princess party

this afternoon madelyn attended her friend ava's fourth birthday party. the theme was princesses and prince charming/superheros. all of the boys came as superheros and the girls were delighted to be twirling princesses.

after playing a bean bag toss game everyone got to go on a treasure hunt. it was very cute. ava's mom would read and clue and all the kids would guess the answer before running to find their 'treasure' to take home. madelyn found a fruit snack (for energy at the start of their hunt), a lunch box, a puzzle, and an ice pack (for the lunch box).









pinatas are now low risk/violence. instead of beating them with a bat the kids take turns pulling ribbons until the bottom opens up. today was the first time i had actually seen one in action. honestly, the kids seemed to enjoy it just as much. instead of candy, the pinata was filled with pennies. again, it didn't seem like anyone was too disappointed. actually, one of the kids said that he could take the money and buy some candy.

and now it was time for cake and ice cream! ava had a pink barbie cake and it was gluten-free. this was my first gluten-free birthday cake and it was really good. ava's mom generously had 'real' cupcakes for any of the kids that complained about the texture but i don't think that any of them even noticed. madelyn told me on our walk home that the cake was her favorite part of the party so it definitely didn't bother her.

after cake and ice cream it was time to open presents and some of the kids (including madelyn) started without the birthday girl. i think that is one of the drawbacks of gift bags at children's parties. the party balloons began to lure the kids away from the gift opening. and towards the end none of the kids were really watching the gifts be opened. instead they were bobbing the balloons up and down. one of ava's gifts was a pretty nifty see-saw from her parents and the kids got to try it out in the backyard before heading home. here is video of madelyn taking her turn:

and i had to take a picture of the card madelyn made for ava. madelyn isn't really in to coloring or writing but she very willingly wrote this out to ava. i only helped with some of the spelling. i think this is the most she has written in a single sitting and i was so proud of her. i think she was pretty proud of herself too. love.