Eleanor is 4!

Eleanor turned four on Friday! She's had a few celebrations, starting the previous Saturday when my family came (they left very early on her actual birthday for the snow, so it had to be early) and we had cake number one.

Then on her birthday Simon's parents came up and brought another cake with them!

It's always a relief when your children open their presents and are thrilled; we got it right this year!

We bought Eleanor an easel and a selection of paints and other art supplies, a stack of puzzles, and a few jewellery trinkets.

Then on Sunday we had a party for her, which entailed a dozen fairies/butterflies flitting around our living room for several hours. They were the noisiest butterflies I've ever come across! Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of them all in their wings; it was a very busy afternoon!

I took inspiration from Corrie's blog, and gave them pre-iced cupcakes with a big selection of sweets and decorations, and they decorated their own.

Then we put them all on the tiered stand, for an instant cake without the fuss of decorating it myself - perfect. Of course, the unrehearsed effect of the sparklers triggering the smoke alarm was a bit unnecessary...

After the guets went we did a little tidying up and had a quick early dinner, popped James and Eleanor into the bath and then (unbeknownst to them) into bed over an hour early!

Happy 4th Birthday our darling girl! We hope the coming year is as much fun as the last.