Stella Turns Three!

Stella turned three today. And, boy, did we celebrate. Saturday our little family went to Texas Roadhouse Grill. They made Stella sit on a saddle and YELLED REALLY LOUDLY her name and age and asked everyone to give her a yee-haw. She was pretty bashful. We gave her a puzzle that says the letter when you remove the piece. It’s high-time she learn. After dinner we went to the park. That’s always a hit.

We hadn’t planned anything for her bday because we weren’t sure if we would be in town. But on Friday she said she wanted a butterfly party. I was so excited that she didn’t request a pink or princess theme, I said, “ok”. Saturday I called up a few neighbors (no time for invitations) and started preparing. I punched out a billion butterflies for a garland. Made a butterfly cake. My first attempt at decorating, kinda sloppy. Spent $45 at the party supply store—including some slutty wings for her to wear. They were the cheapest and smallest. I don’t think she cares that they were made out of black lace and hot pink satin. The party turned out to be more elaborate than I intended. Here is what the house looked like 2 hours before party time:

So I called in reinforcements (thanks Miller girls, we’ll miss you!). They wrapped presents, decorated, watched Fred, stuffed the piñata (which broke after the third little girl hit it), and made the pin-the-antennae-on-the-butterfly poster. When the kids arrived I painted their faces while the girls helped them decorate bags that were meant to be used to pick up piñata candy but glitter glue doesn’t dry fast—fyi--so they ended up using grocery sacks. Then they directed the butterfly game while I continued to paint faces. Then we did the piñata, ate cake, and opened presents. Stella was pretty grumpy. I thought she would like the attention but when I asked her later why she was so grumpy she said, “I just didn’t want everyone to be by me.” She wouldn’t let me finish painting her face, wouldn’t wear her slutty wings and wouldn’t look at me in pictures. She did enjoy present time though. And ironing everyone with her new toy. They had candy and crackers for dinner. I was worn out. I don’t know what I was thinking. This is our last week in our house. I should be packing and cleaning. I guess I wanted them to have a little farewell fun. And I just couldn’t say no to, “Can I have a butterfly birthday?”