Hadley turns nine

My dear sweet girl is half way to the legal age of being an adult!

Hadley hugs the hoped-for Hippo pillow pet. I sent her on a scavenger  hunt
around the house to find it.  Some one is making a lot of money on these
simple stuffed animals. 

Hadley turned nine at the end of March. Her birthday lasted for two weekends: one where she celebrated with us and one where she had a friend party(it was her turn this year). We were caught off guard when we received a birthday invite to another party on the actual day of her party which is why we had it on a different weekend.

Tom doesn't like gift wish lists. He always comes up with his own gift. Sometimes they are funny. Sometimes they
are scary (last year was a giant plastic snake). This year was sweet. A non-edible flower cake.

Apparently my girl is growing up. None of the relatives bought toys, all of them bought clothes. Hadley had fun giving a fashion show-- the clothes style is definitely moving away from sweet little girl style. Kassy annoyed her sister by trying to be in all the pictures.

For her friend party, Hadley wanted an art party. At least, that's what she wanted after I vetoed all the more expensive options like the roller rink. She wanted to paint. And paint and paint some more. Michaels ended up being a great store for a variety of craft ideas that were cheap. I even found a few things suitable for the boys who came. Hadley wanted a way to paint a huge mural as a group. Our giant closet doors in the mud room served the purpose well. Jordan drew the mural on the wall (Hadley ditched the garden mural idea when she thought of the boy guests and switched to an underwater mural). We painted picture frames, made paper bead bracelets, assembled and painted birdhouses, boats, and airplanes, decorated cupcakes with frosting and fondant (they even took some home). It was a good party. And while I dislike the me-focus of birthday parties, I appreciated having a willing apprentice in learning about being a hostess. She abandoned the typical "birthday girl" first mentality and thought carefully of what would be most comfortable and fun for her guests. She is growing inside and outside!

The invitation....we worked hard on it only to realize we forgot to include the party location!