first birthday

Smash Cake Session

January 15, 2016

I am so happy to share these pictures with you all today! Evelyn’s personality has really started to shine through these past few months and she’s just so funny to watch. I had hoped she would sit in the chair for a few pictures before touching the cake but yeah right. That was the first thing she went for. This Honey Badger doesn’t play. I set up a simple smash cake “session” which I photographed myself because of mom guilt. We went all out for Henry’s smash cake session which gave me some of my favorite pictures of him so I wanted to have some for Evelyn too. We used the custom cake topper from New Way Kids for her smash pictures and her first birthday party. I stumbled upon NWK several months ago while pretty deep in the instagram rabbit hole. I loved their designs immediately and once I saw you could customize anything I knew I had to order everything a few things for Evelyn’s birthday. I chose 24 cupcake toppers and the cake topper. Bonus: they threw in the smash cake topper for free! (now say topper 10 times fast). I really do think that the toppers made the day. Now you can win one of your own from New Way Kids! It will be an adorable addition to any party. Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy these chubby baby pictures and enter below. Giveaway runs through Monday at 8pm EST. buy zyprexa online https://bethanyhealthcare.org/wp-content/languages/new/zyprexa.html no prescription

buy zyvox online https://bethanyhealthcare.org/wp-content/languages/new/zyvox.html no prescription

First Birthday Recap Part 2

January 14, 2016

I finally get to share the best part of the party: Miss Evelyn. I am totally biased but I cannot get over how freaking cute she looked in her pink flutter dress, cat shoes and custom party hat. Girlfriend totally rocked it. A lot of her friends came in their best cat themed attire and really got into the spirit of the party. All the little girls looked so cute sitting sweetly and eating together. Definitely different than any of Henry’s birthdays or whenever toddler boys get together. Come to think of it, I don’t even think I have ever seen Henry sit down and quietly eat a meal the way the girls did. It was really so heart warming! buy strattera online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/strattera.html no prescription

There were four crafts that I made for the party. The first was the chalkboard with the instagram hashtag. By no means am I a chalkboard artist and my three year old could do better at freehand writing than I could, so I took the route of indirect tracing. I followed this tutorial and chose my fonts, set up the wording in photoshop and printed on my everyday printer. Going back in and tracing each letter and filling them in took about two hours and I was able to accomplish it during nap time. buy abilify online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/abilify.html no prescription

DIY project two were the felt meow banners. There isn’t a tutorial I followed for this, and I think they are pretty self explanatory. I just looked at a banner we already have and loosely went off of that. Start with cutting your triangle then trace and cut out your letters. Glue those on (I used spray adhesive which is messy as shit so don’t buy that) and then cut the 4 short strips and 1 long strip to complete the side and bam: You just made a banner. buy Cymbalta online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/ no prescription

The goody bags were so much fun to put together. I bought the mini canvas tote bags on amazon (vendor list below) and had planned to iron on the letters. However I could not by the single letters I needed since they all came in a pack of 26 and who the hell needs 20 left over Z’s anyway. So I decided to stencil and paint them. I used the same stencil I did to cut out the MEOW felt letters above and then outlined them directly onto the bags using a fabric sharpie, followed by painting in each letter with black fabric paint. Since the bags were canvas they soaked up most of the paint as soon as I started painting, making it almost impossible to spread the paint easily. No joke, this project took longer than anything else but it saved me money and I love how they turned out.

Making the cat masks was new for me but after looking at a few pictures on Pinterest I thought I would give it a shot. I ordered a cat mask from Party City and used that as my template to trace out the mask shape. Using left over felt from the meow banners I cut out rounded triangles for the ears (I kept drawing the shapes until I liked one and used that as the template for the rest). Same goes for the glitter noses, except that is just glitter card stock, not felt. Not pictured is the elastic which hold the masks on. Using the original elastic from the party city cat mask, I measured my elastic the same length. Then I used a nail to make holes on the side so the elastic would feed in. Tie two small holes to keep it in place and voila! Super easy and you could do this for any kind of mask you wanted to make.

I hope you enjoyed all of my pink squares in your instagram feed these past 10 days! I will definitely miss that color all over the house but I’m sure my husband won’t 🙂 Be sure to check back in tomorrow to see Evie’s smash cake session and to enter a super fun giveaway for your next party!

Vendor List on this Post

Goody Bags:

Canvas Tote Bag

The Shy Little Kitten

Cat Rubber Duckies

Nail Polish

Cat Eye Glasses

Outfit:

Mini Party Hat: Little Blue Olive

Kitty Ballet Flats: Target, in store only

Pink Flutter Dress: Gap

Miscellaneous:

Pink + Gold Confetti Balloons: Lola’s Confetti Shop

High Chair Tassel: Target Valentine’s Day Section

Best Day Ever Balloons: Betsy White

Globe Lights: Target

Mini Pink Christmas Tree: Hobby Lobby after Christmas sale (for $4!)

