Let's Celebrate Everything Girl!!!

This was the theme for a party that we had for our girls on September 5th. Tera MADE the most beautiful invitation(she's so creative, I wish a little bit of it would rub off on me!). Included with the invitation was the following poem that Tera WROTE:

These Hands
by Tera Schneider

There once was a baby girl,
so tiny and so brand new.
Her little fist rested close to her face
and her mother already knew.
These little hands would someday be
the hands of a beautiful lady.
Such thoughts she stashed within her heart,
and snuggled her sweet little baby.

She grew.

She grew to be a dancing girl,
with ribbons and bows galore.
Lipstick here and a touch of perfume,
then she's in search of a little bit more.
"Mommy, oh mommy, paint my nails!"she pleads,
"Please oh please use the sparkly one!"
"And a sticker to finish it off!" she squeals.
"Won't I look pretty and won't it be fun!"
Mom settles her down in a big comfy chair,
and sets all her work aside.
For someday these hands, so little and soft
will be grown and waving goodbye.

I know. I was totally choked up by that poem too! So anyway we were all set to have the party at Sarah's house until her youngest came down with "hand-foot-mouth disease". Poor baby!! And poor Sarah!! I understand it's just absolutely miserable and there's no treatment other than ibuprofin for pain. It's also highly contagious so Sarah could no longer host the party since the germ could be lurking around her house. So rather than cancelling the party, I offered to have the party at our house.

Sarah arrived early that morning to help me set up. She brought a helium tank and made lots of pretty pink balloons, covered the kitchen table with butcher paper, and laid out all the party favors she'd purchased for the girls. There were crowns of many colors, sparkley rings, beautiful bead necklaces, heart-shaped lipgloss necklaces, stick-on earrings, everything you'd need for a princess!! I worked on getting the food ready-Cara & I had both offered to do the food: peanut butter and honey/jelly sandwiches, fresh fruit, mini cheese balls, juice, & cookies. (For the moms I had deli-style meats/cheeses for sandwiches, fruit, chips, and lemonade.)

Then the pretty princesses started arriving at 11:00 decked-to-the-nines in their prettiest dresses or Disney princess costumes, and we also had 2 cheerleaders! The young ladies looked so lovely. After a group photo, the moms started setting up to give the girls pedicures. We soaked feet in warm water(some in a spa tub!),massaged feet with lotion, trimmed, clipped, & buffed toenails, and then polished those little piggies in a rainbow of different colors! It was a sight to behold! Moms sitting on my kitchen floor while their daughters sat happily pampered on their throwns looking at books! After the pedicures, we decided to serve lunch to give the polish time to dry.

Next up-manicures. By that time the little girls had made their way downstairs to the toys and many were done with the pampering! Including Katelyn! She was so delighted to have so many playmates there was no way she was going to sit still long enough to have her fingernails polished! So while a few of the girls continued with the royal treatment and had manicures, the rest just played together.

By 3:00 or so everyone was ready to get going, but what a wonderful time we'd had! I hope that our little girls will remember this day and always feel like princesses! I hope they'll remember that their moms tried to put the spotlight on them. I hope they'll always feel special and valued. I hope they'll always remember how much we tried to make their little girlhood fun and fancy-free. I hope they'll always know how much we love them.