Tuesday, September 17, 2013

our fancy cowgirl turned four!

somehow we have a 4 year old. 4 years ago she came rushing into our lives, and the world would shine brighter, with those eyes, that smile, and that ridiculous personality. oh eliza june! you are a blessing.

eliza had been talking about her birthday for about 6 months. she told everyone, and invited them all to her "fancy dancy" birthday party. 
a few weeks before the party, the day after nana bought the first fancy item...she changed her mind. she wanted a cowgirl party. 
since james was going to be gone for her actual birthday, i decided to let her have a fancy party with her little friends, and then we would have a cowgirl party for family when james got back.

but then hattie got croup...and was exposed to the chicken pox, and at the risk of infecting more people we had to postpone her fancy party. 

i felt so bad, but eliza wasn't too upset. still young enough to just be happy with a few of her favorite people, ice cream, balloons, and some presents. 

of course we started the morning off with birthday pancakes. her favorite color is purple, but they turned out more gray...she didn't seem to mind! neither did hattie!
she got to open one present that morning.

then we had a little 4 year photo shoot while waiting for nana and papa to get there. dressed her up in her fancy shoes and crown.

i am not big on characters, so i went with more of a subtle fancy nancy theme. inspired by. if you are familiar with the books you might catch them. (the shoes, the crown, the ice cream sundae bar)
made these lace crowns as part of the party favors. thanks to pinterest for the idea! i'll post the other party favors when we have our fancy playdate.
how are you 4? my little bean!

nana and papa came with balloons, so of course we had to get some pics with those. then aunt whit, enola, deandra and reese came (they all had croup already) and we celebrated the 4 year old!
cousins and best friends! 7 weeks apart.

back inside for dinner and the ice cream sundae bar. thanks nana for making delicious chicken noodle soup!
aunt whit made this carrier for eliza. i'm always hauling hattie in the ergo, so now she gets to carry dandra!
she kept talking about how nana was going to buy her boots. she also insisted she needed a lasso. i wish i would have gotten a video of her opening the boots. she couldn't put them on fast enough, then she stood up and let out the longest "yeeeeeeeeehaw!" 

i don't really know where this obsession started, but it's pretty cute! 

papa took them outside to demonstrate the art of lassoing. eliza got maggs, and i'm sure he was thinking "oh great...this will be fun."
our little cowgirl!

later that night, she started getting sick. by saturday (the day of her cowgirl party) she was miserable. it was so sad. we warned everyone, and some opted to keep their kids away (i don't blame them!) but we still made the most of it. james was here, and we wanted to celebrate with him!

eliza hasn't been sick too often, and now that she's older, it was a lot harder this time. the coughing really seemed to bother her, and she just wanted to lay down. she hung in there for awhile, but as the party went on she just needed snuggles. she also had no voice! so when she saw the bike from grannie it was another "wish i was video taping" moment. she clasped her hands together up near her chest and whispered as loud as she could "a new bike!" so sweet.

we had cowboy food, decorated sheriff badges, rode on our old wonder horse, and the new see saw james built. (another pinterest score!) she randomly asked for one a few weeks back, and i found some plans.

all in all it was a fun time. wish she would have been feeling better, and wish all her friends and family could have been there, but she enjoyed it, and so did we!
decorated with a bunch of stuff i found around the house that morning. the cowgirl was mine, and nana sent her the cowboy after finding him on ebay. we named them hank and alice.
dressed dandra up in my american girl cowgirl outfit. and of course hattie had to wear one of her bandana bibs!
labor of love...and she was too sick she didn't even want a piece! i was mostly excited that i figured out how to keep the layer flat.
sad eyes, with the shirt aunt whitney made. eliza's favorite things...mermaids, cowgirls, dressing up, crafts, and flying kites!
balance bike from grannie.
ringing the bell. she was too sick to want to ride that much that day, but is starting to get the hang of it!
snuggles with daddy under her new blanket.
one of us is tired from studying greek, one is sick, and one was so tired from a long week she forgot to put on make up...this is us.

but we have a 4 year old!

and she is one of the coolest, sweetest, funniest, loving girls i know. 

june bug, 
we have been through so much in your short life. we have taken you across oceans and back again. you were the reason i got out of bed after losing your sister. you have been by my side almost every single day for 4 years. some days are hard, but then you win me over by something you say, something you do, a look you give, a kiss, a hug, an "i love you mama." or "you are beautiful" you are the best big sister. daddy and i are blessed that God gave you us. that we get to be your parents. it is such a joy!
love, 
mama


1 comments:

momv <>< + said...

love this, love her, love you!
she sure is one special little girl:)

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