Lessons from the Hills: Princess Cora

Cora is 3! We are so thankful for our little ray of sunshine. I love all her feminine ways and how she has the little girl giggle perfected. She is really getting cuter ever day! She is certainly our strong-willed child. That has us working hard these days, but I know that is a condition that gives her great potential. Already she is very assertive with older children and adults, which shocks me every time. Because she is strong-willed, we have knock-down-drag-outs several times a day, but after all that struggle I really appreciate how she can turn on a dime and sweetly obey. That's a good spirit we all need. It is so hard to admit fault and change after we're knee deep in trouble and our pride is at stake! We want to encourage more of that in her. It's amazing how so much personality can come in such a small package!

You are responsible for baking your own cake when you turn 2 in our family. A responsibility the children gladly accept! When I pulled the first big baked layer out of the kitchen, the kids started whining, "Awww, it doesn't look like a castle! Is that the castle's dirt?"

Now that she is "bid" (big), Cora picked her own party theme this year. She wanted a princess party decorated with purple and pink. Of course, I was happy to oblige! I do not know how to decorate birthday cakes the right way, so the castle cake was a huge challenge for me to make. We also had princess wand favors made of rice krispie treats sticking up out of a basket. This food was so fun to make!

Our other special theme food was strawberry lime freeze poured in these fancy glasses. This was a fun project because I found a whole bag of the plastic glasses at the party store for only fifty cents! I decorated them with swirly silver writing, curly ribbon, and sparkly princess stickers.

The party was supposed to be outside for one last hoorah on our lovely porch. Sadly, it was too hot and humid, so we moved our guests inside. I think they were all relieved when they arrived!

Nothing says "Royal Princess Party" like hot dogs and brats!

Grandpa and Grandma gave Cora a dollhouse. I think this is her favorite inside toy right now. We gave her a bike. Some days she is in the garage riding it around the van before we even have breakfast! Her gift from Pappaw and Nana is more of an experience. In August, us girls are going out to lunch and then on a clothing shopping spree for Cora!

My favorite part of the party was blowing out the candles. It's confusing to a little kid to have a weekday birthday and a weekend party, so we told her that she was officially three when she blew out the candles. We really built it up during the day, saying, "Are you three yet? No, you're still two!" When the time came she had a very meaningful look on her face, and after she blew out the candles she put her hands up to her mouth and looked around in awe. I asked, "Do you feel three now?" "Yes," she whispered.

The big kids enjoyed standing on the top of the slide, then jumping over the slide into the pool. It wasn't long before Cora was taking the plunge, too. That is a big jump for a little girl, but she's always been our little dare devil.

The sparklers were yet another princess wand for our party. This event ended in tragedy when Cora chose to disobey and pinch the end of her sparkler. The worst burn is on the thumb she sucks, which means she can't suck it much. I'm hoping that will help break her bad habit.