Recently, we celebrated Vivi's third birthday (seriously, can't believe she is three!).  I asked her what she wanted for her party and she said "cupcakes," so that left a lot of room for extra fun details.  Her birthday is in November, and here in Georgia that equals getting dark early and chilly-but-not-too-cold nights.  For her first two birthdays, we celebrated in the backyard and watched a movie, and it's a fun tradition to continue.  I hope you don't mind the complete photo overload.  Sara Harper did such an awesome job of capturing everything!

We set out several toddler sized tables (we somehow have quite a few play tables on hand, and added in a couple of low benches, and Daddy/Grandpa custom built a really adorable 8 foot long banquet table!).  The tables were set with bamboo plates and forks, pink and white straws, a wooden necklace, and a feather headdress.  The name of the party was "Viva la Vivi" and we watched Peter Pan so everything had sort of a fiesta/lost boys/Tiger Lily mashup feel.

The long banquet table was stained a pickled white, and the other tables were covered in kraft paper, to keep a consistent, natural feel.  My talented friend Lindsay Coletta put together the absolutely gorgeous florals in cute little cans.  I'm completely crazy about the way they turned out!

The necklaces were really fun.  I used these beads (along with some black ones), painted the flat sides, and strung them on mason twine or suede cord.  They were really cute on all the girls, and a fun party favor!

We strung lights up everywhere to add to the magic, and to keep it bright enough after the sun set.

The food was pretty simple; Vivi's only request was cupcakes, so we had strawberry cupcakes, a selection of fruit, chips and salsa, and hot dogs, and coffee to keep the grownups warm.  I kind of like not over-stressing about the food!  The kids are easy to please, so I like to keep that simple and make the rest feel like magic.

My Uncle Jimmy was kind enough to let us borrow Porky for the kids to ride.  It was quite a hit, and the kids had to put in a dime for each ride.  So cute!

When it got dark, we turned on Peter Pan.  The kids were completely mesmerized, and cuddled up on fluffy rugs and blankets and munched on their hot dogs and cupcakes.  The curtains around the screen are the playroom curtains, by the way.

It was such a fun night, and such a blast celebrating my sweet girl.  You have changed my life, little Peanut, and I couldn't be more thankful you came to live with us!