Dancing Queen

On Sunday, June 12th, Aliya had a her first bday party in Australia.

Birthday girl, ready to party

We figured the large empty living area would be perfect for a Dancing Disco Diva party, and it was. 

Dancing girls

Knowing that I can barely control my two kids, I hired a professional. 

Disco Jazzy, who effortlessly kept a dozen little girls totally entertained

She did glittery facepaint on all the girls:

Facepaint!

Alanna asked for a peace sign...she got a Mercedes Benz logo

She led them in a variety of dancing games, such as a Freeze Dance, a version of musical chairs, Limbo, the Macarena, and taught them a dance to Katy Perry's California Girls. Unless you're one of Aliya's grandparents you probably won't be interested in the video but I've included it for their sakes and posterity.  :-)

Final pose

Obligatory group shot

"What should I wish for?"

After snacks and cake, the kids went home. For the goody bags, we included a CD of some of Aliya's favorite dancing songs that I made, plus a fancy bracelet and the disco earrings that the girls wore during the party. Here the goody bags are usually called lolly bags and generally contain unwrapped candy. One child asked me why it was called a goody bag if there were no goodies in it. Guess she wanted candy instead! Oops. All-in-all, it was a great party. I feel quite grateful that Aliya has made some wonderful friends here. She missed her friends from home (first time ever that Amanda and Katie weren't at her bday party), and it was different for me not having any other parents stay for the party, but she had a great time and that's all that matters!