It's all in the details

One of my good friends requested a post dedicated to the party details. So here it is! I had so much fun planning Devyn's birthday party last week! It was a princess flamingo theme. I was originally going to go with Alice in Wonderland, but decided all the precious Pinterest tea-party  birthday ideas had to be saved for when she's older. (Gives me time to collect vintage teapots!)

 I started about 6 weeks out keeping my eye on Pinterest, craft stores, Target (of course!) and party stores.  I previously posted about the feather boa birthday wreath, so if you want to check out the DIY tutorial, click here!

I came across the pink polka dot balloons at Party City. They were sold in a pack of 20. I grabbed some of the teal (or Tiffany blue, whatevs!) balloons at the balloon counter. In the background, you can see the birthday bunting I made. I collected pics from Devyn's first year from 0 months to 12 months that I took on the lambie play mat. Each month I took a picture of her with a paper birthday cake that said how many months old she is. I opted to go with the prop instead of the onesie sticker shirts because I wanted a collection of photos in my favorite of her outfits from the first year. I glued them to bright pink, light pink, teal, and lime green scrapbook paper border and used double stick tape to affix them to the bunting triangles. I also numbered each triangle and hung them in order so guests could see her grow. It was my favorite decoration, and definitely the most time-consuming to make!

We served Devyn's favorite foods. Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets (with Polynesian sauce for Mommy!), fruit salad, a veggie tray (with strawberry shortbread thumbprint cookies), broccoli salad, pink cookies, mini chocolate cupcakes, and chicken salad. 

Her cake was white chocolate ganache with buttercream icing. Her cake sweated a little bit (come on, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software, get here now!). We ordered it from Kroger, custom colors for her party. The design matched what we ordered for Cade's first birthday.  It's seriously one of the most delicious cakes I've ever had! And I loved that it looked like fondant but had that scrumptious buttercream taste!

I made tissue paper flower poms and hung them from our chandelier over the food table. Devyn loved them!

I did a birthday photo shoot at the park with Devyn. We used this photo on her invitation that my brother custom designed for us. We had a fancy flamingo princess themed party, so the gift baskets had a Grow-Your-Own-Flamingo egg (Dollar Tree), glow stick necklaces, shiny bead necklaces, and bubbles. All from the Dollar Tree and Albertson's.

I was so happy to come across the  yard flamingos in the Target Dollar Spot. I literally squealed and did a happy jump dance with my mom when I found them. I drew the flamingo my  brother created for the invite on pink posterboard and added glittery tiara, ring, and necklace accessories. I put one on the front door and another on the living room window above the kids' table.

I bagged popcorn favors for all the guests. Movie Theater Butter + Pink Vanilla = yumminess! Popcorn was from Pop It! in Plano.

Her bib is custom order from Etsy. Pink flamingos on Tiffany blue backing. The cupcake tiara is from Little Lam Boutique in Richardson.  Her smash cake is an oversized cupcake with custom icing to match her birthday cake, also from Kroger.
Devyn was right, it was too pretty to smash! The big kids at the party helped show her how to dig in!  More pics of the party itself to come.

DIY Feather Boa Wreath

 

Like all great ideas, I came across this one from Pinterest! I just had to make a fabulous birthday wreath, so I collected ideas on my "Let's Party, Y'all!" pinboard and decided on this wreath.

Estimated total cost $35. You definitely could do it for cheaper if you found the boas at an online wholesaler, or a drag queen's garage sale. Whatevs! I was in a crunch and had to get it done ASAP, so I didn't have that luxury. When you do hit up the craft store (I used Michaels and Hobby Lobby), do NOT go without your smart phone loaded with the Michaels app, and Hobby Lobby website with coupon pulled up. Both stores will scan the coupons from your phone.  Michaels take competitors' coupons, as does JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby does not. Definitely go prepared. The boas can make this project tres expensive if you're not prepared.

Materials: 
Foam pool noodle - Dollar Tree - $1
Duct tape or clear packing tape - about 2 feet worth
Grosgrain ribbon - to hang from door/wall - $1.99
Thinner grosgrain ribbon - to hang your letter initial - $0.50
Glitter paint
Wood letter - Hobby Lobby - $1.29
4 feather boas - Hobby Lobby - $8.99 each (but look for cheaper online!)
Floral pins - less than $2

First tape your pool noodle into a circular form. This is the base of your wreath!

Next tie your ribbon. Head to the spot where you'd like to hang your wreath and measure the distance you'd like it to hang. I did this about halfway through (pic below) so I could see how fluffy the wreath would be. I'm super visual, so this part helped me out.



You can hold your wreath as you work or hang it, whichever works best for you. I did a little of both. Wrap your boas around and around the noodle. You can leave a little room between wraps or pack them tightly together. Mine are pretty tight. I started off looser, but it wasn't as lush a look as I wanted. About every 3 wraps or so I would use the floral pins to tack the boas onto my wreath form. I love not using hot glue! It was easier to work on this project in between juggling kids' needs and pick back up later without worrying about leaving a hot glue gun laying around. ALSO you can re-use the boas this way.


