that don't impress me much.

on saturday, we went to a princess birthday party for the daughter of a good friend. we've known curly since the teen was about three years old, and while we've drifted apart, we still make time to see each other every couple of months or so.

i have curly to thank for my ridiculous attention to minute details in regards to party planning. as long as i've known her, she's always gone all out in decorations, favors, themes, etc. it used to crack me up, but then i got bit by the planning bug for one of the teen's birthday parties and it just escalated from there.

and this party was no less elaborate. while the rest of the house looked fairly normal, there was a big princess-themed moonbouncer in the backyard. and when "cinderella" showed up, we were led to the party room - she'd dressed up the garage to the nines. there were plastic slipcovered lawn chairs tied with a bow, tables with activity centerpieces and fake tealights, all the walls had been draped in plastic murals (which transformed the room into a ballroom straight out of "beauty and the beast"), twinkly lights and fabric draped across the ceiling, and snowflakes and princess decorations hanging from the ceiling. i was sad to have left the good camera in the car, so you'll have to settle for fuzzy, dark iPhone pics instead.

the bean was less than impressed, though. as "cinderella" played games with the other little girls in the back yard, she was more interested in the play kitchen set.

and as the magic show started in the party room, she was far more entertained by climbing up and down the stairs - we live in a one-story house, so stairs are a novelty to her.

as we left, curly handed the bean a paper princess goody bag, thoughtfully stuffed with an age-appropriate toy and no candy (yay!). it kept her happy as we made our way to the cigar club, where the hub was hanging out during the princess party. heh.

later, while on a target run, we came across "the" toy of the season - this horrific contraption called "elmo live." for $60, you too can have your very own talking, singing, dancing elmo. and again, the bean was unimpressed. the look on her face cracked us up.

and finally, in other bean-related news, she managed to slip and fall on her little face this morning. my heart stopped, and i picked her up before she realized what had happened. and a nanosecond later, the bawling began in earnest. she'd managed to cut her little lip, and i hugged her tight as she cried it out. i felt so bad, poor baby. look! she's got a fat lip!

but in true bean fashion, she got over it quickly.

that's my baby!