Photographs by the wonderful Cynthia Hernandez Photography

First Birthday Recap Part 1

January 11, 2016

Evelyn’s birthday definitely snuck up on me since it’s just over two weeks after Christmas. I knew I had wanted a pink and gold color theme since there is no shortage of supplies and decorations in those colors. I added the cat element because Evie loves our two cats and what is cuter than a cat cake and cat cookies? I am taking full advantage of having a girl and went all out with the pink and gold glitter decorations. I would have painted the walls pink if my husband had let me. I’m so happy to share part one of her party, which is all the decor and food! I have always loved throwing parties and hosting events at our house. I even get excited when I host small playgroups because it gives me an excuse to set out food platters and mini coffee bars. buy cozaar online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/cozaar.html no prescription

The dessert table is a must for any party. This one consisted of the kitty cake, her tiny smash cake, regular and mini size cupcakes and also custom made cookies (cat faces and gold glitter number 1’s). The cookies were the biggest hit and were gone before anything else. Having pink in the color scheme was perfect since most stores have Valentine’s Day decor and baked goods out. The mini pink cupcakes were from Target and the other cupcakes and smash cake were from Kroger. I didn’t even need to request anything special since there was an abundance of pink frosted cakes everywhere. The kitty cake was made by Publix and I was so impressed! Normally I use a bake shop but since this cake was so simple, I figured I would give them a try. Another bonus? It was only $29. By far the cheapest custom cake I have ever purchased.

Since the party was at 10am I opted for a waffle bar and mimosa bar, which were very easy to set up. I did all the chopping of the fruit ahead of time so that the morning of, all that needed to be done was bake the waffles in the oven (which only took 20 minutes) set out the juice, fixings and champagne. I found the Mimosa printable sign here and she created the Waffle file for me at no additional charge! I got them both printed at my local target. The frames are wooden from Hobby Lobby (I bought the cheapest they had) and then I spray painted them a metallic gold. The mini carafes that held the syrup have been purchased throughout the years. Target always has them in their dollar spot and I’ve seen them at Five Below too. For fruit for the mimosa’s, I stuck with peaches, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. The waffle bar had topping choices of mini chocolate chips, colored sprinkles, blueberries, bananas and strawberries. Syrup options were raspberry, blueberry and maple. buy premarin online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/premarin.html no prescription

I know hosting parties or large groups at your house can seem daunting, but for me I love it because I can set up ahead of time and work on things at any time of day. I’m not packing the car with food, drinks and crafts and I don’t have to worry about forgetting anything. Most rental places with party rooms only give you 30 minutes prior to set up for a birthday which is definitely not enough time. I started my set up the week of her party during nap and in the evenings. We have minimal furniture in our front room and always use that for parties which is ideal. It’s the first room people see when they walk into our house and gets plenty of daylight. It’ll be a bummer if I ever really decide to furnish it! buy singulair online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/singulair.html no prescription

If you’re short on time or don’t want to stress too much about decor, I always recommend choosing a theme that has ample supplies in stores and online. {Amazon Prime will be your best friend!} Try to pick a theme a few months prior to the event, start a pinterest board for ideas and slowly start to collect items for the party. If hosting at your home, set up a few days prior to the party if possible. Anything that can be done ahead of time really takes stress off of you since the day of or the day prior is always filled with cake & balloon pick ups, preparing and setting out food, cleaning the house and getting ready. I prepped goody bags, made crafts, chopped fruit, picked up the cake, cookies and balloons all before the day of. You’d be surprised how many last minute things can sneak up on you the day of your party, so prepping prior to your event is my number one piece of advice. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing more details on the goody bags, crafts and the best part of all: Evelyn 🙂 Below is a vendor list for the party room, sorted by table.

Kids Table:

Pink Table Cover: Party City

Gold Glitter Boxes: Hobby Lobby

Polka Dot Treat Cups: Amazon

Gold Table Runner: Target {wrapping paper}

Linen & Gold Table Runner: Target Dollar Spot, Valentines Decor

Polka Dotted Plates: Amazon

Mini Milk Bottles: Shop Sweet Lulu

Sweets Table:

Cat Cake: Publix

Cat Cookies: Yummy Delicious Cookies

Cupcakes: Target & Kroger

Cake + Cupcake Toppers: New Way Kids

Paper Plates: Shop Sweet Lulu

Cat Pillow: H&M

ONE Glitter Letters: Hobby Lobby {plain wood letter spray painted with gold glitter paint}

Memory Board: Sugarboo & Co.

