Last Friday Chloe turned 5.  It is hard to believe I am the Mother of a full fledged kid.  I felt old enough to be the Mother of a baby, and a toddler.  But not a kid.  When she stands next to me and I realize how big she is, I think to myself, when did this happen? wasn't she just a baby?  And aren't I like, 22?  

Chloe has been anxiously looking forward to her birthday for a long time.  She has been so excited to turn 5 like her other friends who have gone before her.  She had been checking off the days with a black marker on the calendar.  So I was pretty excited to make her special day special.  She told me she wanted a Princess Tea Party.  I searched online for ideas for about 5 minutes, but it made me very tired, and somewhat depressed. so I quit that and just decided that I was going to focus on what Chloe would think would be a great Princess Tea Party.  And luckily, she has pretty low expectations.  I was happy with how it turned out and Chloe had a great birthday.  She was giddy all day.

The bounce house we got off of Craigslist 2 years ago was an awesome purchase. You get that thing out, and you have a real party on your hands.

The girls loved the Kiss The Frog game.

I read "Pinkalicious" before we had our cupcakes.

I love this picture.  It encapsulates childhood, doesn't it?

Chloe triumphantly holds up her gifts.

They cornered Chelsey, and gave her a makeover.  It is a little scary that these girls already know what a makeover is.

Macie woke up from her nap and found herself a cupcake.

She was pretty happy about it.

She has the best smile.

I could just squeeze her all the day long.

And she also found the chocolate.

I wish I got a picture of all the food.  We had heart shaped PB and honey sandwiches, heart shaped egg salad sandwiches,  carrots and ranch, olives, cheese cubes, cheetos,  pink lemonade, pinkalicious cupcakes, strawberries and bananas and a chocolate fountain.  Chloe "helped" me with all the preparations.  She helped me cut the sandwiches, set the table, put up streamers, shop for all the supplies, blow up balloons, frost the cupcakes, made the invitations...she was very excited to help me with her party.

They had little tea cups for their pink lemonade, which just disappear on the table.

I found out that 5 year olds are not as excited about chocolate fountains as adults are.  I am still pondering how that could be.

I had to wear my prom dress to fit in with all the other princesses.  I looked almost as beautiful as I did when  I went to Prom.  That is a joke. On both accounts.

Pinkalicious Cupcakes.

We also played Poison Apple, which is basically a game of Hot Potato. But instead of being out, the girls would have to do a silly dance if the apple landed on them.  The girls were very conflicted with this game.  One minute they were loving it, the next minute they were hiding their head in embarrassment or crying.  A taste of what is to come.

All in all, it was a great day. She didn't want to go to bed (well she never does, but she REALLY didn't want to go to bed), because she knew her birthday would be over.
 I love you Chloe.  It was a pleasure making your Princess Tea Party dreams come true.  You make my dreams come true.  I am so privileged to be your Mommy.