Party at Three

JillyBean turned three - three weeks ago. There was so much activity taking place that I have had no time to come here to write about it. Plus, I spilled lemonade on the computer keyboard and the keys are sticky, making it difficult to type....

The birthday was great. I made a pink train cake, per her request, for our family celebration and was pretty happy with the result. It was strawberry cake with homemade butter cream frosting. It didn't look professional but it sure did taste great.
She got a new bike - a Thomas bike - as well as a doll house, a cow barn (since Santa forgot at Christmas), and a couple of movies from mom and dad. Grandma gave her a softball glove and a few other fun things.
The big shindig took place the following Saturday. We hosted 12 kids and their parents and it was a great time. The weather was beautiful, so the party stayed outside much of the time. Daddy brought home a tent that we set out in the back and placed a long banquet table under it so the kids could decorate their own mini train cake. We used it again to stage the food while the kids sat at little tables that we placed around the tent.

Guests were greeted with a sign that Daddy had made and we placed bunting and balloons on the front porch, giving it a festive look.
The kids had a blast decorating cakes and were pretty creative.
I made a train game for them to play and it was a huge success, but for the most part the kids had fun running around and playing outside. Jilly wore a cute little dress that a family friend made with Thomas material. It was a tad bit big, but Jilly HAD to wear it. The party concluded with a Thomas cake that I had made. It was chocolate and was soooo fresh that I can still taste it. It was honestly one of the best cakes I have ever had and it came from a grocery store. They did a fabulous job with it.
The kids loved their Thomas hats and wore them the entire time. They liked that they had their name on them and I think the parents appreciated not having something that made noise or more candy to take home, though they did have the cakes. It was a great party and now we can take a bit of a breather before planning for next year.