Princess Ellie is 5

The royal celebration commenced this weekend as Princess Ellie turned 5.  We went all out with pink and sparkles (which I am still sweeping off the floor 5 days later!).  I loved getting creative with this one and avoiding prepackaged Disney princess paraphernalia.  Of course pinterest and etsy came in very handy with this endeavor, as always.  I've figured out that you can pretty much make a party with a big pack of pretty scrapbook paper.  It became invitations, thank you cards, princess party hats, wands, and yards and yards of pennant bunting.  

 Grandma carried on the tradition with her cake making and made Ellie the cutest pink princess chocolate cake (with a frosting necklace and earrings to boot!).  

 

The girls came decked out in their own princess gear or helped themselves to our endless supply of dresses.  Ellie managed to go through 3 different dresses during the party.  She said dressing up was her favorite part (no shocker for a girl who goes through at least 3 outfit changes each day!)

Are those dainty princess fingers or what?  

Her favorite gift was the prince/beast doll from Beauty and the Beast.  When we took her to the Disney store the week before her party, I asked her to show me what her favorite thing in the whole store was.  Lucky for me she walked right past the nearly $50 dresses straight to a Ken doll of the Beast.  Weird I know, but I can't complain due to the $8 price tag and the enormous smile on her face when she opened it.

Happiest Birthday Princess Ellie!

Calling all princesses...

We're polishing our crowns and practicing our poses...

Ellie's princess birthday is right around the corner. 

We can't wait!

Beauty and the Birthday

Brooklyn celebrated her birthday Beauty and the Beast style this year.  She got to take her sister Ellie, cousin Adina, and good friend Cielo, to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D. The girls munched popcorn for a steady hour and a half (only possible with bottomless movie theater popcorn), sang along (loud), and Ellie even got up to dance (music moves that girl).  I loved sitting in the middle of all of them and watching them soak it all in.  Then back to the house for a quick costume change in to her Belle dress (perfectly timely thrift store find, with minor alterations from a size 12 to a size 7) and pizza and cake with the family.  Once again Grandma did not disappoint with the beautiful Belle cake, and Brooklyn made a haul with her gifts (especially with Squinkies this year). 

two at the zoo

I love throwing birthday parties for my girls.  And typically I go all out.  My mother-in-law still teases me about Brooklyn's first birthday party and how the live ladybugs got loose in my trunk.  It was a ladybug party...you obviously have to have live ladybugs  for a ladybug hunt right?  Themes are my thing.  Handmade invitations, unique decor, hand cut banners, coordinating paper goods, homemade cakes and cupcakes, crafted party favors, (hours on pinterest)... you get the idea.

But I really reigned myself in this time. Simplified.  And it was totally great.  For Leighton's second birthday party, we had a two at the zoo party.  Just family, smuggled picnic lunch, and simple (and somewhat smashed) funfetti cupcakes.

 Did she feel ripped off, neglected, or overlooked?  Not for a second.  She loved it.  

got milk (and cookies!)?

Threw the sweetest (literally) shower for the sweetest friend this weekend.  Its one of those pregnancies that is almost as exciting as my own.  The kind that gives you goosebumps when you first hear about it, and you can't stop smiling when you see the baby bump for the first time.  It's been 7 long years of waiting for our friends to grow their family and have their first child.  Seven years of lots of praying, hoping, and waiting.  And it is so amazing to see God answer the cries of their hearts and bless them beyond measure with the life of little baby Owen.

Anhoo... the shower was a big hit.  We had it in the evening and went with the ever popular milk and cookies theme  (thank you pinterest).  Let me just say, plethora of cookies.  Like hundreds and hundreds.  Most popular cookie award went to the pumpkin chocolate chip with cream cheese frosting.  I agree, delish.  Personally, couldn't stay away from the snickerdoodles.  They went perfect with the milk (in adorable cartons of course).  The empty frappuccino jars "for sippers" and  mason jars "for dippers" was my favorite part- an original idea for once!  And yes, I'm a dipper.   I kinda went nuts with the paper decor.  I couldn't stop until I had used it all up.  Didn't really know what I was going to do with it at first, but I ended up making pinwheels galore.  Very easy to make by the way, and super cute.  They may even be finding their way into Owen's nursery!  And contrary to popular opinion, 20 hungry women can't consume hundreds and hundreds of cookies in one sitting, so each guest got to take a few cookies for the road in printed brown paper bags (from my home printer!). 

Congratulations Adessa!  Can't wait to meet little baby O!

Ellie's Jessie Party

 As Jessie would say...Yeeeehaw! 

We had a fabulous time celebrating Ellie's 4th birthday this weekend.  This "Jessie Party" has been a year in the making (in her little mind) and turned out super cute.  With a serious shortage of Jessie paraphernalia (thanks to her more popular Toy Story costars), we got creative with the cowgirl theme.  And we had a root tootin' good time!

 

 The Facts:

Goodie bags- squirt guns, trail mix, Toy Story gummies, western silly bands (Oriental Trading Co.)

Stick horses/hats- made from stuffed socks, felt, yarn and dowels (super easy tutorial here), red cowgirl hats (Party City)

Table decor- Jessie dolls, hay bales, buckets filled with peanuts, gingham table cloth, cow print fabric, rope

Bunting- bandanas, cow print fabric tied together

Menu- BBQ chicken sandwiches, baked beans, corn on the cob, pasta salad, watermelon, root beer and lemonade

Cake- made by Grandma of course!

