For an entire year my youngest child talked about her next birthday and how she wanted a Dora party. I honestly tried to distract her with other options but she was the Hispanic explorer’s loyal fan to the very end.

In late September I finally told KB that, “Four is not a party year at the blue hutch,” and was pleasantly surprised at how well she took it. I’m sure it helped that she had three very nice celebrations AND still got to have Dora play a part.

The first mini party took place in her preschool class.  We made Rice Krispy treat pumpkins (her birthday was at the end of October) so that allergies wouldn’t play a role in the day.  Just a side note: this was a GREAT snack to make together.  It was quick and simple and there were plenty of opportunities for a little one to help.  KB especially loved sticking the Tootsie Roll stems in!

The second mini celebration took place on her actual birthday and at our mother’s morning out program, Toddler Time.  Now, I have to give a warning here. . . the cupcakes turned out a bit psycho and Honey actually told me that kiddos might be too afraid to eat them.  You have been warned.

Oh yeah! Dora cupcakes, baby! KB loved them and that was what was really important.  Little piece of info: you CAN make cake mix cakes without egg!! Using Coke is the answer for an egg allergy folks.  Problem? The cupcakes were so very moist that they smushed around under the weight of the icing and it made the Doras look more and more scary.  Good Times.

When all of the family were home for the evening, we got ready to have our family partay.  Honey kept the kids busy while I went out into the yard to set things up.  When everything was ready, we met in the kitchen and the fun began.  I asked KB if she would get the candles out of their place in the drawer.  

Instead of candles she found a letter, which her sister quickly read to her:

The best part was her genuine reaction:I asked KB if she knew where we should look and, of course, she had no idea.  So, who do we ask for help when we don’t know which way to go? I asked and all of the kids yelled, “MAP!!!”

I gave them this map and we learned Swiper had taken the candles to Treasure Garden.  The way to get there was  through the Lollipop Forest and over the Counting Bridge.  “Forest, Bridge, Treasure Garden!   Say it with me!” Oh yea, we said it all together and then even sang, “Come on, vamanos! Everybody let’s go! Come on let’s get to it! I know that we can do it! Where are we going? (Treasure Garden!) Where are we going? (TREASURE GARDEN!)”

KB put on her trusty Backpack and we headed out into the yard to find the Lollipop Forest.

Can you see the lollipops stuck into the ground? They make three little paths and KB had to chose which path to walk down. One path was covered in snakes, so we couldn’t walk that way. . .

Another path was peppered with spiders and we couldn’t pass that way. . .

Unfortunately, the ENTIRE YARD was covered with this 

because of these. . .

Anyway, KB chose the correct path through the Lollipop Forest and we made it to the Counting Bridge.   Here they found a coloring sheet that they had to color the numbers 1-10 while counting in Spanish.  Where would they find crayons? “Backpack!!”

Once they made it across the counting bridge in the picture, they got to cross the bridge in the yard.

All that was left was to find the Treasure Garden.  On the map it looked like there were three trees in a triangle and so we looked around our yard and found a triangle of trees in the front yard. (imagine that!!!) When we arrived at the trees we found a treasure chest and Swiper’s red bandana.  He’d been there, alright, and must have dropped his bandana when he heard us coming! We looked in the treasure chest and . . . wait for iiiiit. . . there were the CANDLES!!!

This was my sweet girl’s response: (She’s yelling, “We did it!”)

A note from Dora:

It was such fun.  We ran right inside and had cake and opened presents.  KB’s favorites? A Dora pillow doll, of course, and her new bean bag!

The real affirmation for this mom? As soon as presents were done and we exhaled, a little voice piped up and timidly asked, “Mom, can we do it again?”  AWESOME!!