My daughter is now 3. She is spunky and crazy and tends to march to the beat of her own drum. She loves princesses and dress up as much as she loves dinosaurs and bugs.

I feel likes she’s growing way too fast, even though she’s still so tiny (3 feet tall and 29 pounds, ha!)! For her birthday party we had her preschool and family friends come celebrate with an ombre pink and gold themed party. We had a bounce house and a dress up station, where we hung fairy wings from the big tree in my in-law’s backyard and filled boxes and crates with wands, tiaras, knight’s helmets, and suits of  armor. The kids had a really good time dressing themselves! My sister and my Central Coast BFF Jen have to take credit for styling the party – Jen made the amazing backdrop and Cheryl put together the banner, candy jars, paper stars and flags. Judy of Cakes by Judy made Riley an adorable (and delicious!) pink ombre ruffle cake, and my dear friend Elaine of Elaine’s Cake Pops made pink ombre cake pops with chocolate cake (Riley’s favorite). Erin of Sprigs Floral Designs provided the assortment of wildflowers as well.

My favorite moment of the party was when Riley blew out the candles on her cake. She hates the ‘Happy Birthday’ song, so we asked the guests not to sing it… but I didn’t mention that she prefers (put nicely) that people don’t cheer really loudly. So naturally when she blew out her candles everybody cheered, which explains this photo 🙂

Mirelle Carmichael is an award-winning fine art photographer based in San Diego and Santa Barbara County. She specializes in high-quality publication-worthy photography for weddings, special events, and editorials. Mirelle Carmichael Photography also offers year-round family photography and portraits throughout Southern California.