Nova is Nine! (and we survived our first sleepover)

Nova turned nine on March 3rd!  This year we ventured into sleepover territory.  Nova requested a dragon sleepover party.  And while some part of me was looking forward to leaving the whole themed party thing behind, it actually made it easier.  

 

As you can see in the photo there was some 'dragon slaying' piñata action going on (actually a triceratops with wings added by Nova--the mail order dragon piñata did not arrive in time).  We also rented dragon themed movies--How to Train Your Dragon (or perhaps it was the sequel), The Never Ending Story, and Spirited Away.  Narnia also got in there on its own merits.  The kids made dragon eye pillows while we were waiting for the pizza to arrive.

 Charlotte got to stay up through cake pops (if I were a professional blogger, I would also have posted about making gluten free cake pops), piñata whacking and present opening.  Gifts were all very Nova-appropriate and some also dragon themed.  Her friends know her! Solomon got in on the first movie.  I figured the girls would go to sleep around 1:00 a.m.  Really, it was about 3:30 a.m.  

The surprise was that they were also up by about 6:30 or 7:00.  A great number of games ensued.  Hide and go seek, night at the museum, twister, and pictureuka to name a few.  All the girls got along beautifully.  Most of them only knew Nova and one other party guest, so this particular group had never been together before.  Charles whipped up a breakfast of eggs and bacon while the preplanned rice pudding baked... turns out kids that wake up at 6:30 need breakfast before 9:00--who knew they'd be up by 6:30?!  (We tired party throwers enjoyed that rice pudding at lunch after our guests had made it home.)  The only late-night rule infraction we discovered was a little indoor pogoing on Nova's new pogo stick.  Reviews from parents in the next week were glowing.  All in all quite a success.  

That evening, which was Nova's actual birthday, we headed over to Grandpa John and Granne's house to celebrate with family.  They graciously hosted, which was even more wonderful than I thought it would be.  Sleepovers have a way of turning a living room upside down. Grandma Roberta, Grandpa Barry and Uncle Matt joined us there and we had good evening celebrating Nova's 9th birthday.  Nova's likes were well anticipated as she not one but two duplicate gifts this year--one a Lego kit and another a particular toy dragon.  Both were well loved and the Legos turned out to be even more fun doubled.  Aunt Mary (my God Mother) caught the end of the party, which was extra fun.  Though they don't see each other often, Nova and Mary get along famously.