Amelia has been counting down to her 7th birthday for the past 3 months now. She became quite the swimmer this summer and wanted a mermaid inspired party at the pool.

Fast forward one week until her birthday, she changed her mind and wanted to rent a water inflatable. So I spent an hour on the phone one Monday calling around to all the local rentals and was able to secure the last possible one left in our area! Whew!

We had her party at our house this year and invited all of our neighborhood friends plus a few others. Military life is hard in the fact that a few of her friends moved away this summer. I was afraid she’d be sad that they weren’t able to come, but we had so many dear friends show up to celebrate her and for that I am so grateful.

I had the great idea to paint her face with mermaid scales and glitter but it lasted all of 5 minutes after she went down the water slide! Pictures before the storm are a must! 

A yearly tradition is for me to bake the birthday cake! It never turns out quite how my inspiration picture looks, but the kids love it and that’s all that matters to me. (Although I did get super excited when not one, but two people asked me where I bought it from! I consider that a win.)

Mermaid party decor!

Our 7 year old:

Currently missing more teeth than she has.

Loves all things girly like painting her nails and wearing lipgloss.

Is extremely picky about her clothes and hair (prefers her hair smashed down on her head).

Loves to dance and sing.

Is not a morning person.

Hasn’t found a sweet she doesn’t like.

Loves stuffed animals just like her mom.

Is extremely talented in sports like swimming and basketball but doesn’t like to compete.

Will make you laugh hard while subsequently testing all of your parenting skills at the same time.

Loves playing with her neighborhood friends but can also play by herself for hours.

Has the funniest and most dramatic facial expressions.

Enjoys digging through the recycling to find things to craft with.

I was hoping we had outgrown the piñata stage, but she was adamant that she have one this year. She broke it in just 3 swings, so I’d say we’re done! 

Amelia is a chocolate lover, but came up to me and said that she wanted a vanilla cake this year so that I could have some (I don’t like chocolate). ☺️

The water inflatable was a rousing success! We even pulled out our slip n slide for the party.

Her current favorite things are: Barbies, Orbeez, American Girl dolls, crafts, and bath bombs!

Our big gift to her was a hoverboard with a go-kart attachment. Our neighbors got one for their kids last Christmas, and she’s been begging for one ever since! The last picture in the sequence shows her face when she saw it!

After cake and presents, it was back to the water fun. My neighbors really show up!

Her girl besties!

Amelia said it was an awesome day! Our new neighbors behind us also had a mermaid party for their daughter that afternoon, so everyone slept good that night!

I know a lot of people that are great cooks and show their love to their family by cooking etc. I’m a horrible cook, but it dawned on me this past week that one of the ways I like to show my love to my kids is through design. Whether it be designing their birthday cakes and parties, a spider man photo shoot, or their rooms, it brings me great joy to see their faces light up with excitement when they see the things I’ve created for them.

I hope they’ll look back when they’re older and see how much they were loved.