Daniel has had the most parties...because I didn't know yet how lazy I was. Daniel's last party was at 8 years old. Nathan's only birthday party was when he turned 8. Leah was really looking forward to her birthday party (for about 2 years).
I heard someone mention that they have promised their kids birthday parties at 8, 12, and 16 (the "big" years). I thought that was reasonable. I have adopted it as my own plan. That means our next party will be in June, when Daniel turns 12 and then we won't have another one until August next year when Rebekah turns 8. (Of course, we celebrate as a family. I am referring to inviting friends.)
Another guideline for parties I use is one guest per year of age. So Leah was forming a guest list of 8 girls. Leah is very social and this was a hard list for her to form! In the end, I allowed her to add one more.
Not surprisingly, we were having a horse-themed event. It started with the invitations.
Of 9 invited guests, 8 girls arrived (but we were prepared for all 9). I think I can remember when people knew what "R.S.V.P." on the invitation meant. With Leah and Rebekah, we had 10 little girls and LOTS of giggles!
We played a couple of games. This one was a version of horseshoes. I thought bean bags would be a lot better to throw inside that horseshoes.
We also played "Pin the Tail on the Horse." I think we got the hardest laugh when Rebekah's "tail" ended up in front of the horse!
We had asked each girl to bring a toy horse for a horse show. We had quite a variety of horses!
When it was time for presents, Sarah was center-stage. We made her in charge of picking out which present Leah would open next. This way, we didn't have to worry about her opening the presents while we weren't looking (and she would...because she's naughty!). :) She handed the presents to Leah faster than Leah could get them open!
Leah has got a cute bunch of friends.
While we opened presents, Chad, Daniel, and Nathan (and Joseph) were judging the horses. They were deciding the award for each horse on the spot. I knew they were going to get silly with that. We had awards for fanciest, nicest, happiest, fluffiest, fastest, sparkliest, etc.
After presents were opened and horse show awards were presented, it was time for cupcakes and ice cream! After the horse cake I'd made the week before, I was all for cupcakes! We stuck a horse head silhouette in each one and called it good.
We also played "Pin the Tail on the Horse." I think we got the hardest laugh when Rebekah's "tail" ended up in front of the horse!
We had asked each girl to bring a toy horse for a horse show. We had quite a variety of horses!
When it was time for presents, Sarah was center-stage. We made her in charge of picking out which present Leah would open next. This way, we didn't have to worry about her opening the presents while we weren't looking (and she would...because she's naughty!). :) She handed the presents to Leah faster than Leah could get them open!
Leah has got a cute bunch of friends.
While we opened presents, Chad, Daniel, and Nathan (and Joseph) were judging the horses. They were deciding the award for each horse on the spot. I knew they were going to get silly with that. We had awards for fanciest, nicest, happiest, fluffiest, fastest, sparkliest, etc.
After presents were opened and horse show awards were presented, it was time for cupcakes and ice cream! After the horse cake I'd made the week before, I was all for cupcakes! We stuck a horse head silhouette in each one and called it good.
Who wants strawberry ice cream?
Even though the invitation said to wear your hair in a pony tail, Leah insisted on pig tails. Which I guess is fine since I'd totally forgotten about her hair anyway and it was hanging down while all her friends arrived with their hair up!
I guess 10 little girls at one table was too much for the "men" to handle. They took their refreshment in the living room.
It was a two-hour party, but we were done after 90 minutes. The girls all went outside to play afterward until their families came to get them. That was fine since winter still hadn't arrived and there wasn't any snow to keep them from having fun.
Even though the invitation said to wear your hair in a pony tail, Leah insisted on pig tails. Which I guess is fine since I'd totally forgotten about her hair anyway and it was hanging down while all her friends arrived with their hair up!
I guess 10 little girls at one table was too much for the "men" to handle. They took their refreshment in the living room. 
It was a two-hour party, but we were done after 90 minutes. The girls all went outside to play afterward until their families came to get them. That was fine since winter still hadn't arrived and there wasn't any snow to keep them from having fun.
I think Leah really enjoyed her first birthday party. And after her actual birthday and then her baptism, I was glad it was all over! :)
Yeah, after all that party anyone would be tired. The party also reminded me of my school years. With so many students and too much to do, I was glad to get home where there was only my little sister and my mom.
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