A Bird Party

 Our 6 year streak of perfect weather for Ivy's party ended this year, as Saturday greeted us with 40 degree rain.  We knew this was coming all week and though I'd held out a little hope for a miracle, I did do all of the setup for the party indoors...

I was also grateful that Ivy  had kept the guest list small. While a part of me really misses the "invite every family we know" parties of days gone by,  thank goodness we hadn't planned one of those for this year.   As it was, 8 little girls and about the same number of adult guests-- along with about 60 tiny fake birds-- filled the indoor space quite nicely.

Ivy was quite proud that she got to help design and frost her own cake this year. 

Ivy testing out the "bird photobooth" area.

This year's themed food display. 

The craft station in use!  Such a sweet little group of girls!  I think they would have happily crafted for the duration of the party....

... but for the fact that there were chocolates to make...

.... and more silly photos to take....

...and party games to play!  

 All of the kids participated in "pin the wing" (or the worm) on the robin, with great enthusiasm.  Then, about half the group really enjoyed "egg on a spoon" racing and the "game that shall not be named" (seriously, we could not come up with an appropriate name for the game that involved using a s straw to suck up a piece of "honey smacks" cereal and move it to a bowl. We tried everything from "suck a seed" to "little peckers"--  no luck...) while the others went back to crafting very happily... regardless, they were all good sports when their "prizes" for winning were a high five and public recognition.

 Snacks, cake and ice cream!

Present time!  The sweetest homemade cards from EVERY little girl who came (I am a big fan of Ivy's friends.  What a great group of kids...)

And of course, a little time with the chicks during the "after party".

A quick two hours of excitement and chaos, after a good two days of preparation....

Totally worth it.