Lena's Fourth Birthday

We had lots of fun celebrating Lena's fourth birthday.  Her birthday celebration was spread out over three days!  We had a party for her on Saturday, she had some friends over on Sunday, and she got to take cupcakes to school on her birthday, Tuesday.  Here are some pics from the festivities.

Party Day: Saturday.  Cousin Noah checking out our new fish, Michael Blue-Blay.

Lena being tickle-attacked by Uncle Scott.

Grandma Sheryl and Eva.

Lena's party was "My Little Pony" themed.  We had MLP table cloth, plates, napkins, cups, confetti, and a pretty balloon.

I even got her a new MLP t-shirt to wear for the party.

Drinks and dessert table.

The food was "party food" themed.  We had Buffalo Chicken Dip with carrots, celery, and crackers.  Next to it is Spicy Black Bean Dip served with tortilla chips.  (I will post the link to the chicken dip after I get it up on my food blog.)

We also had Asian Turkey Meatballs with Sweet Peanut Sauce.  I baked the meatballs in the oven, but put them in the slow cooker to keep warm during the party.

And then I made Ham and Cheese Party Rolls.  They are little ham and cheese sandwiches that have a slightly sweet glaze on them.  Those of you who attended the party know that this is NOT how they looked, because those got a little bit "done" on the bottoms.  I made them again on Sunday when our friends came over and managed not to burn them that time.  This is how they turned out.  I'll post a link to the recipe when I get it up on my food blog.

And here's the cake.  Lena asked for a strawberry cake, so I made one from scratch with fresh strawberries.  I decorated it with homemade cream cheese frosting and sugar flowers.  The MLP piece is actually a Christmas ornament!

My first three-layer cake.  It didn't turn out very pink, but the fresh strawberries made it taste pretty darn good.

Pretty pink Party Punch.

Lena hanging out with Aunt Hil.

Lena with Grammy Tammy and Roger.

Eva's favorite activity was roaming around the dining room and kitchen, getting into stuff and playing with the balloons.

Grandpa Lee, Grandma Sheryl, Uncle Scott, and Noah checking out Lena's photo album.

Noah snagged Lena's special straw.

Lena's "give me my presents" pose.

Grammy Tammy helped by reading the cards.

A pretty blue present. 

Pretty pink presents.

Eva insisted on "helping" Lena open her presents.  She got a package of MLP panties.

Another pony!  She was excited to get Rainbow Dash.

Her favorite present was this "pony" flashlight (it's actually a unicorn, but looks a lot like a pony).  She didn't put it down the whole rest of the day!

She got a new shopping cart.  Our old one bit the dust.

Her big present this year was this table and chairs that everyone went in together to get.  Because she was so obsessed with the pony flashlight, her reaction to the table was a bit disappointing, but trust me, she has lots of time sitting at it in the days since.  

Eva loves it too.

Grammy Tammy made this pretty tablecloth to fit it.  Daddy got a tea party going.

Noah joined in the fun.

What a great sport, attending a girly tea party with his cousins!

Lena and Grandpa Brian.

Time to blow out the candles!

Lena with Grandpa Lee and Grandma Sheryl.

The girls with Aunt Amy.

The party was great fun and we were so glad that the weather didn't get in the way of our family coming up to help us celebrate.  

Then on Sunday, Lena's friends, Madelyn and Mackenzie came over for lunch.  They sat at the little table.

Getting ready to open another present.

Another pony that she wanted, Princess Celestia, and a whole bunch of accessories.

They wasted no time setting up a tea party for the ponies!

Then on Lena's actual birthday, Tuesday, I made her our now-traditional birthday pancakes before school.

Pancakes with sprinkles!  Yum!

She actually let me do her hair for school that day.  I chose braids.  She got to wear her new sparkly shoes that she got from Aunt Amy.

My beautiful four-year-old.

She insisted I take her picture with her balloon.

I made blue velvet cupcakes to take to school that day for treats.  (Recipe posted on food blog sometime soon.)

Not only were they pretty, but they didn't make anybody's mouth as blue as blue frosting does.  And they tasted really good!

After school, we went to Brann's for lunch because Lena got a free lunch and ice cream sundae for her birthday.  She asked for a cheeseburger and fries.

Gotta love those baby blues!

Eva's wondering why Lena's getting all the attention.  I tried to teach her to say "Happy Birthday!" and succeeded in getting her to say "irr-ay" to Lena.

Daddy and the birthday girl.

Hard to believe that Lena is four already.  Time sure flies.  We could not be more proud of her and thank God for her every day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LENA!! WE LOVE YOU!!