Laurel's Pedi Party

Every year we alternate one of the kids having a little party and one having a big party. We originally started doing it this way because their birthdays are so close together but it has been so great I think we will always do it this way with all of our kids. Since Micah had a big party this year, Laurel got to pick what she wanted for her little party. All she wanted was to go get her toes painted with her bestie, her cousin Sadie. She also specified that she wanted it to be a mermaid party, which is ironic seeing as mermaids don't have toes. It was such a sweet and simple request and I loved putting it together. Yes, I still created an invitation even though it only went to one person. We had the mini party at Bliss Nail Spa and it was PERFECT! They put us back in a room that just had 4 chairs so we had the whole room to ourselves. Everyone there was so sweet and so good with the girls. I have never seen my girly girl so giggly and happy, she was in heaven! She stayed completely still when they told her to and only moved to sip the orange juice they brought her. I will not be surprised if she requests to do this shin dig again next year...

After getting our nails done, we headed to Jus Mac for lunch. Once we finally got Laurel to try her mac and cheese (her favorite food), she loved it and had a blast. After lunch, we had cupcakes and then the girls got their little favors with bubble bath a brush and a mini nail polish. Sadie and Laurel's little relationship is precious. I foresee lots of little parties with Sadie as the only guest in the future! We had so much fun celebrating our spunky girl girl!

Micah's TMNT Party

Micah had his party the weekend after his birthday and only had a few requests for it. 1) he wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Party (David and I can't believe that TMNT has made such a comeback, just another way Micah is like his daddy, he is obsessed) 2) He wanted pizza and 3) He wanted a bounce house. I tried to keep this party smaller than parties he's had in the past so we only invited the boys in his class at school and a few other boys he is friends with. 

Here are the party details:

(invitations and party decorations designed by me)

For the food, we served Turtle Power Pizza, Mutating Sewer Fruit, Cowabunga Cookies & Cake, Toxic Ooze Juice (gatorade) and Sewer water. I found a pinterest tutorial to make the kids masks out of extra large t-shirts. For favors, each kid got nunchucks (dollar store find) and a few little TMNT things. 

 Micah loved everything about his party and even came in afterwards and told me "I loved my party, mommy, thank you!" I love planning parties but the most important part is that the kids have fun and they definitely did...

Laurel's Bunny Party

I still can't believe that Laurel turns 3 over the weekend! We had such a fun weekend celebrating her. The year she was born, we came home from the hospital the day before Easter and with Easter being my absolute favorite holiday of the year, you know I had already started planning an Easter birthday party in my head. Since Laurel has been obsessed with bunnies for the past year and her birthday fell on Easter Sunday this year, I threw the idea out to her for a bunny party and not only did she get excited, she got very opinionated. It was so fun planning her little party WITH her (for the first time) and letting her pick stuff out. It all started with the invitation... she sat by me while I worked on it and was very particular about the colors. She wanted all of the bunnies for the party to be "light pink, not hot pink". Here are some picture of the party details:

We had the party at our neighborhood park (just like Micah's 3rd) and the weather held out for a perfect morning and a perfect setting for our Easter egg hunt. I had a picture in my head of exactly what I wanted to use to make centerpieces but couldn't find it anywhere. My mom found these crates at the Bryan Farmer's Market that were PERFECT and FREE! I filled them with moss, florist foam and "bunny grass" (Hobby Lobby) and then stuck eggs and Peeps in them and then wrapped them with a cute burlap ribbon and bunnies (cut out with my Silhouette). I had a bunny book for everyone to sign as they walked in, we did these for the kids first birthdays and I love being able to look back and see who came to their parties. I had a little kid craft table setup where they could decorate a bag for the Easter egg hunt. The kids used their bags for the hunt and then as they were leaving, I had a little "favor bar" set up with bunny bouncy balls, hopping bunnies and carrot shaped bags filled with goldfish. 

For the party food, we had "Bunny Treats" (orange chocolate covered colored strawberries to look like carrots), "Veggie Patch Nibbles" (cups with sliced veggies and a little bit of Ranch in the bottom of each cup), Bunny shaped PJ&J sandwiches, "Easter Eggs" (Chick Fil A nuggets), "Bunny Snacks" (Annie's bunny snack mix), and "Cotton Tail Cookies & Cupcakes". I had so much fun with all of the food for this one. I made little miniature bunny cookies for toppers on the cupcakes and they were a hit with all of the kids-- because what kid doesn't like getting a cookie AND a cupcake all in one?!?

The kids rolled up to the party in style and were excited to celebrate! My little introverted birthday girl took a while to warm up and had major attitude when she got there but she calmed down after a while. I kept the party much smaller than years past (due to how much she shuts down in large groups) but she still got overwhelmed. Big huge thanks to Mimi for helping with the kids while I worked on party stuff on Friday, Audrey who helped me a ton to get ready for the party and to Audrey and Suzu for helping to set up! I couldn't have done it without y'all! Party pics...

{Bottom left- this is the face she made the entire time we sang to her. She's not a huge fan of all the attention}

We opened a few presents at the park but then decided to wait to open the rest until we got home. Her big gift from us was her pink princess bike and she was even more excited about it than I could've ever imagined it was precious. The bike even came with a seat for her baby (big win). We had such a fun day celebrating our big girl!

Micah's Shark "Party"

Micah has been asking for a Shark birthday party for months but when it came down to asking him for details of what he wanted, he really just wanted to go to the Aquarium with friends. The more we get to know his little personality, the more we realize that he prefers and does better in smaller groups. I had already decided after the Super Hero Bash last year that I would never (mark my words) ever throw a party that large again so I was definitely game for this plan. It was such a success that I am thinking we might keep things small from now on! Since it wasn't a true "party" I didn't really get to scratch my party planning itch so I just did a little...

I am really into doing postcards for kid's party invites right now so I did that for the invitation and then per Micah's request, made shark cookies for his birthday treat. For the favor bags, I made little personalized tags and filled them with shark goodies (super sized shark cookie, shark tattoos, shark stickers, etc). Micah invited his 4 best buds and only 2 of them ended up being able to come so their moms dropped them off at our house the day before Micah's actual birthday and we all headed to the Aquarium! We all had such a great time! The Shark Voyage train ride (especially the part through the shark tunnel) was definitely the favorite part! 

The kids also loved the white tiger and then, of course, pretending to be a tiger for the photo op!

 
After the Aquarium, we headed to Smash Burger for dinner (again, Micah's request). We wore our party hats, opened presents, ate yummy food and then sang to the birthday boy over shark cookies. It was such a fun afternoon celebrating my big boy!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Our Sunday school class had a Happy Birthday Jesus party for all of the little ones to celebrate Jesus' birth! Micah missed out on the fun because he was at school (this is still an adjustment for me) but Laurel had a blast! We even had a birthday cake and the kids sang Happy Birthday!

We are so blessed by the families in our Sunday school class and love getting to celebrate the reason for the season with them and their sweet little ones!