Party like it's your birthday!

Well, normally, I would just have a small simple family party for a 3 year old. However, our nearest relatives are a 10+ hour drive away and most aren't even in the next time zone, we decided to have some friends over to celebrate Grace's big day. I always feel like her birthday is a bit of an anniversary for me too. As any first-time mom can say, my life changed quite a bit on the day she was born and I feel the need to be celebratory for myself a little too. Having said that, the birthday party was all about Grace for sure...

Grace's favorite people here in Massachusetts are by far the Whatcott and McConnon families. She bonded to the Whatcotts really tightly when we house-sat and nannied for them last fall. She has also bonded (as have I) to the McConnon family as we have spent a large chunk of the last year at Rita's barn and in turn with her sons. 14 year old Coleman is a special pal of Grace's and is so cute with her. There aren't many junior high boys that would be willing to go to a party for a 3 year old girl, but he is a really great kid and genuinely likes spending time with Grace. We are so lucky to know such awesome people.

Outside of people, Grace's favorite things are trains, specifically Thomas the Tank Engine trains. So, we had a themed party for her complete with a few new engines, Thomas videos, a Thomas cake, and all the accessories. We also had everyone over for dinner before-hand and had a candle-light dinner in the dining room. Grace loves candle-light dinners. As seems to be tradition, I hand-decorated a cake for her. So far, I've done Elmo and Winnie the Pooh. Thomas proved to be a bit harder than the last two to make, but Grace seemed to think he turned out ok, so that's all that matters.

Everyone we invited is quite a bit older than she is, but she loves all of them so much and they are all so good to her. They played trains with her and brought her really nice and very thoughtful gifts. They really made her day. She said several times "oh, I'm so happy!" and "I am so lucky!" She knows she's blessed and I'm glad she doesn't take anything for granted. She is very good at saying thank you and I know she feels true gratitude for her friends and for the things she has.

She continues to be utterly spoiled by family members as well. You would have thought it was Christmas at our house with the pile of packages that we collected from the mailbox each day. We are so grateful for everyone who remembered her and who put so much thought into making sure she had a great birthday.