This is a pic of the pins I chose to use. They worked really well! My boas are super secure, but they were easy to reposition. For the wood letter I started off with Krylon glitter spray. I, apparently, am some sort of jackass because it globbed up on me. Try doing short bursts and shaking the can frequently to avoid globbing if you go this route! I happened to have a silver Sharpie paint pen, so I opted to paint pen the other side of my letter and use Tulip glitter paint on top once the paint pen dried. The effect was as disco-ball as I was hoping for! I used a sparkly translucent thin ribbon to tie my "D" to the larger teal ribbon loop I used as the hanger. 

The effect was super cute. I hung the wreath on my front door for my daughter's fancy flamingo first birthday party! I'm going to hang the wreath in her room post-party as decor. It might make it's way to my classroom if I can't resist stealing it from my little diva!  It's too fabulous not to show off!

Other options would be finding some jewel floral picks to stick in to add some bling.
I saw some other cute ideas on Pinterest. One lady had made her wreath from orange boas and added a giant black spider for Halloween. Another person had used white boas and glittery snowflakes for the holidays. I came across boas that were purple, yellow, and green feathers and thought it would be a super-fun Mardi Gras wreath for you Louisiana fans!  It would be a cute springy wreath with little Easter bunnies and glittery foam eggs.  Seriously, I think there is at least one more feather boa wreath in my future.

Tomorrow

I am so exhausted, but I don't want to sleep. Because when I wake up my darling baby girl will be one year old. This time last year I couldn't sleep. It was like Christmas Eve. This year I am so proud of her to be turning one. Isn't that silly? But proud accurately describes this emotion. The amount of information a child receives their first year of life is truly amazing. Learning about and adapting to this world are huge things. I'm proud of us for surviving sleepless nights, teething, breastfeeding, first fevers, daycare, all of it! I'm trying to recall my fears and worries a year ago. One was, how can I possibly have from in my hear for another child? (don't worry Devyn, I sobbed before Cade was born because I loved our lhasapoo Izzy so much and just couldn't fathom how I could love a baby boy!). As soon as you were born darling girl, I was head over heels for you. Each new face you make and word you say and thing you do stretches my heart even more. You make strangers fall in love with you everywhere we go, of course your momma is totally smitten with everything you do. (except that diaper last night, that was nasty something fierce!!) I love you, Devyn. So so much. Another fear was am I cut out to mother two kids? Somehow I have to toot my own horn, because I am mommy to both of you, and sometimes I flat out rock it. Other times I fake it, and other times I fall flat on my face. But I am learning and loving it! Having baby number two was the decision that completed me. That little ache in my heart for a baby girl that I've carried my whole entire life was soothed by you little girl. You amaze me and I love you. I wish to be your best friend one day and I know we will learn so much from each other. I can't wait for you to teach me some things. I am trying so hard to pull together a beautiful first birthday party for you. We have pink tissue paper pom Pom flowers hanging through the house, a pink feather boa in our front door with a glittery D hanging from it, pictures from your first year strung from ribbon and pink and real scrapbook paper, and more surprises to come! I hope you love your special birthday. I have agonized about every single detail. Cupcakes or cake balls or cake? What kind of icing? What type of tutu should you wear? Where can I find THE perfect birthday shirt? Why can't I find that one little white sandal??!!! I want you to have proof when you are sixteen and hating me that I would give the world to make everything so perfectly beautiful for you. Just to see you smile and laugh and clap your sweet little hands is all I want. Time to go put on some Tim McGraw, watch your photo slideshow another time, and wrap some gifts. I love you Devy Doo. Love, Mommy

Fun Party Friends

Friends are starting to turn 3!!! Cade can't wait for his turn.  About once a week he asks me, "Is it my happy birthday to me?"  He has a Toy Story calendar and we talk about how his birthday is in April.  The other day he perused birthday decor in Hobby Lobby. He liked the diggers (construction theme), then the cowboy boots theme, then Diego caught his eye.  I don't want to confuse him by making him decide this early.... and I know toddlers are worse than women when it comes to changing their minds...But I REALLY want him to decide on a party theme ASAP so I can start Pinteresting some cute decor ideas and shopping online for sales.  AND picking a fabulous party venue that can do most of the planning for me.  Here are some pics of a fun party we went to at a gymnastics venue. Super kudos to my friend Amy who planned this awesome par-tay!!! The kids were all on Cloud 9 AND slept well that night.  Success!!!

The foam pit was an instant attraction! He took one quick glance at me and soon as I told him it's okay to jump in there he went for it!

He had a blast jumping on the trampolines. There was one for every kid to jump on! There was fun party music playing (aka Kidz Bop--- funny how my idea of party music has evolved since high school. Jamming in parking lots to Tom Petty and Bone Thugs to the rated G version of  Black Eyed Peas songs)

Here he is with the birthday girl, Audrey. They play together so well. It's presh! And please take a moment to notice their perfectly round heads. Bye bye plagiocephaly! Thank you DOC bands!!

