One Party, Two Party, Red Party, Blue Party

My little buddy turned FIVE {5} this week. 

 

It sure doesn't seem that long since I was timing contractions on the way home from my doctor appointment where they assured me that "nothing was happening." Two hours and a bit of scrambling later our tiny 7 lb. bundle was safely in my arms. And yes, we made it to the hospital. 

Since this is his last year at home with me before he starts school, I decided to invite 

a few little friends and throw a party.

Found this adorable free download and added my own text.

School was closed the day of his actual birthday so we had to postpone the party

a few days. I wasn't exactly prepared for all the older siblings to join us too.

We settled for pizza and cupcakes for dinner.

Legos. His one and only request. Not because we don't already have 

thousands of them, but because he needs some that are his very own.

That's pretty important when you're the 4th boy in the family.

Party Time

Make your own 'Cat in the Hat' hat.

"Seuss-O"

(always more fun when played with M&M's)

Playtime

and 

Lunch

The Menu

Green Eggs and Ham{sandwiches}

Hop on Pop{corn}

Go! {Hot}Dogs Go!

One Fish, Two Fish, Goldfish

Fruit pops

Cupcakes

Ice Cream 

Punch

 

The 'Cat in the Hat' cupcakes were super easy.

1. Use a rolling pin to roll one marshmallow flat.

(I put a heavy pan on top of mine for a few minutes to help them stay flatter.)

2. Dip another marshmallow in melted red coating chocolate.

(This may be easier to find in stores if your child's birthday is a few weeks from Christmas.

 I'm not really sure, I never looked for it any other time.)

3. Attach the dipped marshmallow to a flattened marshmallow using the melted chocolate.

4. Dip another marshmallow in the melted chocolate and attach to the top.

5. When those layers are dry turn the whole thing upside down for one last dip on the top.

 6. Allow the chocolate to harden and place on top of cupcakes that are already frosted.

Bingo! You're done.

What a sweet bunch!

The Favors

I found a whole bunch of Dr. Seuss stuff in the Dollar bins at Target (inspiration for the party)
a couple of months ago, including 'Cat in the Hat' plates and erasers.
Everyone got to take home their plate, an eraser and a book.
(collected from yard sales and second hand stores)

I do believe we made some fun memories for the little man (and his Mama.)
I shall try to focus on the making of more of those in the next few months and not think about
the fact that the big yellow bus will be snatching him away from me all too soon.

Because....

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." --Dr. Suess

A month...

...since I wrote. How did that happen?

...of fun times and train rides with little friends.

...of the return of our favorite Daddy after 2 long weeks on the road.

...of birthday photo shoots for Little Miss who is 3 going on 17.

...of an undefeated soccer team.

...of purchasing pumpkins and mums {and just a few more mums. and another pumpkin or two.}

 ...of a special lunch date with Mommy and a very quite day at home, just to two of us.

{I thought maybe while his little sister was gone he would need me to play games, read books, just generally keep him company but it was exactly the opposite. He read books, played with the kitty, and quietly entertained himself for hours. I almost forgot he was there. Almost.}

...of celebrating 60 years of Grandpa.

...of field trips with first graders.

...of joining a cousin for a small town parade. {where record breaking amounts of candy are thrown out, thank you to whoever threw the toothpaste our way too. not pictured are the potato chips, pens, glow sticks, water bottles and chocolate milk also collected at said parade.}

 

... of a 30th birthday party for a sister-in-law, returned from afar. My sister and I made the food, but not the cake. Her family did the decorating. Her husband (my brother) conspired and coordinated it all from across the globe.

  {Yeah, we've been a on a bit of birthday overload around here, but who doesn't love a party. Another one coming up this week.}


...of a weekend church retreat (sans kids) where I took not one single picture. Not one! I find it hard to believe  myself but there was just too much connecting and being inspired and late night partying to be done.

{This picture was taken at the same retreat several years ago, it gives you an idea what we had to suffer through.}

And now you are officially up to date. I know you've been checking daily for all these inspiring, thrilling details. Be back sooner next time. Really.

three {3}

In the midst of all the summer produce madness, we had a little celebrating to do. The Little Miss turned 3 this week. Must have party!

I was so looking forward to girlie party ideas. I've used up all my fun boy ideas and then some, so I thought girl parties would open up a whole new line of ideas. Too bad I'm not into princess-y everything. This was a little tougher than I thought but we finally decided on a watermelon party. And as usual, I might have had more fun pulling it together than she had at the party but we're both happy that way!

The Menu

tortilla roll ups

chips & fresh salsa
(I thought my green [guacamole] chips were pretty cool.)

jello

cake 

ice cream

licorice

(& drum roll please)

WATERMELON

and watermelon lemonade

Since she is into all thing 'pinkalicious' (as she calls it) I picked up a 

strawberry cake mix on a whim at the grocery store.

What could be better than pink cake?

Um, lots of things, unless you're turning 3.

 I was a little concerned for the flavor so

I added real pureed strawberries to the batter and topped it with 

cream cheese icing.

Not bad but I'll be having chocolate for my birthday.

The decorating was easy enough, that's for sure!

We had to borrow a few girls for the party.

All those boy cousins just don't get how cool pink really is.

The boys, however, were much more enthusiastic about the seed spitting contest.

I bought a couple of cute little mini watermelons that I intended to use as bowling balls

but since I was unwilling to allow my family to drink 20 liters of Mt. Dew 

in 2 days time

and the craigslist guy never got back to me about the real bowling pins he wanted to sell,

that game was canceled.

The favors.

 Watermelon gum & candy, side walk chalk and 

a couple of other girlie do-dads.

A few super exciting gifts and some sparklers

to round out the night.

This pic isn't the best quality but it must be included because it just sums up

the fun and feelings of the whole evening!

Thanks J!

Happy Birthday Miss Kyra!