a NEMO third birthday

Sunday evening was absolutely beautiful, just like the day we brought Blythe home from the hospital. This was the first time I've done a "theme" party, as Blythe had mentioned a "Nemo party" and my sister urged me to try the theme thing. I didn't go overboard [< jokes!] and have themed food, but the look in Blythe's eyes when she saw all the decorations was pretty great.

Also, before I show you pictures I will remind you that Finding Nemo came out my Senior year of High School: eleven years ago. Which means the only Nemo items I could actually purchase in the store were fruit snacks. So we just kind of went with colors and Blythe helped me make a lot. 

Now-- pictures! 

Blythe was born during March Madness-- actually, she was born the night the Jayhawks clenched their ticket to the Elite 8, and later went on to play for [and lose :(] the National Championship. It was fitting that her 3rd birthday party fell on the day they played in the tournament again. Brent recorded the game, informed all our guests he didn't want to know the score, turned off his phone, and managed to not find out until he watched later.
He helped get things ready for the party and occasionally had to stop and check scores. 

the only legit Nemo at our party

When Kali and I were younger, we always woke up to a poster on our birthday, courtesy of my dad. I asked him to make one for Blythe and he delivered!

Blythe helped make these Nemos/Marlins! 

I even had some M&Ms left over from the cupcakes ;) Thanks for your support on yesterday's post; I'm glad I'm not alone.
By the way, I feel like I could also write a post about how I felt like it was such a splurge to buy that number candle. 

Caroline and Ellie mailed Blythe some pictures for her party!

My mom let us borrow her Keurig and we had an awesome coffee bar

One of my favorite things about moving back "home" was knowing that my kids would get to have family birthday parties. I love it for them because that is exactly what I had growing up. Blythe was totally in her element because she knew and loved everyone, and was known and loved by them all in return. As much fun as it would be to have some of her friends/our friends come celebrate with us, being surrounded by family is the best.

praying before eating

I absolutely love the look that little kids have when everyone is singing them "Happy Birthday." It's part excitement and wonder, part terror and humiliation. Do we ever grow out of this? 

Oh and this girl? Just happened to strike a girl out for the last out of the game in DIVISION freaking TWO softball earlier that day. Dangerous South Paw pitcher by day, Nemo party by night. [Also, this is one of Blythe's namesakes :)] 

One of our favorites, Nini Pat

I made sure Blythe only had ONE cupcake and a little ice cream, as a lot proved to be a poor decision last year [scroll to bottom of THIS post for that story]. 

Becks maybe thought the party was also for her, and made sure to use her wily charms to get as much of the good stuff as she good. We'll be celebrating her big ONE year in another month. 

By the way, Brent's family doesn't mess around with feeding children: they want a bite of your dessert? You give them a real bite! :) 

My sister made this baby carrier for Blythe. Everyone ooohhed and awwwwed and talked about how talented she is and my dad maybe even threw out the term "Peale Scholar", and I was like, "But I made BLUE PUNCH!!" 

Since before Christmas Blythe has said she wanted a BLUE bike. I almost gave up looking for a girl blue bike, but finally found one :) 

Pat has a knack for sitting in the perfect lighting for pictures

I'm always so happy when I see her with her namesake: PopPop Beck. 

Blythe got a sandbox from Nini and PopPop but was willing to share with her sister

We finished the evening by returning inside for a big performance from Elsa. Even with 15 people watching, she did not miss a beat and hammed it up. 

As my mom's uncle used to always say at the end of the day, "What a birthday!"