My boy loved the princess party and all the girls!  He just got his thank you card in the mail and there was Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Tiana on the front of the card. He pointed to Sleeping Beauty and said, "Look! She's pretty! It's mommy princess!"  I had to clarify, "Is Mommy that princess?" And he said, "Yes! Mommy is a princess! Lives in the biiiiiiiig BIG castle Zurg!"  (Translation: Yes, Mommy is a princess. She lives in the big big castle (the one we see before opening title sequence of Disney movies) with Zurg (the bad Darth Vadar-esque guy from Toy Story 2)  

I haven't figured out how I feel yet about being married to Zurg. Well, I guess he never specified that I was married, maybe I'm living in sin in the castle with Zurg? Hmm...

Cade's 2nd birthday!

What better time to catch up on blog posts than summer? Lets flashback a few months to April! I know I already blogged about how hard it was for me to watch Cade grow up to be a 2 year old. Official toddler time. Only one more year til he reaches "preschooler" status, at which point I may just need some help breathing.

We planned a little family party for our boy. Last year's 1 year old bash with all of mommy & daddy's friends was a little overwhelming. This year we had the party again at home, and it was Toy Story theme, his FAVORITE movie ev-er! We had snacks and cupcakes and balloons and presents, it was perfect for our little man!

The whole fam came! Cade's godmother Amanda & her mom, Maryann, Grand Aunt Shanon, Gigi, Lolli & Papa, and Grammie & Grandaddy. Mommy & Daddy surprised Cade with a big red crab sandbox! Aunt Kelly and Uncle Eric got him a ton of diggers and dozers and he got shovels to play with too. He is in heaven when he's in his sandbox playing construction man.

Aunt Kelly & Uncle Eric

Papa & Lolli

Great grandmother, GiGi!

Little Buggy

My little buggy, my little love bug, my widdle man! I can't believe you are turning 2. I sit here crying just thinking about how I'm going to stop my heart from bursting (and trying to figure out how to balance a laptop around prego belly with kicks). If I'm having a hard time accepting that you are TWO, imagine the train wreck I will be when you go to kindergarten or off to college. I'm sorry sweetie, I thought I'd be the cool mom. I was just having a hard time thinking that soon you won't need me anymore. Which is silly, because only I understand your words, what you want, and only I look forward to diaper changes. Even the stinky ones where you say "poo poo" and hold your nose and say "yuck!". Gotta love it when we're on the same page. When I first laid eyes on you I couldn't say anything else besides "He's so beautiful. He's perfect" and Oh God, how you've lived those words every day of your life. I'm certain that no other mom just gets her breath taken away by her little man as much as I do when I look at you. Whenever I've had a dark moment, and there have been several since you've been born, you've lifted up this family and carried us through. As much as I hurt and regret at my Boppy and Uncle Steff not getting to see how amazingly perfect you are, I know that you have bits of their fun, smart, loving personalities in you and that makes you so special to me. Yesterday at daycare my heart broke when I could see you were sick and you burst into tears when you saw me. I loved it just a little because I am the same when I see the person who has come to take care of me when I don't feel well. All this talk about you growing up and you still need me! Amazing, and I love it! Tonight you fell asleep on my as I sang our song and it was so perfect. That's what I've been afraid was lost forever and tonight I got it back for a little bit. (um, thanks fever/viral infection!) I could rock you in my arms forever. I love you little boy, more than I can ever describe. Happy last day of being 1 year old! love, Mommy

Da Birthday Man!

Megablocks, balloons, and bears-- ohmy! This week was a whirlwind.... baby man's birthday and TAKS testing! All of my children were constantly on my mind and there were so many worries and prayers hoping his parties were perfect and their testing days went well. This week definitely tested my ability to balance both. Now that it's all over I'm realizing that there is room in my heart for all of my babies, despite the ten year age gap. (I'm also realizing Cade will not be happy in ten years when his birthday week falls on state assessments days. Whatev, it's character building. I have to share my birthday with Jesus. We all have our issues:)

We had a birthday party today at the house and one on Wednesday just us and the grandparents. On Wednesday we had taco dinner, it was so delicious and we had pomegranate blood orange sorbet for dessert! Cade LOVES sorbet and frozen yogurt, it was a great night, even if he had to stay up late to enjoy presents and sorbet:)

Today we had friends and extended family over. I'm lov-ing decorating with balloons. I adore balloons. They are so cheerful and colorful. I might always have to have balloons around, super cheap way to decorate too. I'm thinking I'm onto something here, tell InStyle Home to look into it. Anyways, he got some cool gifts, Auntie Kelly & Uncle Eric stole the show with the 3 in 1 CAT dump truck that he can build with MegaBlocks in the back, push it around the floor, and pull back the dump part to sit and ride on it! The toys were cool and everyone stuck to the unspoken rule that if the toy makes noise it better have an off button or a way to remove batteries. Thanks friends!!! You're the best!

Here are my favorite pics.

(Special thanks to Kroger for the badass cake they let me design. It was beautiful and such a deal and SOOO freaking moist and delicious. Extra kudos for making the buttercream icing look like fondant!)