Nixon is officially 5!!!

We finally had Nixon's

 5th birthday party!

Because of the holidays 

and the arrival of 

her little sister the party was 

delayed a couple of months. 

For an entire year she has been

 planning her birthday party.

She made it very clear she wanted a

 Rapunzel party at her house,

everyone to spend the night and

 dress-up like princesses.

She also wanted everyone's nails

& make-up done. 

She insisted (even though her 

birthday was in December) 

that she was not 5

until she had cake and 

blew out her candles!

After a few weeks with a 

new baby I decided

a slumber party with 

4 and 5 year olds

was not the best idea.

So I convinced Nixon that the

 girls could come and stay 

really late, until 9 o'clock!

(that's almost midnight!)

My plan was to do a very 

simple party at the

house. We invited a

 several little girls

 from church and our 

neighbor Hadley.

Unfortunately, a couple

 of her friends 

were not able to make it. 

I started by making this

 simple but cute invitation!

I was most excited about the

 topiary I made out of 

cupcake wrappers even 

though it turned out a little

lopsided!

While I made the topiary Haley

 hot glued cupcake wrappers to 

a cardboard 5.

It turned out way cuter than my topiary!

Because the party started 

out as a slumber party 

I decided for party favors I would 

make all the girls Rapunzel pajama pants.

JoAnne's ran out of Rapunzel fabric so a few

girls got Princess fleece instead.

"Nixon wants to say 

THANK YOU

for making her birthday so much fun!

Enjoy your Princess PJs tonight

& SWEET DREAMS

to everyone! "

(thanks Nina for helping me with the rhyme)

Nixon in her new PJs!

Nixon showing what she would 

look like sleeping

in her new PJs!

We had fun decorating!

I have  accumulated a lot of princess

decor so I did not have to buy much.

I finally used my new Cricut 

I got for Christmas! 

For plates I hot-glued plastic knives to black

paper pates to make frying pans like the ones

Rapunzel uses to hit Flynn Ryder 

with in the movie "Tangled"!

Nicole came over earlier that afternoon

and saw I was a little overwhelmed

(Lottie had been sick all week)

so she took my Rapunzel hair and 

braided it for me!

Haley made candied marshmallows 

served in a frying pan.

Nina bought cookies from LuLu's Sweet Expectations.

Her sugar cookies are a-mazing!!!

(Jared ate most of them)

I made jello boats with corona sails. 

(from when in the movie

 Flynn Rider and Rapunzel 

go out on the boat together)

I attempted to make a ham and cheese braid. 

I am not a cook but this time 

I completely blame our 

oven for this failure! 

I could not get the inside to 

cook so Jared ended up

going to McDonalds and getting 

chicken nuggets for the kids.

The cake was wonderful!!!

In fact, Nicole and I agree 

it was the best we have ever had!

We also got it from LuLu's.

We also served purple grapes, purple gummies, 

and grape koolaide. 

When the girls arrived we 

had an art project for them 

just like Rapunzel 

painted in her tower. 

Instead of letting the kids paint freely 

I found a cute Handprint Princess Crown idea.

We couldn't leave Lottie out

of the painting!

The finished paintings!

Handprint Princess Crowns

After the girls painted they

 lined up to enter the

"Princess Parlor"

We transformed the girls bedroom 

into the Princess Parlor where Haley,

Erica, and Ellie were waiting

 to transform the girls into princesses.

They entered and chose 

their favorite dress 

and shoes!

They visited "Rapunzel's Hair Station"

Haley braided the girls hair and

gave them each a flower. 

Nixon was very specific 

that Rapunzel had flowers in her 

hair and they needed them too!

Ellie was in charge of make-up.

Erica painted the girl's nails 

at "Cinderella's Nail Station".

The girls also got to accessorize 

with a crown, bracelets and rings.

Most of the night was spent

 in the Princess Parlor!

Isla putting on her own makeup!

Nixon adding a little more shimmer!

Hadley really liked the bracelets!

All the girls looked beautiful!

Lottie even got a crown!

After getting all dolled up,

 the girls lined up for their beauty walk!

Rapunzel a.k.a.

Nixon Grace

Sleeping Beauty

a.k.a. Ava

Barbie a.k.a.

Maggie

Snow White a.k.a.

Isla

Barbie a.k.a.

Hadley

Tiana a.k.a.

Libby

All the princesses!

Crazy pose!

After they all were 

transformed into princesses

it was time to eat!

Nixon's favorite- grapes!

Isla liked the marshmallows!

Time for cake! 

(and Nixon to blow out her candles and 

officially become 5 years old!)

She picked out her candles!

Nixon wanted to eat Rapunzel!

After eating the delicious cake 

it was time for presents.

As you can see she loved all her gifts!

In the movie "Tangled" every

 year on Rapunzel's

birthday they let lanterns 

go in the sky. 

I saw many ideas to imitate this 

but I was afraid to use real fire 

in a neighborhood so I decided to 

tie glow sticks to yellow balloons.

We went outside and sang

 Happy Birthday to Nixon 

and let our "lanterns" go!

The kids loved it! Unfortunately my 

camera did not work to get a picture

of the lanterns floating into the air.

Thankfully is was a rare February night and

 it was about 70 degrees outside!

After we came in the girls discovered

what they like more than 

getting makeovers was to give them!

Erica was a good sport and allowed the girls

to do her hair and makeup!

She made a beautiful princess!

I got my turn to become a princess!

Isla did my nails!

Nixon, Maggie, and Libby fixed my make-up.

I think the girls are going to need a few 

make-up tips before they become teenagers!

The girls had a wonderful time!

At the end of the night the 

girls climbed into their

sleeping bags to watch

 the movie "Tangled". 

They had popcorn, m&m's

 and juice as 

they enjoyed the movie!

We ended up with our 1st 

overnight guests ever!

Libby and Ava decided to stay the night!

I think by the end of the night

I fulfilled all of Nixon's 

birthday wishes but I was only able

to do it with the big help of

 Haley, Nicole, Erica and Ellie!

Jared and I are very thankful 

we were able to 

give Nixon the birthday party

 she wished for.

 I asked Nixon what 

her favorite part was? 

She said it was everyone

singing Happy Birthday to 

her and watching

the lanterns go up in the sky. 

(all the girls were talking

about the lanterns after the party)

At the beginning of the party she told us, 

"I didn't know my party was going to 

be THIS fabulous!"

That of course made us smile.

It's easy for me to get a little stressed

about the details

when planning birthday parties. 

I had to remind myself that day of why I 

was doing this and it wasn't about having

the perfect party or even the cutest but it

was about giving Nixon a special day.

Hopefully we gave a party that made her feel

as loved and as special as she really is.

We are also happy we

 can now officially say,

Happy 5th 

Birthday Nixon!!!!