Christian's 3rd Circus/Pool Birthday Party

Aw man, I really had a lot of fun planning this party. I found adorable little circus plates at Target that were perfect (C is obsessed with elephants and animals and I love color) and after poking around on Pinterest and receiving amazing help from family and friends, I was able to throw a really cute party for my lil' man. Another great factor was that the Palmers were down visiting for their annual Florida trip, so it just felt like one fun, complete party... :)

Here's the little man being sung to and blowing out the candles. (The flags on the cake weren't the best for picture taking). And I know the top picture is a little blurry and off center, but I love it anyway. He looks so happy. :)

Anyhow, we celebrated on May 5th at my lovely friend Lacy's pool and we stuffed ourselves with hot dogs, cowboy caviar, pasta salad, chips, popcorn, snow cones, soda, cookies, and cake. I'm pretty sure all the parents hated my guts for having so many sweets. But hey, it was a party, and a circus themed one at that! :)

Here are some of the decorations. Both the back drop and popcorn cupcakes were ideas from Pinterest, so I can't really take credit there, but I was proud of myself for cheapifying it! The back drop was crazy expensive to rent, so I bought a 2 dollar plastic table cloth and a 2 dollar roll of red streamers, and my mom and I cut and glued to make it come together. I also made the flags that went on the cake, another idea that came via my darling friend Natasha, and I added a little hat and saddle to Christian's favorite elephant toy. :)

We also had a super cute popcorn machine and a snow cone machine courtesy of yet another amazing friend. Unfortunately we burned the popcorn twice, so it ended up being more of a decoration, but the snow cones were definitely a hit. :)

I could kick myself for not getting a picture with everyone who was there, but I at least have a video of it. Thank you Lacy! Anyhow, here's the list: Lowrys, Palmers, Kings, Whites, Sirmans, Toblers, both sets of grandparents, and Lowry Seniors. And I'll admit, I did have a moment looking around during the party when I might have gotten a little teary-eyed thinking of the huge amount of love that was there. I am often overwhelmed by the blessings of such amazing friends and family...

Anyhow, the party was great fun and we're so grateful for everyone's help and the gifts Christian received. It was a perfect day. :)

And just so I don't forget, here are a couple pics of C's actual birthday a few days before.

Wally and I blew up a bunch of balloons and put them in his room so he could find them when he woke up, and then my mom bought him a huge chocolate cake and we celebrated with a Five Guys lunch. Not too shabby for a 3 year birthday... :)