Lia's Pajama Party!

Due to the arrival of baby Emmett in January, I promised Lia that I would still throw her a friend birthday party this winter--just a few weeks late.  So, yesterday, Ron and I hosted our first evening birthday party of our parenting career.  Lia and I decided to have a pajama party/"late over" theme last year before I even knew that I was expecting a baby.  This party theme turned out to be a blessing in disguise since this kind of party requires no games, crafts, or activities which made things so much easier for me!  We decided to simply provide a dinner, dessert, and a movie for the girls in addition to Lia opening up her gifts.  We asked everyone to come in pajamas and bring their sleeping bag and pillow to watch the movie in.  It required way less time and work to prepare for which was exactly what I needed with a brand new baby. 
After shopping at Michaels a few weeks ago, I found an adorable party set by Martha Stewart that featured stars and moons.  Since I thought this went along with a pajama party perfectly, I bought it and tailored all of our decorations after the pink, silver, and white color scheme.  Besides putting some vinyl letters on a banner that I bought already cut out and ready to go, I didn't make anything in the way of decorations.  It was super simple and fast to put together and still looked really cute when the girls arrived.  Much to Ron's chagrin, I allowed Lia to invite as many girls as she wanted to again this year.  As a result, we had 20 children here last night--17 friends, plus Lia, Logan, and Ella.  It was a large group to say the least! 
The girls all did a great job eating dinner around the table and only a few got rowdy during the lengthy gift-opening session (since there were 17 gifts to open).  After singing to Lia and eating cupcakes and ice cream, the entire group went to the basement to watch the movie, The Water Horse, that Lia had picked out a few weeks ago after watching it on Netflix for a family movie night.  Sadly, only a few girls ended up watching the entire movie.  This was a total surprise to me as I just assumed this group of girls would watch the movie quietly like they would in a movie theater.  The majority of the group ended up just playing in the basement or wanting tours of the house led by Lia.  Since I was busy nursing Emmett at the beginning of the movie, I wasn't aware that any of thing was going on until about 30 minutes into the movie when it was just to late to undo things that had already been done.  Consider it a lesson learned.  A large group of girls is not made for watching a movie at a friend's house.  Regardless, Ron and I managed to keep the group under control until the last five minutes of the party as parent's started to arrive.  By the time it was 9 p.m., there were girls running all over the house while baby Emmett was tired, hungry, and crying to go to bed for the night.  In the process, one of my collector's plates hanging in the dining room got knocked off the wall by one of Lia's friends.  It was pure chaos for a few minutes!  Needless to say, we were all relieved when it was over and we have officially declared to Lia that she will never have another birthday party that big again--especially to watch a movie! :-)

Lia standing outside next to the cute welcome sign that she drew on our white board complete with stars and moons.

The darling cupcakes I made sitting on the table before the girls arrived.

The grand table in all of its pink, silver, and white glory.

The decorations on the mantel and fireplace.

The food set up and ready to go on the kitchen island.  We served pizza, chips, veggies and fruit, and fruit punch for dinner.

Lia and some of her friends enjoying dinner at the head of the table.

Bella, Eva, Allison, Sophia, and Logan sitting at their end of the table.

Ella, Lindsay, Alyssa, and Bella giving me a smile.

Addison, Maddison, Rian, and Mila on the other side of the table.

After dinner, Lia opened up her birthday gifts.  Here she is opening up a beautiful journal from her good friend, Lilah.

Lia opening up a wooden, doll-sized dresser (that she gets to paint) from another good friend and neighbor, Alyssa.

Lia talking to Bella about the slime she got from her.

Lia reading a handmade card from another very good friend, Sienna.

Lia smiling as the group sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

Blowing out 11 candles!

The entire group all cuddled up in their sleeping bags and blankets in the basement before the movie started.

Ella and Logan ready to watch the movie.  This was the first time that they were allowed to participate in one of Lia's friend parties and they were so excited!  It was fun to have them join the group.

Ella, Logan, Eva, Mollie, and Lilah waiting for the movie to begin.

Sophia, Banna, and Addyson perched on the large window sill.

A close-up of our birthday girl eating her popcorn as we started the movie.

Since the movie ended at 8:30 p.m., Ron and I had to come up with an impromptu activity to keep the girls busy until their parents came at 9 p.m. to pick them up.  Luckily, Ron had seen this team building activity before and tried it out with several groups of girls in our family room until pick-up time.  They all seemed to get a big kick out of it--especially when he laid Ella on top of one group of girls that included Lia, Ryann, Maddison, and Mollie.

Laying Ella down on the girls.

It actually worked!  They were able to hold Ella on top of them until Ron took her off a few seconds later!  Look at their laughing faces!