Yessa has a birthday!

Her official birthday is November 9th, but Yessa was properly celebrated on Sunday, November 8th this year.  Though 6 of our favorite people on the planet couldn’t come due to sickness (get well soon–Lombardi crew), the rest of the beloved family and friends came out to cheer and sing for this sweet three- year old.

Buds took our three children on a ramble around the lake so that Mom and Grandma could get the house cleaned and decorated, so Yessa wasn’t quite sure she could stay awake for the cake:

First, before we sing songs and unwrap presents, here’s how the party unfolded.

When people arrived, or in most cases, walked out their front doors, they were met by the “Slide of Death.”  Buds and Neighbor Aaron had the fantastic idea of using some cardboard boxes we freecycled to create a giant slide in front of our houses.  It was quality tested a couple weekends ago, and deemed such a huge success, it became part of the birthday extravaganza.  Here are some random shots of the kids and adults having a great time.

After the Slide of Death exhausted everyone (especially Noa,) we headed inside for the Web of Fun.

When people walked in our front door, they were greeted by this:

Each child had a stick with her name on it, attached to a piece of yarn.  They followed that piece of yarn, wrapping it around the stick, up, down, all around, until it finally led to their special bag at the end.  In the bag was a wooden picture frame with wooden letters to spell out that child’s name.  After finding the bags, everyone trooped out to the back deck for decorating time, which was enjoyed as much by some of the adults as the children.

It was a perfect 70 degree day, so we utilized all our spaces.  And adults might consider the leaves on the back deck a nuisance, but with wonderful open-heartedness, the children just saw another place to play.

After the crafty urge was quenched, we moved indoors to sing to the sweet girl.  She was a little overwhelmed by everyone singing and cheering for her, but mustered her resources to blow out the candles with gusto. 

The Dora cake was a big hit with Noa, as well as the mini-cakes Ms. Jenny made in gingerbread and pumpkin, which went well with the green cream cheese frosting. 

Yessa is enjoying her presents, and everyone slept like logs last night.  Thanks to all for a wonderful day.  And thanks for loving our youngest.