Saturday, February 27, 2016

A Caterpillar Birthday

Just about a month ago, our little Annika Mae turned three.  Guess she's not so little anymore!


For Annie's birthday, we copied Eila's awesome celebration and went with a Very Hungry Caterpillar theme.  Aunt Callie had sent a whole bag of party decorations which made getting ready a cinch.  I also had some great help from my own munchkins, who helped make these fun caterpillars.


They also painted our party games: pin the caterpillar on the apple, and feed the hungry caterpillar.

Of course, when it comes to the Hungry Caterpillar, the most important part is certainly the food.

He ate through one apple, two pears, three plums (or prunes), four strawberries...



...five oranges, pie, pickles, swiss cheese, sausages, salami, watermelon (or watermelon candy), chocolate cake, lollipops...

...oh, and let's not forget the cupcakes and ice cream!


Needless to say, no one went hungry.  We took a bit of artistic license and swapped an apple pie for cherry, because once you've tasted one of Jason's apple pies, who wouldn't?

Party time!  We broke from tradition and opened presents first since we knew one box contained an adorable Hungry Caterpillar dress, handmade by NomiAnn, just waiting to be donned by the birthday gal.

Annika with some of her loot.  Isn't that dress fabric great?  The stuffed giraffe is in honor of the zoo membership the Andrus grandparents gave--just perfect for our little gal who loves, loves, loves the zoo.

Annika developed a new spin on our "Feed the Caterpillar" game.  Three year-olds must be more tasty than pretend kitchen food.

As guests we invited our next-door neighbors, Mike and Michelle, along with their three year-old twins, Lilly and Connor. Sorry Michelle, definitely not the most flattering picture, but it was just too funny not to share.  :)

Lilly, all dressed up in her butterfly mask, then checking out her picture on Dad's phone.

Lilly and Connor brought the greatest gift for a hungry caterpillar--lots of fun play food.  Most everyone thought it was exciting, but Papa Kay was, well, sleepy.

Can't properly celebrate without reading a little Eric Carle.  Thanks for sharing the story with us, Brooklyn!


Next on the agenda, getting all wrapped up in cocoons of our own.  Here's Connor getting ready for metamorphosis.

I totally stole this idea from Talia's third birthday party, all the way back in Illinois.

Returning back to the present, here are our other chrysalises.
 



So fun!


Last but not least, we all sat down to enjoy a lasagna dinner and our caterpillar treats.

I don't know what it is, but there's something especially wonderful about sharing a meal with friends and family.

Happy birthday, Annika!
We sure do love you.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If you ask Annika, "How old are you today?" She will now answer "three" about 80% of the time. For some reason it is easier for her to remember "two", and it is definitely easier for her to display two fingers than three. What a cutie! Keep Smiling!!