The Fun:

Each girl was greeted by Jesse and received her own Bullseye horse and hat (every cowgirl needs a horse and a hat!).  They then colored pictures of Jessie and Bullseye, made cowgirl necklaces and cowgirl boot magnets (Oriental Trading Co.).  Dinner was served to the cowgirls out on the patio on their own little tables.  They grubbed on chicken, watermelon and lots of root beer.  After dinner, they played a beanbag in the hat game and finished off with presents and cake.

Straw-ba-ba-ba-ba Berry Shortcake

Almost 30 years ago a little girl celebrated her 6th birthday Strawberry Shortcake style 

(look at the adoration of the cake!)...  

Brooklyn knew she wanted to have a Strawberry Shortcake party like mommy practically the day after her birthday last year.  12 little girls invaded the house dressed in pajamas for 2 jam packed hours of beading, coloring, tattooing, eating, playing, screaming and seriously thrashing the girls room.  And Grandma deserves all the praise for creating Brooklyn's favorite party of the party...the cake.   It had been three decades since the last one, but leave it to grandma to pull it off again.  So what will it be next year Brooklyn? (I don't think Holly Hobby party favors will be as easy to find...)

Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday

One sunny morning our little caterpillar turned one...and she was still hungry!

Inspired by Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, 

we celebrated Leighton's first birthday this weekend. 

I found these party supplies at Target months ago planning for Leighton's birthday, 

which comes way too soon after Christmas 

(next year I'll plan her party in October- a much slower month!).

 We made egg carton caterpillars and coffee filter/clothes pin butterflies...

 Had lots of fun with green paint...

And did some Eric Carle coloring.

I couldn't believe I found gummy caterpillars (thank you Walmart) 

and they ate their way though peach and apple O's... but they were still hungry!

 I planned on a Very Hungry Caterpillar fruit salad with lunch, 

but didn't count on the fact that strawberries and plums are very hard to find in December- 

none at 3 grocery stores!

 

Brooklyn shared the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar 

with everyone before Leighton opened her presents.

Grandma, our traditional cake baker was out of commission for the weekend 

so I had to step up to the plate and make the cake this year. 

 

  Then she at through one cupcake and she wasn't hungry anymore...

 Happy 1st Birthday Leighton!

My niece Adina had the most amazing birthday party this weekend.    UP has been her favorite movie form the first time she saw it and she insisted on having an Up party (which she has been looking forward to for months).  Her daddy built a prefect model of the house from the movie and the filled hundreds of balloons to attach to it.  Grandma made the cake, of course, and Adina's  mommy used tons of creative ideas to make the day extra special.  I'm sure she'll blog more about it soon here.

She takes the cake!

Grandma did it again. She always manages to pull off the most incredible birthday cakes for the girls. Ellie kept coming back to the cake for quick peeks and frosting nibbles all night. And the girls enjoyed eating the pillows, sheets, and rug more than the actual cake.

Somewhere over the ...pt 2

The pinata was a great success. It was fortified enough give each kid several good whacks and to the delight of all, candy eventually rained down.

These were also great crowd pleasers. They were my first attempt at cupcakes form scratch, and took a good hour to make, but they turned out pretty good.

Somewhere over the.....

You can go from this...

to this...
to this...

to this!

Ellie is turning three this week and wanted a pinata at her party. Now she has been prepping for her "Buzz Lifeyear"(as she calls it) party for nearly a year now. We decided to do a family party and I couldn't justify a pinata for only three kids. Nor could I find a Toy Story pinata, which is bazaar considering the recent Toy Story hype. So our solution was to bring a pinata and cupcakes to a potluck we are going to with several families from church. Now you would think my proximity to the Mexican border would put me in a fine place to find an amazing cheap pinata. But unless I actually wanted to cross the border, I would have to give an arm and a leg at Pinata World for something that would soon be smashed to pieces. So I decided we would attempt to make one of our own. After inspecting the pinatas at Target (what kid wants a bull, burro, or star pinata?) I was ready to go. And would you believe the whole thing cost me under a dollar? Now the real test will be when it gets hit. Hopefully it won't bust on the first try- but hey, if the kids get candy, that's really all that maters right?

Swashbuckling Fun

Brooklyn celebrated her 5th birthday pirate style. An absolutely gorgeous day in San Diego (much unlike last week when it was pouring rain and we had to reschedule the party- 20 kids in the garage wasn't too appealing to me).

We used recycled water bottles filled with shells, sand, and gold glitter to make the invitations.

Ellie has been practicing her ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH Matey! all week.

Grandma Jan kept the family tradition of making the cake. Her spelling skills are a bit lacking, but boy can she decorate.

Brett thoroughly entertained the kiddos with a pirate story of Toothless Jack who had been lost at sea and left behind his buried treasure. They then traipsed all over the park finding clues that led them to the treasure- a treasure box pinata. Brett was a huge hit and much cheaper than the clown at the other party at the park!

All the kids got pirate bandannas, tattoos, earrings, compasses,
and eye patches and climbed aboard.