KITTEN AND BUTTERFLIES: CELEBRATING INGRID'S THIRD BIRTHDAY

Special encounters are written in the stars. Katherine’s one began in the most serendipitous way. We initially met in our Parisian boutique during her baby moon trip to France. Her smile glowing with anticipation of her child to be, along with her vision of beauty and grace instantly caught our heart. 

Three years later, we've had the privilege of witnessing Ingrid's journey through her most precious milestones: an enchanting orangerie first birthday, a whimsical circus celebration for her second, and now, a delicate world of kittens and butterflies for her third. Along with many Easter, Christmas, Fall, Spring and Summer outfits! Each and every season has been a reason to dress up and create special moments.

From our boutique in Paris to her home in Utah, Katherine has brought intentionality, love, and artistry to each celebration by transforming milestones into memories, and dresses into heirlooms. 

This year feels even more magical, because the dress created for Ingrid will now live beyond this moment. What began as a mother’s dream for her little girl has become something much wider. Katherine chose to release this design in limited edition, so other little girls can step into the same world of kittens and butterflies, whimsy and wonder. A dress imagined for one child is now a keepsake for many : each one carrying a piece of Ingrid’s story, and the timeless magic of childhood.

Shop the dress

This Q&A is about this year's kitten and butterfly party, the magic of childhood celebrations, and what it means to honor these fleeting, beautiful years. Find inspiration for your own party.

What inspired the kitten and butterfly theme for Ingrid’s third birthday? Was there a particular moment or interest of hers that sparked this vision?

I have loved kittens since I was a little girl, and Ingrid has too! She has always been drawn to anything with kittens or cats, she dotes on her little kitten stuffie and loves to play with kitties in real life whenever she has a chance.

As for the butterflies, last spring she suddenly began noticing them all around…now she looks for them wherever we go and never misses a chance to find and chase them!

When I asked Ingrid what she wanted for her dress and party this year, she constantly went back and forth between answering “kitties!” or “butterflies!”
Finally, I realized, why choose one when you can have both?? And just like that, the idea of the kitty and the butterflies was born!

Can you describe the dress you imagined for Ingrid this year? Can you explain its symbolism and details?

At first, all I was sure of was that I wanted it to be pink! Ingrid has so many colorful dresses, but somehow none of them were a soft traditional pink, so I knew it was time to fill that void in an extra special way. 

I wanted the dress to be quintessentially feminine and princess-like, but also playful! The pearls on the bodice echo the Swiss dot of the skirt, evoking the whimsy of polka dots, while the light, airy organza brings to mind the fresh meadow air in which the kitten and butterflies frolic.

It’s no coincidence there are three differently colored butterflies in the embroidery—each one represents a different year and phase of Ingrid’s life. Even as the kitten reaches joyfully for them, they remain just out of her reach, reminding us that time is fleeting and every moment a gift!

Ingrid’s look always feels so thoughtfully finished, down to the smallest details. How did you choose her accessories for this celebration?

The accessories are always such a meaningful part of completing the story for me. For this celebration, I wanted everything to feel cohesive and intentional, so I made Ingrid’s bow myself to perfectly complement the dress.

For her shoes, I turned once again to a Spanish brand I’ve loved for years, Childrenchic. Their velvet Mary Janes come in the most beautiful colors, all with matching soles, which, as you know, is a non-negotiable detail for me! Over the years, all of Ingrid’s velvet shoes have been from them; she now has emerald green, plum, pink, and black, and they’ve become little staples in her wardrobe.

How did the kitten and butterfly theme come to life in the party details, from décor to activities?

I created kitten and butterfly illustrations inspired by the design of the embroidery, which were then used to create the invitation, cake and cookie art, Pin the Bow on the Kitty game, and other little cutouts we included in the party décor.

Since the illustrations were two dimensional and it’s difficult to find three dimensional kitty décor that’s not cartoonish, we filled the air of the party with beautiful paper butterflies and balloons!

