birthday party à la wonderland

I'm late! I'm late! This post should have happened several days ago, but The Sick has been here in addition to plenty of routine craziness, so here they are at long last.

Hazel's birthday party fell on the opening night of the new Alice in Wonderland movie, so naturally she wanted us to take the party to the theater so she could see it with her friends! The kids had the idea to dress up as characters in the movie, and as always, amazed us with their creativity and willingness to have fun and dress up in public!


Even though Hazel had just invited girls (for the sleepover), most of her friends also had little brothers who wanted to attend the movie with us. Some of them even got into the masquerade aspect of it and donned a costume as well. It was so much fun to see them all dressed up!


Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee



The Mad Hatter and Alice



2 White Rabbits!



The March Hare and another Mad Hatter



And one more Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat (OMG! The tail!!)



And of course our beloved (if somewhat unwilling to be photographed) Megan in her fabulous chinese dress. Is she the Red Queen? Or maybe a Dark Alice? I think a little of both.



After pictures it was off to the theater to collect our 3D glasses and find a seat. It is hard to take pictures inside movie theaters without flash (see above). So I waited until the end credits were rolling to snap one of the older girls who had not yet run off (below). Hopefully I did not blind anyone!




They attracted a lot of attention at the theater, just like they like it. And I love that they are willing to do such fun stuff.


I mean, how often do you see a gang of tutu-clad delinquents running around town? You can't help but smile.


The noise level was very high on the way home. VERY high. CRAZY high. But what can you say when the little darlings are belting out a rousing chorus of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat" on the way home from this movie?! Nothing.

Hazel got some very sweet gifts from her friends after we got back home, and then it was time for cake and ice cream. Jason always does such a nice job with the photos while I bring out the cake. One of the only times I am consistently in pictures is at birthday cake time!






Once it started to get good and late, we gathered our supplies for our "tea party", which was Hazel-style all the way. Hot chocolate with all the fancy fixings, just like at Borders. Whipped Cream in a can, chocolate shavings, marshmallows, chocolate and caramel syrup, chocolate sticks and Twix bars. It was so much fun and the girls created some beautifully artful cups of yummy chocolate goodness!




They then proceeded to go crazy with the whipped cream. Like I didn't see that coming. (What's a hot chocolate bar without all the whipped cream you can eat?)














There was lots of dancing late into the night and- surprise, surprise! They managed to end up like this not long after 5 am. Or so I heard tell. I took this photo at 8 am. If you look closely you'll notice the TV was still on, and so were Hazel's glasses. Ouch.




We sent the girls each home with a tiny tea-party charm tied on a ribbon as a keepsake.  An amazing time was had by all! Thank you to all our wonderful friends for making this a party Hazel will never forget.

birthday photos

It was a pretty crazy day, weather-wise, and we were limited to standing on our front porch for most of the photos. They turned out pretty well, considering, and at least we have documentation. This is the often the only time of year that I take portraits of my kids, and it is good to be able to compare from year to year.


Hazel put together a fabulous outfit, of course. She had purple and red flowers to match her hair and her stripey clothes. Too bad it was so cold she could barely stand still for photos!


We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, by request, and we ate it at Hazel's usual breakfast time of 11 am. They went out to a late lunch at Panera Bread (again, Hazel's choice) and then headed downtown to Ciné to see the selection of Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short Film. They finished the evening with hot chocolates at Borders, our favorite late evening dessert spot. Seriously, the hot chocolates are FABulous and they have incredible cookies and brownies too. And they warm them up for you-MMMMmmmmmmmm. We really love it there. :)


Enjoying popcorn and cream sodas at Ciné. 

The festivities will continue on Friday, when Hazel and her friends will be seeing Alice in Wonderland on opening night and then having a sleepover. It's going to be great! 


Here are some more photos from yesterday. Hazel, we are so proud of who you are becoming as you grow older. We are so thankful you are a part of our lives!



 

snowy birthday... again

That's right, it is snowing for Hazel's birthday again this year. She was a bit unhappy about this, but it looks like they will still get to go out as planned, because it is turning to rain and will not accumulate like last year. Still crazy though- 2 years in a row!

I'll post again later after we get some photos with Hazel & Jason.

Happy birthday, Hazel!!!

cleaning club: birth edition

Yesterday Rachel and I had the great honor of being present while Shannon gave birth to her new son, Michael Francis.


Shannon had asked me early in her pregnancy if I would photograph the birth, and I was quick to agree! I have never attended a birth other than my own, and I was excited to capture the day with images for Shannon and her family.














And look! Rachel in action doing a bit of laundry before we left the house so everyone could rest. I helped by taking pictures of her :)


Now, I know that this all seems very far outside what you probably would consider normal for a little group of women who get together to clean each other's houses. But we say that this is how things *should* be! Women working together and supporting each other through life. The time we have spent in each others homes; helping with cleaning and organizing projects and supporting each other emotionally through all the daily trials of motherhood; has given us all such an amazing sense of trust and love for one another. It was truly a gift for us to be able to share this day with Shannon and her family, and I know we will never forget it as long as we live.


Happy birthday to Michael! And congratulations to Shannon and Pat- you guys did great and he is just beautiful. I am so thankful you are a part of our lives.


(I almost forgot: Michael's little hat is the Umbilical Cord pattern from Stitch 'N Bitch, adapted for sock yarn on size 3 needles. I used self striping yarn and it turned out so cute!)