Bumbaugh Fun: Birthday Party for Princess Ava

Well, now from Ava's perspective. . . She came to the party dressed up like Cinderella. She even had her glass slippers on her feet (though they were too small) and her tiara on her head. She was so super excited when she arrived realizing that this party was for her. She had been anticipating this day for such a long time. She couldn't wait to see her gorgeous princess cake that Nana made up for her.

Nana made her this princess cake with Barbies and Princesses all around. The Table had Ava's official Princess wand that Cinderella gave her while eating at the Castle in Disney. We also had the Picture of Ava and Cinderella framed on the table for display. She was so proud of her very own cake table. :)

Some of the "little" guests gathered around the cake table in honor of Princess Ava's Birthday. Left to Right: Lilly, Lucy, Alexis, Ava, Ty, Christian, Callista, and Reece. There were a few guests that didn't make it into the picture, but it was a valiant effort.

Her first big moment was when Grandma Bumbaugh walked around the corner, wearing a Cinderella dress costume. She was so pretty and Ava kind of stared in amazement. How exciting!! Her Grandma loves her very much to rent the costume and come dressed as Cinderella, just to see her smile.

Then the other guests started arriving in their princess dresses too. We had Lilly, Olivia, Alexis, Sofia, Lucy, Calli and Kelsey. Ava got to hand each of them a inflatable princess wand and then the boys got the inflatable swords. They were a hit. Titus came dressed as Ava's Super Hero since that is what she calls him. Then Christian dressed up like her knight in shining armor. The other boys that came were Westin, Ty, Reece, and then many other adult and teenager guests. It was a great turn out.

Ava's Very Own Cinderella and Knight in Shining Armor. :) Christian was so proud of his little outfit and I was pretty pleased myself since I wasn't sure I was going to get him to the party without dressing like his sister. He wanted to wear one of her princess dresses, then he saw the sword and that was all it took. He was now her Brave Knight.

We had to take a few of the "princess" pictures. What a group. Of course, Christian had to jump in these also. Couldn't miss out on all the very pretty princesses. What can I say.

Here she is with her Cousin Renee who dressed like a beautiful Cinderella for her also. This was during the windstorm as we were to capture the pictures and the moments.

Cousin Kelsey also came dressed as a gorgeous young princess. Ava just loved seeing all the princesses arriving. We didn't get to lay out our red carpet for their arrival as planned due to the wind, but she loved it just the same.

Our first activity was the colored rice as per Ava's request. The day before we colored a lot of rice so the kids could do the rice activity. They could use the glue to make whatever design on the paper and then the rice to cover the glue and make a design. That was a hit, until the wind blew it all away. However the kids did enjoy it and even a few of the adults. :)

The kids ended up LOVING the wind storm and they grabbed the table clothes off the tables and used them as kites, as I mentioned last entry. The Sun set was gorgeous too.

One other thing Ava had been asking for was a "maniata" as she would say it. She meant a pinata. She loved these and so we ordered her a Princess Tiara shaped one. We didn't get a ton of good shots of this because they were action shots, but we did have fun. We didn't even blindfold the kids because they were all so little. We gave them a broom handle and let them each swing at it three times or if you were Reece and Titus, then you hit it until someone stopped you. ;) All boys, those two. :) Finally, we let Renee and Isaac have their chance and Isaac broke the broom handle. Then we just surrendered and had "Cinderella" (Grandma) throw out candy for a candy scramble. Then we opened presents, where Ava made out like a bandit and the party was over.

We did have a blast and I was so excite that Ava enjoyed it so much. I was also truly glad it was over, since my mind had been planning this for months. I felt bad it was more crazy and not quite as organized as I had planned but what can you do. The kids did have fun and I am so glad we had one for her. Ava wants a party just like this one, again next year.

Here are a few pics and some fun moments to end of this party blog. Thanks to all who helped make this possible for Princess Ava.