

Look how cute and crafty you are! You know I'm dying to have a princess birthday party...with tiara's and skirts and the whole bit!

Anna said...

I literally wept when I saw these pics! What an incredible party for such a beautiful little girl! You did good mama.

Chromosomally Enhanced said...

I LOVE the party...great job on everything..I love the theme the cupcakes..what a perfect day! and all the pix of Sammi to sweet! smiles

Rob Monroe said...

Looks like a GREAT way to spend a birthday - or any day for that matter!

Rochelle said...

Happy birthday beautiful Sammi! Oh my what a fun party!

JC said...

Haha, I had to laugh when I saw the picture of Sammi being sang too...Jordy does that EVERY year!! She just hates that focused attention on her. Its really an adorable picture of Sammi though, I just loved it!
Great pictures, looked like the party rocked!

Lori said...

Happy Birthday, Sammi! Beautiful pictures of a beautiful girl. -- Looks like a great party! =)

Heather said...

5 is magical.Truly magical.And the party... amazing.Perfect in every detail... just as your sweet Sammi is.


Forget about just our little extra something,something children not liking the singing and such .. our now 22 year old hated the singing for the longest time... still not sure that she even digs it now!

Jen Currier said...

Thanks for posting the pictures- so much fun to see all that you did and how Sammi reacted to her party!
(Good job, BTW. You go with your bad-ass, hot gluing self!)

Pallavi said...

Awesome..
You did a great job mommy..

Erin said...

Oh, what a beautiful party for a beautiful little girl! Happy belated Birthday Sammi!

Annie said...

Love the pictures! She is such a doll! Doesn't it kill you that she's five?!? Aubrie turned 5 in December - still can't believe it! Wonderful party too - cute cute!

Melissa said...

Your decorations are perfect! How much did you procrastinate? :)

Sorry about the tears with the song, but a daddy really does make everything better....

She is beautiful as always!

my life: said...

It sounds perfect! Everything looks amazing!!!
What are you doing around July 31? Wanna come to Indiana??? You know, you could help with party favors, cup cakes, and maybe throw in a family photo shoot. ;0)
Seriously though...well done, super cute! It's encouraging to know that Sammi doesn't enjoy the singing either...Grace always yells "NO! Stop it!!" maybe this year will be different. :0)


Happy happy birthday sweet girl!!!

Carrie said...

What a beautiful party!! I think that if you own (and occasionally use) a glue gun, you can officially call yourself a crafty mom. :) Happy Birthday Sammi!!

Melissa said...

The Olivia cupcakes are just darling and Miss Samantha is absolutely beautiful. :)

Renee said...

Wow! Everything looks great! I can't believe she is 5 years old! She is beautiful!

krlr said...

Ack - Late for the party! Happy (Belated) Birthday Sammi! I'm soo impressed with all the decorations - methinks you were protesting your lack of craftiness too much. The shot of her with her pinky up is priceless--so elegant.