Rachel's 6th Birthday Festivities

Our sweet little Rachel turned six in January, 2019. At the time, she was still QUITE obsessed with The Greatest Showman, so we had to do a Greatest Showman themed party. But how to do a Greatest Showman Cake? And party? 

We decided to take a little creative license and do more of a circus them. Pink needed to be involved, so we though and searched Pinterest for cake ideas that we could handle, and found this animal cookie cake. I was pretty sick, so I pathetically watched while Brian turn my cake visions into reality. He baked the cakes, made the white frosting, and decorated the whole thing. 

 Rachel wanted to go to Chubby's for her birthday dinner, so naturally we enthusiastically satisfied her whim because Chubby's is really good.

 We put on the pink and purple lights on the house, just for her.

 She got to open presents from Grandma & Grandpa

 and from us.

 And finally, she got to blow out the candles on her awesome cake.

 Basically she just ate the frosting, which, lucky for her, there was tons of!

Then, in the little bit of space between cake and bed, she got to play with her new Beauty and the Beast toy set.

 Next morning, the outfit Grandma picked out made the cut for what to wear first:

 And after school, more playing with her new toys.

The Saturday after her birthday, it was time for her big party. 

We had really fun details for everyone, like these Prince of Humbug hats. (I was pretty proud of how they turned out). 

Rachel wanted to dress up like Anne Wheeler from the movie. I added some gold sequins to a purple leotard and got a pink wig and ta-dah!!

 We divided the kids up into two groups

 and had awesome uncles and aunts helping run carnival booths.

 The kids earned tickets at each stop, and at the end, they got to buy prizes with them. It was pretty chaotic at the prize booth at the end, but we got it sorted, thanks to lots and lots of help from our supporting crew.  Seriously, this party couldn't have been possible without Lea, Cassidy, and Ethan's help. I was still not feeling well, so we couldn't have done this without such an amazing crew.

She got presents

and we had cupcakes

 And after the whole thing was over and the last of the prizes handed out, we decided we needed Chubby's again. Some of us were pretty spent:

 Honestly, this is how I felt too.

On Sunday, Nana and Papa came to celebrate. There were more presents, readings on the couch, and

 some bold fashion choices.

I often think about Rachel and how grateful that I am to have her in my life. She is more thoughtful than so many others her age. She's always quick to make a card with sweet words for her friends, family, and teachers. She notices all of our new clothes, if we get a haircut or style things differently, and anytime I paint my toes. She has a gift for seeing the beauty in everything. Her middle name, Jane, means "God is Gracious" and I can't help but think how gracious He was in sending her to our family. We're so blessed to have her. We love you, Sweet Pea!