Roxy turned three on Friday the 7th. We went out to dinner that night to her favorite restaurant (CPK) for her favorite dish - Mac n Cheese... they really do have the best Mac n Cheese out there.

But we had her blow out party yesterday: A Fancy Nancy party complete with boas, skirts, crowns to decorate, cupcakes to decorate and a fun Pass the Posh Puppy game.

As the girls arrived, they enjoyed some free play to get their wiggles out. Then I read "Fancy Nancy" to them. Once they were 'in the know' of the character and book, the girls were sent in four different directions: Make up station (artistic flair provided by our very own neighbor Sarah); nail station (done by me); hair accessories (by Grandma Barbara) and a crafty crown station where several moms stepped in to help. Once all of the girls were dolled up, each was asked to choose a skirt and boa to complete the look. We ran the girls outside for a picture. Next came decorating cupcakes (each girl had a plate with one cupcake and seven small paper cups filled with toppings). Roxy got to blow out candles from a cake but also got her own cupcake to decorate. After the cupcake frenzy, the girls ran wild in the back yard and around the house until I brought them back in to read "Posh Puppy" - another book in the Fancy Nancy series. The game we played was Pass the Posh Puppy. I had a terrible time coming up with a game for Roxy's party and just two nights before the party decided to put a spin on an old game. I had all of the girls sit in a circle and played music while passing a Posh Puppy stuffed animal. Here's the twist: when the music stopped, whoever was holding the puppy got to keep that stuffed animal and leave the circle. I had enough puppies for all of the guests (sans Dillen - more on that later). When it got down to the final two girls (Meredith and Waverly), the music stopped while Meredith was holding the puppy. Waverly, who had asked a few times during the game if she could keep a puppy, too, was left empty handed. She looked up at me a little confused and worried and I said, in a very excited voice, "Waverly!! Are you the winner?!?" And she looked even more confused and said, "No." We all got a kick out of that and I said, "YES! You are!! And because you are the winner..." I pulled a big stuffed puppy from the box, "YOU get the biggest puppy of all!!" She was so happy. And Roxy (who was in the circle earlier) was as happy as Waverly because she won the pink stuffed puppy I knew she had wanted. (I'll admit I cheated with Roxy and looked to be sure she was holding that one when I stopped the music.) The party lasted for about two hours and was a hoot. As a parting gift, the girls received fancy bags filled with satin gloves, feather fans, a Fancy Nancy sticker, a feather-crown pen and body glitter.

I was completely exhausted by the end of the party but it was worth all the energy and time in planning and preparations.

And my sweet Dillen was taken on a special trip to the store today to pick out her very own stuffed puppy dog for graciously stepping out of the Posh Puppy circle - turned out we had a couple of unexpected guests. ;)

Happy Birthday Roxy!! :)