On Sunday we celebrated Keira's third birthday. She managed to stay in bed until about 8am, then we managed to hold off on the present opening until about 8:45 (Sunday morning is Chris' turn to sleep in). She had great fun opening presents, with Alesia's help. There were lots of presents from Australia thanks to a timely visit of Quentin from ADRA Australia - who really only travels here as our personal courier service!
We thought about getting Keira's hair cut before her birthday, but she hates going to the hair dresser, so it didn't quite happen. Still, shaggy is her natural state. She is wearing one of Alesia's PJ tops, which is like a nightdress for her, but she prefers wearing long dresses.
Later in the afternoon we all got pretty for the party. I even convinced Keira to let me brush her hair! Above is a nice portrait of the girls all dressed up and waiting for the guests to arrive.
We used the lull between getting dressed and when guests arrived to take some family photos in the sun/play room, particularly as the afternoon light is good for photos.
Games during the party included cake decorating, pass the parcel and lots of running around.
After a minor accident Keira had to change dresses during the party - luckily she got two new dresses from Australia! Here she is with our friend Carly - a brave adult friend who decided to dress up for the party also.
Cake time was exciting for all the kids.
After most people left our new friends from New Zealand stayed for a while and the kids wound down with some stories.
Overall it was a great afternoon and I think everyone had a good time. I was too busy rushing around organising things to really see what was happening. Now the next big job is packing our suitcases to go to Melbourne on 12 December. Keira asked me this week when her next birthday was!
