Willows and Wisteria: Julianne's Epic Third Birthday (LONG POST!)

Here she is, Baby Juji - the light of our life, bringer of our joy, holder of our hearts. Last month she turned 3!

And what a party we had! Her birthday revelry really lasted five days - beginning the day before at Mommy and Me.

She was given a special birthday sticker and certificate at our play group, and all of her friends sang "Happy Birthday, Julianne!"

Molly is getting to be such a big girl! Ray (her big brother) was off running around, but I managed to get a fantastic picture of Anya and Molly.

This year Juji's birthday fell on a Thursday - and it also happened to be Back to School Night for Bret. We had grand plans for the weekend, but I knew it was going to be (mostly) up to me to make sure her actual day was celebrated properly. First thing in the morning, Julianne declared that she wanted to paint. I hushed the little voice in me that said, "NOOOOO it's tooooo earrrrrrrly to be making SUCH BIG MESSES someone give me an IV OF COFFEE" and arranged the activity for her.

Proof of her 7am paint session

I managed to clean green and yellow off of everything and everyone and get the girls all gussied up for Story Time. We ADORE going to the library - especially when it's Story Time with Miss Nancy. Julianne picked out a lovely blue dress and I let her wear her hair down like Rapunzel. On the way to Palm Springs we stopped and got her a Princess Balloon to carry around in honor of her big day.

Naturally, once the book was through and singing had been done, Miss Nancy announces, "I hope you all wore your old clothes since we are FINGER PAINTING today!" Clearly, I didn't get that memo.

Thank goodness for those aprons! Can you tell how happy she is for more painting?!

She really got into it.

After our jolly good time at the library, we came home to have a long, leisurely nap. It was glorious. Bret woke us up when he got home to take us out for an early dinner. The place? Ruby's Diner! YUM!

Julianne had a terrific time opening gifts. That's a book about ballet our friend Sarah sent her. She also got some cute clothes, a kid's cookbook and lots of princess items. Sarah and Amy and Ben all sent packages, which was truly the highlight of the dinner!

I only added this picture of me because the next one is so bad...

But it's the only family shot we have. *sad face*

The following day was Friday - which is known as "oh my goodness it's dance today" around these parts.

I've been having a grand time experimenting with her hair. Also, isn't her bottom adorable?

We spent the rest of this day gearing up for the following day...which was DISNEYLAND SATURDAY!

We all woke up VERY early on Saturday to get on the road for the Happiest Place on Earth.

The Birthday girl enjoying a zucchini muffin and apple juice.

Bret suffering through my pumpkin spice latte.

heehee. Like my new pink backpack?

This was our third trip to D-Land with the girls, and certainly the best one of all time. We give most of the credit to Katie, who truly made things so.much.easier for us!

Yes, it's true. The park was dolled up for Halloween.

Another perk of having Katie with us: family shots!

As I'm sure you all know (because I talked incessantly of it leading up to the trip) the big attraction for us at Disney this time was the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Inside Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Fairy Godmother's in Training transform girls and boys into princesses and princes. It can be a costly transformation, some packages are upwards of $200. We arranged, though, for my sister to get Julianne a Belle gown for her birthday and then just paid for hair and nails - which was plenty! I'd like to add that while the costumes are indeed pricey at Disney, their quality truly is superb - I only wish we could have afforded them! But Julianne looked stunning in her dress from Katie, and the make-over was plenty of magic enough for our little love.

Katie and Juji before the transformation

Inside the Salon

Siah was very uncooperative during this photo

Juji, looking *very* much like her Gaga

It's a rough life, no?

The best part was the big reveal - the curtains behind Julianne were parted by those birds to showcase a magical mirror that sparkled! I got it all on video, but it's almost 8 minutes!!! So wonderful. Julianne was in heaven! Bret and I agree it was the best $54.95 we've ever spent!

Once we were through at the BBB, we headed outside for some cute shots:

And when we turned around, ARIEL WAS THERE!

Julianne was in love.

Here she is telling Ariel that she is 3!

I love the look on her face in all of these shots!

Julianne had the honor of walking through the castle with Aurora. They discussed shoes and the carousel, which we promptly visited after snapping this photo:

Carousel!

This is my favorite picture of Julianne EVER.

My sister on an itty-bitty horse.

Julianne didn't stop smiling all day.

This is me and Kasiah on Dumbo. Bret took Julianne - finally! It was amazing at night.

Side note: we got a hotel room through Groupon Getaways that was super affordable just down the street. It was a major stroke of brilliance on my part. We took a long nap in the late afternoon which allowed us to truly enjoy Disneyland at night. It was a dream to not have to suffer that terrible 2.5 hour drive back home, too.

On the way home from Disneyland, we took a minor detour in Hemet. The walkway up to Moomaw and Poopaw's house was lined in balloons, and Julianne stopped to collect each one "like Easter!" she said. Inside, there was a darling little cake (Princess themed!) and MORE BALLOONS!