Clara's Sixth Birthday Party

How did we get here? Clara is about to celebrate her sixth birthday tomorrow! So we invited some friends over this weekend to help commemorate the occasion.

The calm before the storm.

Jack warms up for the festivities with a little pre-party trampolining. 

Balloons! I'm disappointed I didn't get a better shot because the "fancy" one fit our party perfectly. It was a flower in a pot with "Happy Birthday" written on it. And yesterday afternoon when the kids were running around with the balloons in the backyard, the balloon detached from the weight and are currently residing in our oak tree. Clara thinks the flower pot is waving at us.

The guests began to arrive, and all the kids played around the yard for awhile. Jack and his buddy Orson play in the sand box with Eliza.

Clara and Sophie look as Lucie prepares to ride the back yard coaster.

Next up: gardening! Each girl was given a yellow ceramic pot, gardening gloves, and a spade. First they decorated the pots with stickers and paint pens. Then they filled them with dirt and added a few Zinnia seeds.

Janie, Clara, Eliza, & Kierstin decorate their pots.

Janie, Sarah Jane, Kierstin, Ella, and Eliza plant their seeds.

After the planting was finished and the garden gloves were shed, lunch of hot dogs, strawberries, chips/ guac was served. Then came the moment Clara had been asking me about since she stopped asking me how long it was until her friends would arrive... cake! Clara very specifically requested an Oreo ice cream cake like the one that Nay-nay had, so we obliged.

Happy Birthday to Clara!

Presents! Carmen was very excited to give hers to Clara.

Clara loved opening them with all her friends.

 Clara checks out her new pillow pet.

Clara opens her gift her gift from Kierstin as she and Kelsey look on.

Bidding a last farewell to her guests, the birthday princess gives a smile to the camera.

And Mommy & Daddy survived our first parents at which not every guest was accompanied by a parent. Phew! Luckily a handful of moms stayed, and we were very glad to have them.

Later on out back Jack & Clara open the Xtreme Sticker Maker Set and crank out some stickers. Meghan hangs around drinking their juice boxes and generally gets in the way.

Out of her cute party outfit without even a picture to show for it, Meghan relaxes in some more backyard appropriate gear with her xth juice box of the day. She really loved grabbing them out of the cooler.

And just for fun, flashback to Clara's fifth, fourth, third, and second birthday parties. Look how much she and her friends have grown!