Tillie's 4th Birthday. Par-tays and all.

okay, okay, let's back up to her actual birthday on the 24th of April...

well, actually, let's back up to the 23rd of April.  Aaron and I got our crazy on with the crepe paper.  It was really fun to set up and I couldn't help but think about how excited Tillie would be when she saw it all decorated in the morning!

Sorry, in this post there will be a mix of Instagram photos and normal photos.  It's how we roll these days.

Anyway, Matilda happened to wake up earlier than Calvin on her birthday (Aaron was already off to work), so I led Tillie into the family room to see her presents.  She was in disbelief.  It was great.  And, of course, she was most excited to see the kitchen with the crepe paper castle!

 She requested Rice Krispies and strawberries for her breakfast.  Luckily, I bought freezer dried strawberries a few days earlier, so I was able to come through for her! phew!

Aunty Emmy sent a huge package to Tillie that she was able to open while doing FaceTime (live video chat) with Em in Boston.  It was so much fun to have her open it LIVE with Em. Then later, once Cal woke up, I told her she could open up one more present (one I knew had some birthday clothes in it).  It was hard for her to wait all morning for him to wake up (he slept in MAJORLY that morning, of all mornings!).  

 After we got dressed, we made some sparkley crowns.  They ended up looking a little like the Statue of Liberty, rather than Princess like---but I am just THRILLED that they ACTUALLY stay on her little head.  So many of the crowns you buy in stores won't stay on.  These did the trick.  I found the idea on Pinterest and improvised with a glue gun and Sparkley Foam from the craft store.  Easy cheesy.  

 Next, Tillie requested that we make some COOKIES.  She is also a big believer that cookie DOUGH is the best part of making cookies (smart kid), so I made sure that I had purchased pasteurized eggs a few days earlier.  No need to feel bad about consuming this round of dough.  hA! Tell that to my exercise program.  (p.s. the stripe idea was purely coincidental.)

Once Dad got home from work, Tillie was able to open up the rest of her presents!  It was hard to wait for SO long!!  I finally justified purchasing those darling pastel dishes from IKEA---I've wanted to buy them for so long, but haven't.  They are ceramic... not the best "kid" item ever.  In fact, we have had a casualty or two.  But, I think they are darling on her new little table, and the kids love pretending to wait tables.  

Later that night, we headed up to a cool park for a low key night.  We took advantage of the fire pits available and BBQ'd hot dogs, ate chips, fruit, and consumed more cookies.

They were all so serious while consuming such delicious things.

 my cute friend, Chris, and her baby.

a cool flower that Aaron found.  It reminded us of Horton Hears a Who.

Beautiful Texas nights.

After that, we finished the happy day with a bubble bath.  I'd say it was a pretty good day for a new four year old. 

Fast forward to two days later, we decided to do a princess birthday party with the two friends she ALWAYS talks about... Claire and Eloise.  A few weeks prior to the date, we sent out two invites in the mail.  Yes, only two.  I loved that idea.

Lizzy and I came up with the wording.  We were pretty proud of ourselves for being so clever AND fancy all at the same time.

I've had the idea for a while now to try my hand at making place-mats.  I have the paper (11x17) and knew my printer could handle the larger format... I just needed an excuse to try it out.  I am a fan!  I got them laminated with the thickest lamination they had and bada-bing!  Very fun.  The pictures don't do them justice (one day I'll hire a legit photographer to take photos for me... for now... I'll stumble along.)  I quickly took pictures before our two little guests arrived. I am going to make more and perhaps sell them on my etsy site one day, once I figure out how to ship them.  Any people know where to find envelopes for big prints/place-mats?  Holler if you have ideas.

Next, we took a few photos of Princess Til (as she is liking to be called these days) and her brother, Prince Woody.  Hey, it's his favorite.  I'll go with it.

Love these pictures of these knuckle-heads.

They were singing some sort of silly song (and really getting into it).

  Oh, Calvin. How I love your grumpy face.  Sheesh.  Those eyebrows...

A few more before the girls got there...

I was going to dip long pretzels in chocolate, the I remembered Pokey Sticks!!  My favorite!  I was so pleased at my decision (Calvin was too.  He snarfed probably 15 during his lunch!).

The princesses have arrived!  We got started decorating their new crowns.  Note to self, stickers don't "stick" very well to sparkley foam.  A hot glue gun or super glue would have been a better idea.  Oh well.

Next we made little heart bracelets.  They actually did a great job stringing them on and making patterns! I was super impressed!

It was pretty amazing that the girls actually wore the color of dress that I had put on their invites!  I had no idea they'd co-ordinate so well! (well, Tillie ended up wearing her purple dress in the end, b/c it was longer.)

Pretty sweet, these little dollies.

I couldn't get enough of them and all their posing and jumping!  Too cute!

The end.  

Pretty princesses, indeed. 

Happy Birthday, little Tillie Willie Silly Billy.

love, your favorite parents.