Ruby's 3rd Birthday Party

Yes, well, she's not quite there yet, but we went ahead and celebrated anyway. We had the party in our backyard, which worked out great, as it was an enclosed area for good toddler containment and tolerably cool (not to mention that we didn't have to drag half the stuff in the house to the park or pick up a ridiculous tab somewhere).

The star of the show

Having a nice moment with Aubrey, actually cooperating over a pile of presents, which shows admirable restraint.

Little bro with Nana

The hit of the party by far was the face painting. My idea, with Karen as the artist. Here we have Karla getting a fish, with her mom Melissa straining to get a peek.

Ruby as a kitty

Jude, already painted with his flower, doing some critiquing of the job being done on the next customer

Aubrey trying in vain to see his rocket in the mirror

The cake has those candles that keep coming back to life, which seemed to just befuddle the toddlers. Maybe we should try again next year, but this year, it was only amusing to the so called adults

Cake!

Opening presents with Mommy

Good sharing!

He's starting to seem like a little puppy, nipping at our heels wherever we go

She named this gift, from her buddy upstairs Rachel, Zuzzie (not Suzy)

Instructing me in some way as I engage in the other big hit for the little ones: tattoos!

Showin' off the tats

And then, the meltdowns. Somehow, they all seemed to happen simultaneously. Karla won hands down for best meltdown. This picture doesn't even begin to capture how fantastic it truly was.

Ruby looking a little worse for wear towards the end.

The aftermath