First Tea Party

Today was Maddie's day with me. She started out a little upset that she couldn't "stay with Mrs. Rankin," and I couldn't believe she said all that so clearly. We stopped by a jewelry store to have my ring repaired and then I asked if she wanted to go to the library or go have a tea party. Her face lit up and she asked if it could be a Princess Tea Party. When I said it could be a princess tea party, she asked if we could go get the purple princess shoes for the party, but I explained that the pink ones she already had would be perfect, so she was content. We stopped by the grocery store to pick up the "princess-perfect" lunch items and she convinced me we needed some flowers for the party, too.
When we got home, she got her pink princess shoes on, dragged the stool to the counter and watched me wash berries and cut princess-perfect circle sandwiches. She picked out blueberry-flavored tea and put the teabags in our cups. I put the kids' little table in the sunbeam in the kitchen and she set up the chairs. I pulled out a table cloth that she helped me spread, then she set the table and found a place for the flowers. As it all came together, her eyes lit up in excitement. I showed her how to put a little bit of milk and sugar in her tea and she loved that her blueberry tea turned a pretty lavender. I snapped a few pictures and we sat down and enjoyed our lovely princess tea party.
She pointed out that the tea party was only for girls and Mommy and Maddie are the girls and since it was a princess tea party, we were actually princess girls. She loved the way the spoon clinked against the teacup and the way it sang a but as she set the cup in the saucer. Each time she took a sip, she wanted to stir the spoon in the cup. We had a delightful time and I am so excited to teach her about tea parties. Next time, we might have to pull our fancy hats and beaded necklaces, as proper princesses would.