A Ladybug Birthday Party.

Leah had a wonderful birthday party.  She'd had a few other celebrations this month, so she knew what a party meant.  She knew it was for her, that we were celebrating her and how special she is.  She called the party her "happy".  And she was happy, just as she should be.

It started with this cute tutu and the hairclips that I bought off of etsy.com, as well as the cute tank top that I made just for her special day.

Anna got in on the ladybug cuteness with her little romper and big ladybug hair clip (also from etsy.com...love that website!)

And food, we had some yummy food too.

After much swimming and running around, we brought out the live ladybugs for the kids to catch in their ladybug houses.  Leah didn't want them near her at first, but after seeing the parents catching them and showing them to her, she didn't mind as much.

And of course, we had to have cake.  Chris is the cake decorator of our family, and even with getting back from his TDY less than two hours before the party started, he was still able to make Leah an awesome ladybug cake.

Some of Leah's friends gave her a bubble blower.  Leah loves bubbles and wanted to play with the toy right away.  There's not much better than seeing such a happy girl on her special day.

Anna was a trooper for the party, hanging out with us outside in the shade.  My good friend Jess held her and Anna ended up falling asleep towards the end of the party.  In her defense, the party lasted longer than planned and her bedtime came and went while we were enjoying the good company and fun.

Leah also received some princess shoes, which were a big hit as well.  She was a bit shaky walking in them, but seeing how she is still in soft soled shoes all of the time, I was surprised that she could walk at all in them.  She loves shoes and princesses, and she wasn't going to let a little unstability stop her from trying them out.

This might have been one of my favorite parties to plan.  I found so many ideas on the internet from party sites and blogs and I love taking ideas and tweaking them to fit what I envision.  Leah had such a fun time, and making her feel as special and loved as she is, is totally worth the time and effort put into planning.