The Barri (more than one Barrus): Blythe Turns Seven

I don't know how it happened, but Blythe turned seven today. Seven! Every birthday I am astounded at how big and grown up the children are getting. Blythe is turning into such a delightful young lady. She is very smart and very funny, rather self-possessed and opinionated. She knows her own mind and doesn't have a problem sharing her ideas. She is social and friendly and still a bossy pants. She likes to do art, ride her bike, play with friends, swim, create large and complicated messes, play with Legos, do nails and make over, sing, dance, and be contrary. She likes to watch TV and play outside, and she is very, very creative. We love her. She entertains and amuses us, and sometimes drives us wild, but she is a wonderful part of our family.

As proof of the fact that she knows her own mind, Blythe had elaborate plans for her birthday party, plans she began making months ago (literally). She wanted a princess party and outlined who was to attend, what the invitation was to say, and what activities she envisioned. It was detailed. One thing I have learned about Blythe is that when she has an idea she wants realized, she can get very frustrated if it doesn't come off like she thinks it should. So on Monday, I sat down with her and went through her list to make sure I understood exactly what she wanted and how I could make it happen. The realization of her dream is only possible because we only have two children and one of them is very simple in his wants (Legos, please). If we had five kids, this sort of thing would likely not happen. But as Blythe is our only daughter, I try to make her happy.

Here is the plan. We did shorten the invitation list, mostly because Lily L, one of the Avas, Tess, and Lydia all live far away and wouldn't be able to make it. I also convinced her that Suzi didn't need to come because we had too many people. With Blythe, we would have 12 girls which was enough. Only girls, too. It was a princess party, so no boys. In fact, on the back, Blythe added an addendum to the invitations: "There will be NO boys. Hurrye." (That's Hooray!) In the end, Ellen, Cailin, and Sarah didn't come, so there were only nine girls. Still plenty.

Down the middle is what she wanted the invitation to say. "Hi. My party is coming up--June 5. Please come to my party on Friday. Please wear a princess costume. 11:00am. Please come. If you can't come that is alright. From Blythe. PS. We will have so much fun!" In the end, I just bought pre-made invitations.

Then the really challenging part. All the 11 activities she wanted to do.

1. Tea party. This would be lunch and she wanted to have little turkey sandwiches, strawberries, and little cakes.

2. Tour princess castle. Blythe wanted everyone to have a tour of our house. As I didn't want to have to clean everything, we limited the tour to the lower floor. I let the girls wander at will.

3. Meet the queen. Turns out, I was the queen, and I needed to be in some sort of queen-ish costume, just like the girls. I sent out a plea to my neighbors and asked if anyone had anything that might fit me and look remotely queen-like, and my tall friend Janie came through. She let me borrow a floor length skirt which I paired with a sparkly tank under a bright green sweater. Although neighbor let me borrow her daughter's crown, and with some sparkly bling, I was adequately attired. I graciously greeted each princess as she arrived.

4. Make portraits. Instead of making them, we bought a carriage backdrop with a cut out space for a princess face and I just took pictures. Much easier, and acceptable to Blythe.

5. Pin the crown on the princess. We found a "Pin the jewel on the necklace" game at Zurcher's, and this, too, was acceptable.

6. Dance Party. We turned on music and let everyone dance.

7. Musical thrones. Again, with the music and letting everyone walk around the chairs. Ava won.

8. Design a dress. I managed to talk Blythe out of this one. There were lots of activities and not enough time. Phew.

9. Tour palace garden. We went outside and were in the backyard. Check.

10. Make royal cookies. I was able to find cookie cutters in the shapes of castle, crown, and slipper. Put out frosting, lots of sprinkles, and some knives, and you've got a 10 minute activity AND a treat.

11. Potty break. We didn't schedule this in, but let princesses take care of it when necessary.

This is a long list, but we ended up adding a couple other things. When we went to the party store to get supplies, Blythe saw a castle pinata which she absolutely had to have. So we did a pinata. While outside, Shaylee said, "We should play Duck, Duck, Princess," and so we did that too, although Blythe called it "Princess, Princess, Queen." And we did presents too, of course. It was a fun party and Blythe was pleased both with the way the activities turned out and all the cool stuff she got from us and friends.