Leah's 4th Birthday Party

Leah woke up this morning so excited for her birthday party! We kept it simple; the two grandmas and my brother, his wife, and their three boys were the guests. We ate first (Spunky Red Bean Chile Dip, Sweet Potato Dip, tortilla chips, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper slices, bagel chips and cream cheese -- and "cow pie" cookies and icy cold milk for dunking them in for our special dessert). First party game was farm animal charades, where the children each took turns in the center of the room acting out animal movements and sounds and we had to guess what they were being. Then we played ring toss with rope rings around a milk bottle. Third was moosical chairs, which we did with low stools (the kids being shorter, and I didn't want people getting hurt trying to climb into chairs all in a rush). 5 children to begin and 4 stools. The first one eliminated was Rebecca because she stood back politely waiting for a place to sit. :-) Then 4 children and 3 stools. Next one down was Leah. Then Tommy. Then Joe. Natalie won! The grown-ups "mooed" instead of playing music and I orchestrated and told them all when to stop. It was a barrel of laughs. Especially when I removed a stool the first time and told them, now go around in a circle, and Joe (who is nearly 5) stood in place and turned around and around. We laughed so hard! Last was the pièce de résistance: pin the tail on the cow. I worked for days making this large (probably 4 foot wide) cow on a twin bedsheet. Long felt strips sewn into shapes. I embroidered each child's name-sign on a tail and they went one at a time. The closest to the cow's rear end was Tommy so he was very proud of himself. Then we lit the candles on the birthday ring, sang Happy Birthday, and Leah blew out the candles and we all had cow pies and milk. Cute and it took just about an hour and a half, the perfect length.