I'm not sure why exactly this is one of my favourite photographs of Bea's birthday party, but it is. I think it captures the slight insanity inherent in the approach to 3 years.
Anyway, Bea's birthday party was going to be held in the garden if the weather was good, and quickly shipped to the church hall if it became "inclement". However, the weather remained determinedly unforecastable during the week no matter how many times I checked the BBC weather website, so we took the "bright sun " symbols displayed on Friday as a green light and opted for the garden.
As it turned out...good choice! I was saved the bother of shipping stuff to the church AND the noise of the bouncy castle + kids dissipated into the atmosphere rather than reverberating off the hall walls. There was a moment when it was touch and go, when we all looked skywards as the fat drops of rain bounced off our foreheads, and blew the cloud away uttering a disparaging "It's only a few drops of rain"
(Incidentally, Zelda has the best attitude to sending her kids out in the rain..."Don't worry, you're not made of sugar...you won't dissolve!")
Bea has requested a "princess party" on the odd occasion (and by "odd occasion" I do mean daily since May). She has joyously attended the birthday parties of all her little friends and tried to blow out the candles on their birthday cakes. We have had a count down of birthdays, and there have been many, leading up to hers. But, I was more than happy to finally furnish her with a princess party.
Actually her choice was either prophetic or cannily predicted by her mum, who bought bits and pieces (mermaid dolls included) in the Christmas sales.
We had princess balloons, tablecloths, cut out dolls etc. We spent some time making princess hats...
...I employed (I have typed that as it has a much nicer tone than child slave labour) Jenny and Joanna as face painters....
(Jenny was actually much better a doing terrifying lizard masks than butterflies...go figure!)
...we had toys to make a busy little street, with a cafe, kitchen, shop and boutique (and for that read a rail of dressing up clothes) with the vehicles to travel about...
(this is Beth in two costumes, because one is never enough!)
...with a bouncy castle....just to carry on the princess theme...
...and the jumpolene for when the bouncy castle was a bit too bouncy...
...but best of all, and believe me she was the best and coincidentally the fairest of them all....
When I brought Snow White to the table of little girls busily creating their hats there was, what can only be described as "awed silence". They couldn't quite believe their eyes.
Snow White very graciously took the little ladies to her magical flower garden where she taught them how to be "real princesses".
This princess finishing school included a trip to the front garden where they collected gems and jewels (a princess always has a beautiful gown with sparkly accessories). It also involved some princess dancing, rapunzelesque hair brushing, friend hugging and hunting for lost glass slippers.
Unfortunately, Bea only possesses 8 glass slippers (or plastic clippy cloppy shoes). I thought I would get away with it, but no! Of course, the last princess to find a shoe (or not as the case would be) was Bea. This rather held up proceedings as she refused to allow the games to progress without one. Thankfully, one bored princess had abandoned hers, so it was rehidden for Bea to find. She was somewhat disappointed that it was Snow White's slipper rather than the genuine Cinderella slipper, but we were permitted to carry on.
(According to Grace, the shoes also double as a handy mobile phone)
Meanwhile, the boys were not abandoned (even though the bouncy castle was deflated to make Snow White audible) but left with the dads to do "boy stuff" which princesses just cannot comprehend.
But when all was concluded, Snow White gave all of the little guests a gift (because that is what princesses do)
Then all of a sudden the oven beeped and it was time for party food...
...the singing of "happy birthday"...
...the blowing out of candles....
...and the eating of cake...
Then there was more bouncing and chatting to Snow White. One of my favourite moments was overhearing this conversation...
Bea..."You have a badge of you on your dress"
Snow White..."Yes, that's like my photographic id"
Bea nods sagely as though she understands completely.
Then Snow White had to leave. She had 7 hungry men at home waiting for their dinner. Unfortunately, she was bit like Mother Hubbard and her cupboard was bare, so she popped into Tescos to buy some bread and red apples on the way home. You may have seen her.
Then one by one, the little princesses drifted off...and then the rains came.