What about the cake and biscuits ?

The cake and cookies ended up being one of the most meaningful parts of the celebration, especially because the woman who created the cookies truly felt like an answer to my prayers. My original baker had to cancel just four days before the party. On Valentine’s Day of all days and I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to find anyone in time. It honestly felt like a small miracle when this sweet and incredibly talented girl from SaltCreek Cookies was willing to make room in her already busy holiday schedule to help make Ingrid’s party extra special.

She was so kind about it too and made me feel as though it was no trouble at all, and even told me it was her honor to do them. The cookies turned out beautifully, with so much care and attention to detail. One of my favorite touches was the “3” she created with the lattice and pearl details from the bodice of Ingrid’s dress. It felt so thoughtful and intentional.

At first, I assumed she must have had the availability because she hadn’t taken many Valentine’s orders, but later I saw in her stories  that she had completed at least a dozen other orders that same week. It made me even more grateful for the love and effort she poured into Ingrid’s celebration.

As for the cake itself it was created by Mrs Backer's Pastry Shop who worked from images of the dress to bring my vision to life.

Looking back at the orangerie, circus, and now kittens and butterflies, do you see a thread connecting these themes, or does each reflect a different chapter of Ingrid's personality?

Each dress is so different, they definitely do reflect different chapters!
The birds in her first Orangerie dress were inspired by the first dress we ever bought for her in Paris before she was even born, which she wore in our first family photos in Paris when she was just 9 months old—a treasured memory of her babyhood!

The circus dress was exploding with color and character, just like her own vivacious toddler personality was doing at the time! 

The princess pink reflects the little lady she’s becoming, while the whimsical kitten and butterflies remind me she’s still my baby girl!

What does it mean to you to celebrate these early milestones so intentionally? How do you hope Ingrid will look back on these moments when she is older?

Sometimes I wonder if it’s silly to spend so much time and effort on an experience she won’t even remember. Then I realize the true joy is seeing the wonder and excitement in her face now, as her little eyes grow big and she runs around discovering all the little details—not just in the party but also in her dress! (Half of the pictures we took in her dress had her inspecting some part of it!) I hope all of these experiences add up to her one day looking back on her childhood as a truly magical time.

In the rush of everyday life, how do you create space to truly savor these fleeting years of early childhood?

As an older mom who had her only child extremely intentionally, I have been determined from the start to savor every minute and never forget no matter how difficult things may seem in the moment, these are the days I will yearn for not just when she is grown, but even in just a few years’ time.

There have been many times I’ve caught myself in a frustrating moment wishing to have some time to myself, when I’ve had to stop and reorient my thinking. I remind myself the day is coming sooner than I think when she won’t want to be by my side every second, and then I think about how sad I will feel looking back on times I wasted the chance to enjoy her. That thought alone is enough to make me set aside everything I can to spend time with her!

As a mother, what has surprised you most about watching Ingrid grow over the past years?

It has surprised me how much she has changed while also remaining exactly the same! Even from the time we were in the hospital at her birth, she was wide eyed and curious and funny, not a typical sleepy newborn at all. The pediatrician at the hospital even commented on how unusually expressive she was and said she thought Ingrid was legitimately smiling! She has always done funny, sassy things, and has always loved to be silly and laugh. As she gets older, it feels like she is just growing into her ability to express those sides of herself more fully, but they’ve always been there!

Three butterflies on a dress. Three years of a childhood blooming bright. What Katherine has created for Ingrid goes far beyond birthday parties : it is a philosophy of presence, of choosing to notice, to commemorate, and to slow down in a world that rarely encourages it. At Charlotte sy Dimby, this is precisely the spirit we seek to honor through every stitch, every pearl, every whisper of organza. Childhood is not a chapter to rush through, it is the story itself. We are endlessly grateful to Katherine for trusting us to be a small part of Ingrid's, and we cannot wait to see which dream she imagines next.

Follow Katherine on Instagram

Read more of our party articles