Noelle's "Under the Sea" Ariel Birthday Party

I'm the queen of procrastination so it's no surprise that I decided to wait until Saturday the 11th to get everything for Noelle's birthday party which was on the 12th. Smart, right? Not so much. I woke up on Saturday with a massive migraine and was confined to my couch from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep. Luckily I planned her party to be at 3pm leaving me the entire morning on Sunday to get everything on my list.

Noelle has been asking for an "Ariel" birthday party since November. Her specific request was for "an Ariel cake and Ariel cups."

I just remembered that I forgot to bring the Ariel cups but I'm pretty sure she didn't notice. 

I decided to go with "Under the Sea" and have a pool party. My sister helped me get the backyard decorated and set everything up before the guests arrived. It turned out nice and Noelle had a blast.

The centerpieces are just a square of muslin with a hurricane filled with sand and seashells.

I made this HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY NOELLE banner.

 The day was all about Noelle so I served up all of her favorites:

Hot Dogs

PB&J's

Watermelon

BBQ Pop Chips

Goldfish

Potato Salad & Macaroni Salad (okay, my favorite)

Baked beans

The Goldfish fit the theme perfectly.

I found a dolphin sandwich cutter for the PB&J's. They were almost too cute to eat. 

Target had these cute cups, plates and napkins on sale. Ya'll know how much I LOVE anchors! I couldn't pass them up.

Then it was a time for a dip in the pool! The weather was a perfect 86 degrees :)

Three years ago when I was in labor with her it was 103 degrees!

My momma and Noah.

My sweet baby girl listening to everyone sing "Happy Birthday" to her.

My mother-in-law, "Nana," has made all of Noelle's birthday cakes (all three of them). Ariel was perfect and delicious! 

For favors Noelle gave out buckets with a shovel. I made little tags for them.

My 3 year old and my 3 month old! 

The party was fun and Noelle scored some amazing gifts. We are so blessed to have such generous family and friends. Unfortunately Noelle wasn't as grateful as she could have been after receiving all of  the presents. One of the qualities I strive to instill in her is thankfulness and I didn't see that at her party so instead of me writing out "Thank You" cards, I had her send out "Thank You" video messages to each of her guests. It ended up being a great lesson in gratitude and we had a good time making each video. 

Here's the video she made for Aunt Anji and Uncle Todd:

"Thank you for the tea set. I love it!"

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Happy Birthday sweet girl. I love you more than words can express. You are my sunshine.