She's 3!

Our Allie girl is 3! 

And she wanted nothing more than to have a Princess Party.

So that's exactly what she got. 

Now, before I had kids, I had a lot of "famous last words". Some of which included, "I'll 

never be that mom that throws character-themed, Party City birthday parties. Blechk."

While I really would LOVE to be the mom {that some of my friends are}, and throw

Pinterest-perfect birthday parties with handmade everything, professional

photography, and all the things that would reflect back on ME exactly as I'd like them to...

I've learned that these sweet little parties aren't for me; they're for my babies.

So, while I do my best to make them fun and cute, I have to be sure that the ultimate goal

is for the birthday girl or boy to have the most special, fun, memorable party possible.

That said, I have to throw a little bit of creativity in there somewhere!

My brother's amazing fiance happily agreed to do some whimsical

face-painting for all of the little birthday guests.

I'm pretty sure that by the time all was said and done, Allie had designs painted

on both cheeks, both hands, and both arms. Safe to say she was a fan of the face-painting.

Allie requested to be Belle for her party. Of course. The princess dress we didn't have.

You just try going in search of any specific toy-related item the week after Christmas and

see how much success you have. Finally, on the 4th store, I found one. {Thank you, Jesus!}

She also wanted "princess hair". Not sure what her definition of this was, I

figured adding glitter and sparkles would do the trick. I think maybe I'll save the

glitter spray for the next time we're having a tough day. Maybe some mother/daughter princess hair

would lift our spirits a bit!

 Probably the most urgent request of our soon-to-be 3-year-old was a Cinderella cake.

My mom came through on this in an AMAZING way, as you can see.

She should definitely start a cake business. Not only are her cakes always

beautiful, they taste SO good!

Back for more paint... :)

 Even though it was the beginning of January, and half (yes, half) of her little friends

had to cancel on the day of the party, it was a fabulous success. I hope she will remember it

as a fun-filled, sparkly day in which she was loved, valued, and treasured.

A week before, we'd had a little family get-together for her actual birthday.

This girl loves her Grandpa.

One of my favorite party activities was making these tiny versions of her princess cakes.

It was so much fun, and she loved them!

As with every birthday, I cannot believe our girl is 3 years old. She is so full of life, passion, spunk,

love, compassion, and laughter. I wouldn't change a single thing about her. She has changed so much in the last year, and I love seeing the little girl she is becoming! God has great and wonderful plans for your life, sweet girl! I can't wait to see what they are!