A crown, a frock and a cake

On her third birthday, L came home from the creche with a paper birthday crown. It was nice and hung around being dressed up in for a bit, and then, as these things do, went in the recycling bin - unnoticed by our busy big three year old girl.

What I didn't realise then though was that some people have a whole tradition of birthday crowns. Soulemama is one of them; polkadotjes is another. Turns out that when G was a kid he got a crown on his birthdays too. And I cottoned on to the whole idea just in time to make this:

The night before the big day I hung it in her room with her matching mummy-made birthday dress, leaving this lot stacked up in the kitchen while the cake cooled overnight:

Up at the crack of dawn the next day, and overdoing the sugar as much as possible...

Those few moments of true peace and quiet before the others wake up are one of my favourite times of day - and  I honestly can't think of many things I'd rather do with them than decorate chocolate cake for my big little L.

And then she got up and screamed with pleasure at her dress and her crown and wore them both, of course, all day:

This is the stillest she would stand with them both on simultaneously. So we did some posing this morning, a couple of weeks later, as well:

As you can see, it's just perfect for twirling!

And I think I've started a birthday tradition of our own. Crowns and party clothes, homemade with lots of love, by me.