The Day Katelyn Had Her Birthday Party

For the past 6 months Katelyn has been getting ready to turn 6 and talking about her birthday party. So when it started getting closer we sat down to discuss it as a family and Katelyn lucked out. We were (and still are) tired and worn out from a very busy summer, so when she said Build-A-Bear, we said ok. The other option she was really excited about was a Hawaiian luau that included inviting her friends and their families. That would have been a lot of fun because those are all the people that are our Spokane family, but it still makes me tired just thinking about it.

Katelyn is crazy about Build-A-Bear and is always playing with her animals. Since she was two, she has shown a definite preference for stuffed animals over dolls, Barbies, etc. In fact, she is "married" to Bear and most of her other stuffed animals are their children. So we booked the party and other than sending out invitations, making the cake and getting the balloons filled up with helium, there was nothing to do but party.

When we arrived our "Party Bear" Melissa was ready for a very excited group of kids. She made sure all of the kids had a name tag and knew exactly what they were going to do. Then it was time for everyone to pick out their animal. Some of the kids knew immediately which animal they wanted, while others contemplated the decision as if it was the most crucial moment of their lives. Katelyn picked out her spotted pink leopard ("Kathryn") weeks in advance and Brooke selected her doggie ("Doddy"). Here are all of the kids proudly holding up their selected animals.

Melissa was a terrific multi-tasker during the next phase of the party. She somehow managed to keep 12 of the 13 guests actively engaged in playing games ("Hot Potato/Birthday cupcake" was the favorite) and having fun while she helped each of the guests stuff their animals.

Brooke was the party guest that did not seem to appreciate any of the games or silly songs. Instead she decided to make herself at home in the store and have a party of her own.

The kids were all so well-behaved and really seemed to have a good time. We had the birthday girl, Sara, Bradley, Ben, Avery... Kara, Kyle, Eden, Maya, Cailyn... Eva, William and Brookie.

Katelyn was so excited for the final phase of the party... cake and ice cream. We found some Build-A-Bear party items on-line and she could hardly wait to use them. She also decided on a rectangle shaped cake with bear paw prints in light blue, purple and pink. She said "It needs to look like a whole bear family walked all over the cake. Talk about easy... I was preparing myself to make something bear shaped so this request wasn't bad at all. I also found some Build-A-Bear poseable figurines (thank you e-bay) to go on the cake. They even came with 2 hearts that you put inside after they perform their duty as cake toppers. She was so excited and I was excited that she was easy to please.

Since I figured that I would probably drop the cake somewhere between the parking lot and Build-A-Bear, so here is a photo before adding the bear figurines or candles.

Here is the cake in it's entirety just moments before being devoured by a very fun group of kids.We had such a great time and loved celebrating six wonderful years of Katelyn with some of her closest friends. Happy Birthday sweetheart!