Marvelly is SIX!!!!

Marvelly turned six years old this week- and we did a whole lot of celebrating!

Last Sunday we had a very special party in honor of her upcoming day. And not just any party, but an all girl princess party!

There were fourteen of some of Marvelly's favorite girlfriends, plus herself and Sydaleigh. And my oh my was that ever a lot of sweetness in one place!

For the festivities we decorated crowns and wands, because no princess party is complete without jewel encrusted tiaras and scepters.

The girls also decorated crown and castle cut out sugar cookies.

Isaak arranged for a popcorn and cotton candy machine to be there....which was awesome, the girls loved it!

Marvelly had never had cotton candy before, a new first for her!

We played "pin the kiss on the frog"

And then everyone took a blindfolded turn banging up a castle pinata!

No one was able to break it open, even when I let them hit it without a blindfold....

so I finished it off with a couple hard whacks and the girls scurried all over the yard picking up the goodies!

I made a Sofia the First birthday cake because Marvelly just loves Sofia right now-it is actually both girls newest Disney obsession. And it was only fitting to have a Sofia cake for her princess party.

And while the kids ate their cake and ice cream the adults had some fun of their own, smashing another pinata that we never used from last year!

We filled it with some more grown up friendly items like taco seasoning packet, granola bars and chap stick! We had a blast!

Everyone had a fantastic time. Mr. Seth and Miss Rebecca came for her special day too at Marvelly's request. Marvelly made it clear that no boys could come, only grown up boys like daddy and Mr. Seth. The girls played and ran around the yard and had a ball. It was in the low 100's the day of the party, but fortunately our heavily treed back yard provided a great amount of shade so no one roasted too badly! We sure do love our backyard, we have certainly made good use of it!

Daddy being silly and the girls wondering what he's doing!

Group photo with the birthday girl!

After the party was over and all the guests left we quietly returned to the house to open up presents. Quietly. Ahh, that is the first time we have opened presents this way...and we all preferred it to the chaos of trying to open gifts with everyone crowding around.

On Tuesday, bright and early we woke her up to breakfast and presents in bed as tradition dictates! She was a little groggy as we woke her up at 5:50am but quickly perked up!

Later on that day I went to the school and brought some cupcakes for her class and we celebrated together with her teacher and all her friends from school. She got to wear a special birthday crown and all the kids made her a birthday book with notes and pictures.

That evening the celebration continued with our own family. The girls helped decorate a little cake I made left over from the cupcake batter.

We sang happy birthday, had more cake and ice cream, opened up two special gifts I had been saving,

...one of which was The Ant Bully, a movie she had been asking for for so long! She was very happy! And we ended the evening with family movie night watching her special new show. It was a grand day. She felt very loved and special and we were honored to be able to celebrate her life.

This little lady is such a joy. She just loves life. She keep me laughing so hard all day. I love this picture because I feel like it perfectly depicts her personality. This is her smile. Her one of a kind Marvelly smile. I love her little mouth and teeth. Her crazy wild hair. The way she giggles. She is a very literal person. She wants to be a mommy when she grows up. She loves everything that has to do with Sydaleigh, her absolute best friend. She never stops moving. If I had a pouch like a kangaroo for her to crawl in she'd be cozied up in that thing all day. If she's not sitting on you, she's not close enough. Close proximity and quality time are her love languages. She moves at her own pace, which is often the slowest. She eats ice cream like Isaak. She likes to eat with her hands, like Burkinabé. She's such a unique little person. If she doesn't feel like talking to you, she'll just ignore you. Her hair is down to the middle of her butt. She's a spunky little thing. She loves school so much and adores spending time with all her friends. Alice in Wonderland is her favorite movie.

She's our little Marvelly. We're blessed to have the honor of loving her.