Rilla's rainbow birthday

We stayed out far too late on the night before Rilla's third birthday. It was our small group Christmas party... which they'd moved due to our little ones having conjunctivitis on the previously scheduled party day... and so we were out until 10:30 or 11:00. Kids awake and all. Crazy, I know. We never do things like that! So of course our little ones were tired on the morning of Rilla's birthday. We still had a lovely morning together, though.

We decided to have Rilla's birthday party after her naptime on the day of her actual birthday. As usual, we invited three times as many people to the party as can reasonably fit into our house. And it happened yet again that it somehow worked out beautifully that just the right amount of people could make it to Rilla's party, which was spread through the afternoon and evening.

decorating the cake

Rilla had a great time playing with her cousin Gavin. I made a rainbow birthday cake, or tried to; it was four layers of round cakes, all dyed different colors, with the idea being that it would look like a rainbow when sliced. But the natural food dyes didn't take very well, so there was one yellow layer and three normal cake-colored ones. Oh well. Rilla and Gavin had a good time decorating the sides of the cake.

the guests at Rilla's party

I asked everyone to come dressed in a color of the rainbow. There was rather a large blue contingent... and Rilla was the purple representative, though it's hard to tell in this picture... but it made for some extra fun. We had rainbow streamers and snacky vegetables in various rainbow colors to complete the theme.

I just love the way it all turned out. I was fairly stressed and exhausted in the day or two leading up to the party, as I have been feeling quite miserable with winter sickness, and being out late and eating sugar on Thursday evening made me feel totally awful by Friday morning. There were just so many things running against me, it seemed. I lost my voice; I had to admit defeat in being unable to get the house really clean; some of the balloons that Keith brought home that afternoon popped on the way. But the party was just what we wanted it to be anyway: just a happy gathering of friends and family, hanging out together and enjoying one another. Rilla knew that she was special and loved, and of course she was delighted by the few balloons, birthday banner, cake, and four special birthday presents. It was all a three-year-old could want without being too much, and I was just so thankful and blessed that it all turned out so well. Chalk this one up to yet another time when my plans get waylaid, I get stressed, I finally give it to the Lord, and He makes it all work out wonderfully.