Fern and her friends

I think that one of the most fascinating things to watch as a mother is the different things that completely grab your kids' thoughts and imaginations. As I've mentioned before, The Nutcracker completely ruled our house for years, and still plays a big part in our day-to-day conversations. For the past 6 months or so, Aly's fascination has been completely taken by Charlotte's Web. She has drawn over 30 pictures of scenes from the book, has a beloved "Wilbur" stuffed pig, and of course, a "Charlotte" plastic spider. So of course, the theme of Aly's birthday party was easy this year. She dressed as "Fern", Caroline dressed as "Wilbur", we played some pig games and ate pig cake. All in all, a T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C time.

The Pig Cake

Aly's artwork, displayed

The Feeding Trough

Pin the Tail on the Pig (drawn by the birthday girl herself)

Fern

The Barnyard Friends

...And the Pinata...
I've promised the girls for a long time that they could each have a pinata when they turn 6, so at the end of the party, we went outside and broke a pig pinata. Here's where I should have used a little maternal foresight: we bought the pinata about 3 weeks ago, so Aly has had 3 weeks to make friends with it. As she watched friend-after-friend swing at her new friend, her face got more and more mortified. After one final swing by the birthday girl herself, Chad tore the remainder of the pig in half and shook the candy out. As the kids ran to get the candy, Aly ran into Chad's arms sobbing. Hmmm...a decapitated pig. I didn't think of that! Fortunately, a bag full of candy and a yard full of friends was enough to put the tragedy behind her. Maybe we'll choose a star or heart when Caroline turns 6!