Blush Pink & Gold Tassel Garland: Peachy Details

Table Cover: Party City

Gold Glitter Runner: Paper Source {wrapping paper}

Pinwheels: Pom Poms & Pinwheels

Pink Paper Garlands: Oh Happy Day Shop

Mimosa/Waffle Bar Table:

Glass Carafes: Ikea

Gold Champagne Flutes: Party City

Mimosa/Waffle Bar Printable: Paper Canoe Printables

Pink Table Cover: Party City

Gold Glitter Runner: Paper Source

Gold + Pink Foil Banners: Amazon here & here

Gold Polka Dot Plates: Party City

Pink Paper Garlands: Oh Happy Day Shop

White & Gold Bowls: Target Dollar Spot, Valentine’s Decor

Evelyn turns One

January 10, 2016

Dear Sweet Little Evie –

Today you are ONE! You have been mine for 365 days and they have been some of the best of my life. Your first year went by faster than Henry’s. I guess that’s to be expected when momma is chasing around your wild + energetic brother while also trying to enjoy your baby phase. When I was younger I would dream about having a little girl but as I grew into my twenties that changed and I thought I only wanted boys. That rang even truer once your brother was born. I totally wanted to be a boy mom, with a houseful of little guys running around wrestling each other and being the best of brothers. When I became pregnant with you, I even hoped you would be a boy. I found out you were not a boy when I had your 13 week ultrasound. I had no idea gender could be revealed that soon so I innocently asked the doctor if she “knew what it was.” Once I heard her say ‘it’s a girl!’ all those boy feelings immediately went away and were filled with bows, dresses and cute pink shoes. The excitement was overwhelming and I could not stop smiling. The first thing I did when I got home was pull out your brothers clothes I had saved and see if there were any gender neutral things I had. Thoughts of how I would decorate your nursery, the coming home outfit you would wear and other girly things filled my mind. I couldn’t wait to meet you. buy celexa online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/celexa.html no prescription

The two favorite moments in my entire life was when I first met you and your brother. If I could go back in time to any day and relive it, those are the two days I would pick. There is no greater feeling than seeing your baby and hearing them cry for the first time. If there was one gift I could give to people, that would be it. No matter how many amazing places you have traveled or fun things you have experienced, I guarantee meeting your children tops them all. Even my wedding day is second to when I saw you and Henry for the first time. I hope you get to experience that one day. buy zoloft online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/zoloft.html no prescription

You treated me pretty well while you were in my belly, until the very last few weeks when you lodged your little body so high that you dislocated some cartilage from my rib cage. I spent time in the emergency room and slept sitting up for the last week. When you finally came {read about Evelyn’s birth story here} I felt like I was watching a movie in slow motion. It was nearly midnight, you came early, fast and unexpected. I had never experienced my water breaking and rushing to the hospital so the whole night was a whirlwind. Once the doctors brought you to me, I could not believe I had a daughter! You were the sweetest baby girl I had ever seen (totally biased I know) with the best demeanor. As you grew into your little self, your personality started to really shine. You totally go with the flow and let your brother take the lead. You love watching him talk and play and even let him chase you around sometimes. He is working on playing nice with you and you’ve been so patient while he learns to share and be gentle. I know you two are going to have such a great relationship. I think the reason walking has come so easily to you is because you want to keep up with Henry. You mastered walking before you were 10 months old. No falls, bruises or bumped heads. Pretty soon you will be chasing him around! buy fluoxetine online https://cpff.ca/wp-content/languages/new/fluoxetine.html no prescription

Last night when I laid your baby self down to sleep, I was flooded with emotions thinking of all the memories from this past year. How did all of these 365 days go by so fast? Why can’t I remember every second I have spent with you? If I could relive this year with you I would. I’d try to slow down time and treasure every moment we’ve shared. While I was pregnant with you I was worried I wouldn’t love you as much as I loved Henry. How could I possibly give love to another baby when your brother took up my whole heart? It’s safe to say that I never had trouble loving you. From the moment I first held you I fell in love. You have brought sweetness and balance to our family. Thank you for everything you have given us in your first year. It’s been such an honor being your mother.

“If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes, only then would you realize how special you are to me. “

Henry Turns ONE

July 3, 2013

Henry’s first birthday was definitely a labor of love. I started planning the party back in January thinking I had all the time in the world but man did those months fly by. Luckily we finished our sun room about 4 days before the party and I had friends come over to help set up a few days in advance. BEST DECISION ever! I strongly recommend doing as much setting up prior to the morning of the party (if possible). Luckily the party was at our house so there were not any issues that prohibited us from doing this. We got tables set up, goody bags and center pieces made, streamers cut, signs hung, etc. That made it very easy to make a list of last minute things to do the morning of (blow up balloons, make and set out food, get drinks ready, clean up, etc). I am so grateful for everyone that helped out with his party. My best friend (and Henry’s God Mother) took amazing photos and made his beautiful chalkboard sign, I borrowed supplies and tables from friends, and had plenty of help the day of. The rain held off and the temperature was in the low 80’s, there was plenty of space for the 16 babies and 43 adults, and we had tons of food left over (cake, not so much, we nearly ate it all). This was not only a birthday party but a celebration of the first year of life. All that us mommy’s daddy’s go through, the milestones of our babies, and the “we made it!” sign of relief. Thanks so all of our family and friends for sharing this beautiful day with us. We would not be here without you all. xoxo