Bye Bye Diapers Party

 
Have you ever had one of those days when you're so happy you feel as though your heart is going to explode?  Today was one of those days for me. This afternoon we had Sydney's long-anticipated Bye Bye Diapers party.

We invited literally every kid we knew to come and celebrate with us as we took a moment to recognize Sydney's achievements in being fully potty trained and being such a big girl!  A ton of our friends were away on holidays and couldn't join us, but we still had about sixteen kids come to play, it was fantastic!

We rented the Westside Family Place which has an amazing outdoor yard where the kids are safe and free to play, which means the parents can have a great visit together without having to worry about keeping too close an eye on the kids!

I tried to keep the food really simple, fruit and veggie trays, chips and hummus and pita and cookies and, of course, a fabulous cake for dessert!

 
Sydney and I went downtown to order her cake earlier this week and there were so many cute patterns that we could choose from, but she was hellbent on having a ladybug cake!  She absolutely loved it, it was so worth it for the joy that it clearly brought to her!

The kids had a fabulous time playing, the weather held out, even though they were calling for rain, and Sydney was happy and smiling and so content.  It warmed my heart!

Sydney was such a fabulous hostess too, proudly handing each of her friends a kite as a lovely takeaway from today's party.  She had been practicing saying: "Thanks for coming to my party, here's a kite for you to take home" all week, it was adorable!

I was blown away at the thoughtfulness and generosity of our friends, all of whom brought gifts for Sydney!  It was like having her birthday a couple of months early!

After we had gotten home from the party, unpacked our party supplies, settled in, and had some dinner, Sydney set about opening her presents, slowly at first and then picking up the pace and madly ripping them open by the end!

Syd got some amazing things!

My friend Michelle and her son William gave her a whopping fifteen pairs of the cutest little panties ever from M&S in the UK and each pair was individually wrapped in tissue paper and a ribbon like a little parcel.  Michelle also made the most amazing handmade card for her, I was blown away by how beautiful it was!  She also gave Sydney a package of ladybug stickers, always a hit!

My sister and her family gave Sydney a Thomas tic-tac-toe card game and a Potty Time book with a button that makes a flushing sound every time you push it!  Sydney would not get in her car seat to go home until I let her hold the present from Auntie Liane, she peeked inside and saw something Thomas earlier in the party, and simply could not wait to get it home to open it!

Here she is playing with it in one of her new pairs of panties!

Alexis gave her a new set of playdough and a stamping set, both of which will get plenty of use around our house!

Alexa gave Sydney three bundles of very cool marbles.  Sydney has had her eye on these marbles at Splash Toy store for quite some time, so Alexa officially started our collection today!  Alexa made the most beautiful handmade card too, complete with fresh leaves!  Gorgeous!

Leo gave Syd some new panties too, one pair that was covered in ladybugs.  Sydney's love for ladybugs is known far and wide amongst her friends!

Kaitlyn gave Sydney a beautiful new book, The Very Fairy Princess, sure to become one of our favourites!

Zach and Miriam got Sydney a gorgeous new hooded towel and hard covered Olivia book from Pottery Barn Kids.  The towel will be perfect for Syd's new round of swimming lessons starting this fall and we love the Olivia book too!

More Panties!  Emma gave Sydney a package of owl panties and made the cutest homemade card complete with a toilet stamp on the front!  Loved it!

And Ollie got her another package of the owl ones and a package of apple panties too:

Sasha got Sydney a magnetic dress up doll, Sydney loves these!  It's going to be a huge hit!

Ariella got her a couple more packages of panties, one package that is Hello Kitty, along with a Hello Kitty hairband, so cute!

Sydney's friend Faith made her the most adorable panty banner card.  Sydney insisted that we hang it up in her doorway this evening, so we rigged it up, it looks absolutely adorable!

Sydney was giddy with all the new panties today, she must have tried on at least twenty different pairs after she was finished opening all her gifts!  I swear we won't have to buy any panties for her between now and when she starts Kindergarten!

It felt like Christmas in the middle of summer today!  Sydney was so thrilled to spend the afternoon playing with her friends, have some treats and be showered with gifts!  I couldn't have asked for a better day or reaction from her, it was totally worth all the effort!

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing circle of family and friends who will show up to celebrate a seemingly trivial event in Sydney's life and make it into a huge celebration for her!  My heart is literally overflowing tonight with gratitude to everyone who shared today with us and made it such a special time for my little girl.

Today is one day that won't soon be forgotten!