Mary Kate’s birthday is officially over and I’m exhausted. You see, after a series of parties dedicated to her 6th our middle child may have the rather demented impression that her seventh birthday should rival the Queen’s Jubilee. It all started innocently enough. This was going to be a “party year” for her. We don’t have big birthday parties every year in our house. There’s always a family celebration but the shindigs with friends and stamped invitations are reserved for the big years, and in our home “6” is a banner accomplishment.
(I have no idea why. There is no logic to this so don’t ask.)
Anyways, back in January I asked MK what she wanted for a theme for her party and she announced that she wanted a “Princess Castle Cake” with fireworks shooting out of the top. I said yes to the cake, no to the fire works and spent the entire month of February in Hobby Lobby. (I think I may have single handedly financed Hobby Lobby’s law suit against the federal government…or at least one of the attorneys that argued in front of the supreme court last week.)
I have to confess—I had a blast with this party. I don’t know if it was because I spent the first thirteen years of motherhood convincing myself I would never miss doing the girly stuff that comes along with a daughter or if it’s because I need mental help. According to Sean it’s the latter. I’ll cop to a little bit of both. Regardless, I went balls out with theme to the point of my sister-in-law threatening to hide my glue gun.
Now comes the explanation about the four seperate celebrations. Mary Kate’s birthday is March 29th which was a Saturday this year. When I first looked at the calendar I was ecstatic. We could have her party on her actual birthday, however, after further inspection the reality of MK’s lot in life came to fruition. When you are third in line behind two very active older brothers sometimes your schedule gets trumped by track meets, ACT tests and high school dance schedules. So…we moved the party date up. Which made sense but also contributed to the concept that March was now designated MK’s birthday month.
The Royal Table
The Royal (no spill) drink glasses. (Tutorial on how to make coming tomorrow.)
Crafted goody bags hung on the back of each chair.
Of course, the highlight of the party was the appearance of Princess Laurel. I wrote about Laurel last summer when we attended one of her fairy garden parties. Back then she was just starting her Princess Party business and since then her popularity in our neck of the woods has exploded. Mary Kate couldn’t have been more thrilled that Princess Laurel came to her party.
Princess Laurel comes with an invaluable message about how true princesses are kind to others and true to themselves.
They also dance…
Even the littlest princesses…
The afternoon was magical. 
The timing of the party coincided with Drew’s spring break so there were kings in attendance as well!
Princesses can be silly, too!
When the party was over I was sad. Sad in the same way I am the day after Christmas. It was such a wonderful celebration of Mary Kate and her friends. She is growing into such a special young lady who is so different than I was as a child. She’s outgoing…I was shy. She’s confident…I was timid. She sings at the top of her lungs and doesn’t care what others think…I was affected by the opinion of others. I know a lot of this is simply wiring but I like to think, at times, that her happy-go-lucky attitude is a symptom of her environment. This party was the perfect reflection of her current stage in life.
We went on to celebrate her birthday three more times. Once in Florida with my parents…where my dad delivered on the fireworks portion of her birthday request…much to her chagrin…
Once with her classmates…
This is a Montessori birthday celebration. The entire class is circled and a candle is lit to represent the sun. The number rods are laid out to signify the six years MK has been on this Earth.
For each year, I was to tell a special thing about MK at that age, and then MK carried the Earth around the sun representing the year of growth that had taken place in her life.
In the Montessori setting snack is a work choice. On birthdays a special snack is provided by the birthday student. It’s supposed to be healthy but we snuck a Peep into the mix. And of course…it’s pink.
And last night with her fairy Godmother, Sean’s mom and our immediate family.
Homemade Ho Ho cake. Recipe linked below.
It’s been a whirlwind of a month that has served as a reminder of how grateful I am for my daughter. She may have come into this life as the tiniest of miracles…
….but she continues to bless us every day. It’s a joy to be her mother.
Now…time to prepare. We have a “17th” coming up!