We had several jewels left from K’s royal party, so I set them out and let the girls have fun with them. K. also had some large paper dolls that she had gotten for her birthday to adorn.
Can you stand the cuteness? She totally knows that she is cute and uses it to her advantage.
And a beautiful candid moment from K:
Such focus and concentration!
“Look what I did, Mama!”
We went to the Children’s Museum with K’s good friend from school. There is a gigantic Transformer in the entrance who K. recognized (thanks, Dad!).
One of the girls’ favorite things to do was to ride the carousel.
One of K’s friends got her a nightgown with a matching doll nightgown for her birthday. K. wasted no time in dressing both of them up, and they’re adorable!
For her birthday, K. got two of the same princess activity notebooks, which turned out to be perfect for sharing with her sister. One evening, we punched out the paper dolls and the girls colored them, then set them up and played. Fun!
Post-birthday party, the girls had a great time playing with the leftover balloons. Pinks and red are K’s favorite colors, so we chose those for decorations.
K. had a “Royal” birthday party for her fifth birthday. She had originally requested a princess party, but since many of her friends are boys, we opted for a royal theme. Many of the guests dressed in royal attire, and as an opening craft, we adorned crowns with jewels.
There was also a royal obstacle course.
Isn’t little J. the cutest!
Of course, K. had fun opening gifts (and you can see her crown that she made). The pony in N’s hand was claimed by her pretty much the moment K. opened it, and she carried it around for the rest of the party. K. politely shared.
K. got a new Lalaloopsy doll (Pillow Featherbed, who is her favorite). She said, “I used to have two dolls…”
Auntie D. got some heart-shaped glow glasses for the girls, so we had a glow party in the basement.
We invited our friends from next door, and Dad busted out all of the glow sticks he had. We pulled out a black light, highlighters, and posterboard for drawing. It was actually quite fun, and we need to do it again.
Thanks, Auntie D, for the glasses and inspiration!
The princess turned five (!) and we had a celebration with family. I didn’t do a very good job of taking pictures, but she had a great time anyway.
So excited to receive an American Girl doll from Grandma and Grandpa A!
K. and N. got umbrellas and despite the risk of bad luck, promptly tried them out inside.
Grandpa L. read to K. and her new doll.
Happy birthday, sweet girl!
I took some pictures of one of my friend’s children, and had my own children in tow. Here are some of the outtakes, both posed (when I was trying to find a good light) and some random ones. 
