Princess for a Day

We made it! Nobody cried, and it appeared that all had fun. Most of the games didn't have winners or losers (Leah's favorite kind of game. Or, as she says, "If there are winners and losers, I like to be the winner.")

Some other favorite quotes before we get to those oh-so-cute photos:

I decided to hand out the princess noise makers (the ones that curl out) when the girls arrived. Princess #2 was coming up to the door when Leah yelled, drill-sergeant style,
"Addie's here! GET A BLOWER!"

The girls were downstairs playing until we got going. Aaron reported that when Leah yelled, "Let's go on a princess adventure!" Only one kid yelled, "YES!"...and it was Ben, with his fist in the air, ready to go.

After Leah opened her gift, Princess L leaned over and said, "And you can share it with me, too. Caring and sharing, don't forget that one!"

And on to the photos!

Mom and I plotted to have her sew a honest-to-goodness princess dress for Leah. Of course, it had to be Sleeping Beauty's.

She was pretty thrilled, and fortunately she doesn't grow very quickly, so she'll probably still be able to wear it in 1st grade.

Game one: Spell at the Ball. Dance, dance, dance to music, and when it stops, you freeze. "Dancing" for this group of princesses involved holding hands in a circle and jumping up and down. By the way, thanks to Stacie for taking photos for me!

Game Two: Jump the Moat. Kind of like limbo, except no second person or pole needed. And you may think this was too easy, but remember, these kids are still learning how to skip. Also, the princess gowns proved to be a slight obstacle.

Craft activity: Decorate your own crown. The girls got foam crowns and stickers, plus stick-on jewels, all courtesy of Michael's craft store. And then they went nuts.

I have to say, this is the most fabulous crown cake I've ever seen. Here's how we did it:

1. Bake 9x13 cake mix, but also make 5 cupcakes out of the same mix.

2. Dump out 9x13 cake, cover well, and freeze.

3. Enlarge your crown picture to the appropriate size. Mine was 250%. If you'd like mine, just contact me and I'll send it to you.

4. Lay template on unwrapped, frozen cake. Use serrated knife to cut around it.

5. Frost all sides, plus cupcakes. Decorate with candy.

6. Gobble.

Chocolate cake with cherry frosting and chocolate ice cream? Yes, please!

A tip from Leah's superb Sunday school teacher: When opening presents, have the birthday kid sit in one chair, and the gift giver in another. Then she knows who gave her the present and can say thank you, and the giver feels special, too. We had "thrones" for our girls.

There it is, folks. An hour and half of complete preschool girliness. And for a couple of months, the novelty of being FOUR may get Leah to eat more dinner, dress herself, walk more often... We can always hope!