According to my daughter, being four means that she is no longer cute.
“I’m big now,” she told me. “‘Cute’ is for babies.”
Don’t tell anyone, though — I personally considered her birthday party very cute indeed.
I usually like to have cute themes for my children’s birthday parties — pirates, ladybugs, whatever. This year I was a little busy and uninspired, so I decided Ella’s party would be “birthday” themed.
It was also an attempt to recapture the kind of birthdays I had when I was little — the guests arrived, had a snack, we played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs, a game in which you try to drop clothespins into a jar (does it have a name?). Then we opened presents, sang “Happy Birthday,” and ate cake and ice cream.
Voila! Very laid-back, although it helped that the child-to-adult ratio was pretty even (both grandmas and my sister attended). It also helped that the girls (two of whom were also named Ellie, v. v. confusing) were the calm sort.
Was it a success? Well, when Eleanor climbed into her chair and saw her birthday cake, she declared it to be “the best birthday party ever.” Awwww!
Here she is helping set the table:
She was as polite as can be opening presents, even to her big brother:
Eleanor was over the moon that both of her grandmas could be there:
And may I just say how proud I am of this cake? It was a chocolate-chip cake with almond flavoring. Someone later asked Eleanor what kind of cake it was, and you know what she said? “It was Princess flavored!” Yes . . . I always add Extract of Princess when baking:
Mmm . . . Excuse me, but there are a few cakey leftovers that I need to consume just now!
Casa Camisas 
Awwww…Ellabelle! I for one think she’s still cute.
(Extract of princess, indeed! “Are they made from real Girl Scouts?”)
There’s a birthday present on its way to Ella…eventually…we’ve had quite the crazy few weeks around here — including, of course, our own fourth birthday party.
She looks like such a grown-up girl. Still incredibly cute (sorry, Eleanor, don’t mean to use such a baby word for you), but growing right into beautiful. We miss you Eleanor!!
Wow. I wish that cake came in the gluten-free princess style, I’d probably eat it all myself.
I can’t believe she’s 4, with her lovely (not cute), long brown hair. This is craziness. Where does the time go?
Oh, and according to eHow, it’s called Clothespin Drop, which seems like a slight variation of what you’ve already said. So no, there is no fancy name.
How fun! I love the cake – how very talented you are! The writing on the cake is neater than I can do on paper! I love birthday parties. Birthdays just simply don’t come around often enough.