Yee-haw! Gwendolyn decided she wanted to have a cowgirl birthday party to celebrate turning F.O.U.R. Okay, that was pretty easy to guess since our house is practically a stable with her horse collection. With everything that happened with Gwendolyn's health this summer, we didn't even start getting organized until a few weeks before the shindig. But once the party planning began, Gwendolyn and I had so much fun together. I absolutely love this stuff, but what was really special this year is Gwendolyn had ideas about every detail. Big horse balloons: YES. Burlap banner with sparkle pink paint: YES. Pink and green bandanas: YES. Bubble machine: Uh-huh. Little Star: Of course! And we made so many of the details together.
On the big day, Gwendolyn was so proud. She was excited to put on her special outfit (a personalized shirt from Etsy, a ruffle jean skirt, and cowbow boot socks) and she couldn't wait to put on her cowgirl hat. She loved that all the family got in the dressing up spirit, too — Daddy even bought a Stetson. And when she saw all the decorations out she looked at each detail and then gave a nod and an eye roll for approval.
It was a small gathering of G's Santa Barbara besties and their parents and even though Little Star is NOT a party pony, he made an exceptionfor his #1 girl's big milestone. This was the first time Gwendolyn's friends got to meet Little Star and he was just as gentle as ever. He was dressed in majestic purple (Gwendolyn's favorite color) and had a chance to nuzzle each guest (and munch on some of the hay from the decorative bales of hay).
After Little Star departed the children continued to busy themselves with putting on horse tattoos, playing in the bubbles, and dressing up for photos. I put different shaped mustaches on sticks after seeing this darling idea at my friend Sarah's party for her son and just love the photos with these — and the stick is also the perfect prop for Gwendolyn because she can hold it and move it on her own! The guests also had fun with the face paint, which started off with simple stars and moons but soon turned into the children drawing on their very tolerant mommies' arms — things like lakes and race tracks and who knows (sorry guys, hope it washed off 
). And then we all gathered to pull the strings on the horse shoe pinata, sing to the birthday girl, and then share yummy cupcakes.
I could honestly go on and on about Gwendolyn's party, but the main feeling was just so much joy seeing our big four-year-old so happy. She was so puffed up that this was all for her, never becoming overwhelmed, and had a look of sheer bliss the entire party. And that means everything! And Bill and I were able to watch her joy and feel so very grateful for our little determined cowgirl.
{Most of these photos are courtesy of Jennifer Foster from Z's the Day Photography. A huge thank you to Jen for capturing this special celebration for our family.}