A Minnie Mouse Party

Prepare yourself for a photo extravaganza! We gave our camera to Sheila, an expert photographer, and ended up with some great photos of Ruthie's party. Thank you, Sheila! It was a wonderful time and Ruthie enjoyed every minute of it. As the title indicates, it was a Minnie Mouse party. First, Ruthie loves going to Disneyland. Second, she has a darling Minnie Mouse onesie that she looks so cute in. =) Third, it's just such a cute theme, how could I resist?

But first, let me start with the foot. That is egg salad sandwiches (Ruthie LOVES eggs), chicken salad on croissants (she loves chicken), fruit and chips (which she did not get to eat). Prior to lunch, we had appetizers of cheese and crackers, mostly because cheese is Ruthie's absolute favorite food (and her first word, coincidentally) and because mice like cheese, too. It was a Minnie Mouse party, after all.

And here are the Minnie Mouse cupcakes.

And the tables - I did simple centerpieces using my mom's red and white polka dot teapots and carnations.

Here is a shot of the back patio - you can't quite make it out, but there is a very cute pennant banner that says Happy B-Day which Heather gave to me. It is made of chalk paper, so you can change the wording. It is now hanging inside the family room and says Merry Christmas. =)

Here she is, mooching some cheese off Uncle Peter, who seemed quite willing to share with the birthday girl.

I didn't take any photos of it, only video, but we played two games. First, the "take everything out" game, which consisted of two boxes filled with the same number of toys. Each team sent a cousin down to take out one item, fling it on the ground, then run and tag off with another cousin. Ruthie's favorite game is taking things out - DVDs, dishes from the dishwasher, toys from her box, Tupperware ..you name it. If it's in something, she wants to take it out.

The second game was a dance off - Ruthie also loves music and dancing, so we played "You Say It's Your Birthday" and all the cousins danced, taking turns in the spotlight. It was priceless. Some of Ruthie's cousins can really shake their grove thing. =)

She LOVED when everyone sang to her - it was like she knew the whole party was about her. And why shouldn't it be? Every day is about her.

This is her face after licking some icing off the candle - I think it was a bit too sweet, since she shuddered a little after she swallowed.

But the cupcake itself, oh, did she enjoy it.

A little family photo...

She also did a great job opening the presents. She actually tried her hand at unwrapping them, and wanted to play with what was inside. Everyone was SO generous and she received some truly lovely gifts.

Here is the aftermath of all the presents, and her many cousins there to help her enjoy it. She's holding up a little Minnie bath toy that my parents gave her, which she really loves.

It was a wonderful party and we had a great time celebrating our girl.

Tonight, on her actual birthday, we will sing her silly Ruthie song, let her have another little piece of a cupcake and eat spaghetti, another of her favorite foods. I'm telling you, by the time this birthday and Christmas are over, she's going to wonder why January is so boring (and devoid of presents). But thankfully, she's a cheerful girl who is pretty much happy with anything, so I'm not too worried about it.

Happy Birthday, little Bugaboo! We love you!!