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I was at a loss this year when it came to ideas for decorations for August's 4th birthday. She wanted at a park with all her little friends. While at an antique store I saw a garland made from torn vintage dresses. I thought I could do something like that for her party. It reminded me of a ballerina tutu and she is very much into ballet and ballerinas right now. So the theme was set. She had a pink cake with a little plastic ballerina on it, reminding me of the old cake toppers I had as a kid. She wore a slip with petticoat under her vintage dress and she said she felt like a ballerina in it.

I went to Goodwill and found a a long prom dress with three different types of fabric in various shades of pink. I then found two curtain panels in white and hot pink. When I got home I tore them all into strips and created 15 feet of garland. After visiting the pergola at the park and measuring where I wanted to hand the garland I discovered I needed twenty more feet. Over the course of three weeks I found more curtain panels at Goodwill stores and then finally bought three yards of  a pale, pink taffeta fabric to use. The length of the completed garland was 30 feet, but with some spacing and arranging I was able to lengthen it to 34 feet.

Balloons were filled with confetti again this year and I ironed out the vintage tablecloths I have been using since her first birthday. I also brought out her "Happy Birthday August" banner, also from her first birthday. We arrived at the park thirty minutes before the party started, sort of late, but were able to get the banner up, blow balloons and set up the tables. The entire time August's Godmother and I were setting things up she was running around, hopping, skipping and saying,"I am soooo happy, I'm soooo happy, it's my birthday!" Remembering that scene from Our Town, I took the time to stop and focus on that moment of her joy and took it in. I wanted to remember the morning with my bestie and this happy little girl on such a beautiful spring day before guests arrived.

























It was just about midnight and she was still fighting sleep. She had not napped all day. I knew she was exhausted from the play, sweets, sunshine and excitement of the day but she refused to fall asleep. she finally burst into tears in my arms and said, "I miss everybody, I miss my friends...what about the donuts?" I said, "You miss your birthday already?" She replied that she did. I told her it's now a sweet and wonderful memory she can visit anytime. "I took lots of pictures and have video", I told her. Then we looked over the photos on my phone and I  played her the video from my camera. She fell right to sleep.

Monday was her real birthday and she woke up to a small party her stuffed animal friends had put together for her. There were presents wrapped in newspaper on her little table. Georgy Girl played as she danced and tried on new dresses. She had said weeks ago she wanted a "poop cake" I told her I'd make her a poop cake. While she napped that afternoon I used three pans to create this chocolate cake with a peanut butter center and frosted it with hazelnut frosting. Her face when she saw it was so impish and delightful.

We had planned to take her to a toy store to pick out a special toy on her day. She surprised us both when she said she would rather have dinner at Korea House with us instead. She wanted chicken fried rice, her favorite. "I want to have dinner with my own family", she said. She walked into the restaurant with a tiara announcing that it was her birthday. Our birthday month is over and I'm having trouble letting it go so I put it all down here.