Partying in our Pajamas

Can there be a better way for a bunch of 4 yr old girls to have the benefits of a pajama party without the rigors of the actual sleeping over part? We don't think so. A month ago, my little Maia turned 4 yrs old!!! We had just gotten back from Louisiana and so we quickly thru together a day of birthday fun for Maia and her friends. The girls showed up at 10am dressed in their favorite pajamas. Can you say cute?

We began the party with a guessing game of "What's in the bag?" I had collected some of Maia's things and put them inside a white paper bag. Each girl reached inside the bag to feel the item inside, then, she gave clues to the others in the group until they guessed what the item was. They really liked that one.

After that, we read Maia's favorite book, I Know an Old Lady who swallowed a PIE. This is a hilarious book. If you haven't read it, you should. It's fun to read and sing some parts here and there throughout the book, the girls enjoyed chiming in during the singing parts.

Then, we had cake. But not an ordinary cake...a waffle cake. Do you know that if you put cake batter in a waffle iron you get cake waffles? Well, my friends, you do. It is delicious. We put together a wild looking cake of neopolitan ice cream sandwiches, pink tinted whipped cream and sprinkles. I assembled it the night before on a platter but it kind of shifted and went caddywompus in the freezer at night. I tried to remain calm and not panic as I had to cut, rearrange and use some leftover waffles and ice cream sandwiches to make it kind of presentable again. The sweetest thing was that during the reconstruction of her cake, Maia and Olivia were especially supportive and Maia kept saying it was so beautiful. I could have kissed that girl. I am sure I did. So we had waffle cake and pineapple juice,we sang, we ate. Yum.

Afterward, the girls played for a bit and then we opened presents. Maia's friends spoiled her and she had a fun time with that.

And then to say thank you for coming, we did a scavenger hunt for the treat bags. I did using some common or well known areas of our yard and house. It was so cute to see the girls run around our yard with some of their nightgowns trailing behind them.



So that is that. Maia. She is 4. I remember holding her little body close to me after I had just had her, I kept saying, I can't believe I did over and over again. She was my first homebirth and my only baby with a head full of hair. She was the sweetest, easiest little baby and she has grown into a dynamic, confident little girl. She is the teeniest thing still only 25lbs but she commands attention, is a leader and speaks her mind quite freely. People tell me all the time about the things she says, I really need to keep a record of the things she says. She She makes the most hilarious, surprisingly insightful and of course, embarrassing and mommy dragon provoking comments. She's a strong one, that girl. I am proud to be her mother. I am enjoying her growth and evolution into a young girl.

Here are a few pictures of her on or around her birthday thru the years that I actually have on the computer.


Here is she 10 days old
On her first birthday

On her second birthday and the cake that took longer to decorate than it did to birth her
The pictures of her third birthday are not on the computer but she had a rainbow party that year. She and her friends dressed up in their brightest rainbow colors and I made a rainbow cake. This is the picture I used for her invitations. And this was our family picture from that month.And this is one of my favorite pictures of her from this year so far. It is not your typical favorite sort of picture but I love it and it is the essence of my Maia.
Wild, confident, strong, loving and giving. That's my Maia.