Happy Birthday to Harper!!!

My blonde haired baby girl isn't a baby anymore. In my mind I still picture her like this:

A sweet little preschooler with bouncy curls and a smile that never left her face.  However, I blinked and she's grown up to be a sweet and sporty seven year old with a little bit of sass.  The saying is true for her...she's made up of a both sugar and spice!

When we started thinking about her birthday party she knew immediately what she wanted to do.  She wanted a sleepover with her best friends.  She also had very specific ideas about what she wanted to do at her party.  So much so that she wrote it all down for me to refer to as I planned the details of her party.  My type A planning might have rubbed off on her just a little. ;-)

I set up the dining room as our party room and she was so excited to come home from school and see all the decorations just for her!

When the girls first arrived they took off to Harper's room and played a bit.  While they were busy playing I got everything set up for the scavenger hunt.  I had made up clues to lead the girls around the house.  At the end they would find a special prize!

They LOVED this activity.  I had about 12 clues and I wish I would have done twice as many because it really was fun for all of them.  They were also really good about taking turns reading the clues and working together to figure out where to go next.  It was the simplest activity, but their favorite, by far.

At the end they found their prize, matching pajamas!  These also doubled as their party favors.  Harper and her friends love to match, so I knew they would be excited about all wearing the same pajamas to sleep in that night.

Next it was about time for dinner.  We ordered pizza and the girls toasted with sparkling cider.

A couple of weeks ago I found this pink glassware that was in the back of a closet at Gigi and Papa's house. I don't know how I forgot about it, but my Memaw gave them to me just after I was married. I used to use at it her house as a little girl so I knew as soon as I found it that I wanted to use it at Harper's party.

Instead of having cupcakes or cake, Harper really wanted to go for frozen yogurt so that is what we did. I had the girls in my car and the boys went in the truck.  They loaded up their cups and giggled the whole time.

When we got back they changed into their PJ's and she opened her gifts.  I loved the smaller setting with just a few friends!  Next they decided on a movie and I felt like I constantly was refilling their popcorn bowls.

Finally it was time for bed. I let them set a timer for 15 minutes to "talk" and then told them they needed to go to bed.  They were still up giggling past that time and I knew they all had to be exhausted so I sat in the room with them so they would stop talking and they were all fast asleep within minutes.

The next morning they woke up bright and early, but thankfully they were happy to play a little on their own before they were ready for breakfast.  That gave me time to get the waffle bar and other goodies ready.

They had just a little while longer to play before it was time for everyone to get dressed and go home.  Then I was ready for a nap!  I mentioned to Harper that I was tried and she told me she was more than tired...she was exhausted.  I asked her if it was worth it though and the huge smile on her face gave me the answer.  She felt special, love being the birthday girl, and was happily surrounded by her closest friends to celebrate her big day. Yes, it was a lot of work for me, but it was worth it!

She spent her actual birthday in the car with Gigi and Papa on the way home from Florida, but they made her feel extra special during the day and then when they got here we celebrated with her favorite dinner of tacos and brownies for dessert.

Today I helped in her class and stuck around for her birthday celebration at school.  We passed out cookies to her classmates and they all sang happy birthday to her.  I think she had a wonderful week of celebrating and I can hardly believe she is seven!