Happy Birthday Elise - Fairy Party

Elise had a fairy themed birthday party this year.

Mike stayed up late with me and helped make this giant paper tree.  We taped it up with blue painter's tape, and in the morning the whole thing was on the floor.  Whoops!  So we re-did it with duct tape.  The toadstool seats are the flour and sugar pails from my pantry, with felt and pillow stuffing to make the tops.

The girls decorated paper bag baskets for a scavenger hunt.  They also painted rocks to look like lady bugs.  Elise thought of the rock painting all by herself.

Earlier in the summer, our next door neighbor cut down a tree that had seen better days.  He was so nice to cut these pieces for me to make a cake pedestal, and then Mike assembled it.  Thanks Rob and Mike!  I was nervous about it tipping with the cake on it, so during the party I used it to display a platter of "fairy berries". Elise's grandpa Clint contributed the giant pinecones, aren't they cool?

My talented friend Kristin offered up a custom made cake for a Relief Society service auction.  I was so excited I won!  Kristin made the most amazing cake to fit the party theme.  Elise was delighted, and all the girls at the party crowded around oohing and aahing, and calling dibs on different flowers and mushrooms.  It was so nice to have one less thing to worry about while preparing for the party, plus this is above and beyond anything I could have done.

We had a nature scavenger hunt.  The girls had a hard time with some of the items on the list (live bugs!), but that was part of the fun!

For this relay, the pool was filled with clear flat marbles (dewdrops!) and they had to get them out with their feet.  If I had it to do again, I would have put the marbles in a bigger pool and had all the girls doing it at the same time.  It was so hot outside, it would have been more fun that way.  Plus, I decided that party games are more fun when they're not as competitive.

I made these cookies as party favors, along with the head wreaths and felt wings.

Elise is growing up so much.  Sometimes she acts like a sassy teenager, but most of the time she is thoughtful and helpful.  Now that we have rearranged the bedrooms for the new baby, Elise is glad to have her own room in the basement, but I think she's still likes having Lydia straight across the hall from her.

Elise has many hobbies like reading, art, making jewelry, and collecting all kinds of pretty and interesting things.  She writes the cutest notes, stories, and song lyrics.  She keeps Lydia and Tyler entertained, cooking up elaborate pretend scenarios with them, and she loves putting on little dance shows for our family.  She is starting to have her own sense of fashion, putting together outfits and accessories without any input from me - which is good, because she's way more stylish than I am!

Earlier this year, Elise had 2 teeth pulled at the dentist because the new teeth were growing in behind them.  She was pretty brave about the whole thing, and very excited (though slightly skeptical) about the whole tooth fairy thing.  She left a note under her pillow with the teeth, wanting to know the tooth fairy's name (Pearl!), and also asking her not to take the teeth because she wanted to keep them. :)

If Elise is given a choice out of an assortment of anything, she always chooses the most rare or unique thing.  The one oddball spoon, the only blue pencil, whatever.  She likes things that are special and one-of-a-kind.

Happy 7th birthday, Elise!  We love you and think you are special and one-of-a-kind too!

Happy Birthday Lydia - Wonderland Party

Lydia turned 5 this year! I can hardly believe it. And she will be in Kindergarten in the fall. Crazy!

For her birthday, Lydia got birthday clothes, an mp3 player, and some kid-friendly earphones. She is a music lover, and was so excited about having her very own music player.

Also, for about the last 6 months, she has been asking for gum for her birthday. Mike went to the store and picked out a variety of flavors he thought she would like. She was SO happy about having her very own gum!  It didn't last very many days, but for those few days, she was very generous about sharing it with her friends and Elise.

Lydia wanted to wear her Alice in Wonderland costume for her party, so we made the whole thing Wonderland themed. Her friends got to wear and take home simple white pinafores that I made.  Mike stayed up late with me the night before the party to hang up decorations like "This Way" "That Way" signs, and rosebushes with roses painted red. I originally made them for a Young Women activity last fall, but I was so glad I had saved them.

They played Mad, Mad, Hatter (Duck, Duck, Goose) with a funny felt hat I found at Target for $1.

And a game like a cake walk, using the numbers on a sidewalk-chalked pocketwatch. They won different colored "Alice" headbands.

Elise wore last year's Halloween costume and helped with this game, "Queen of Hearts Says" (like Simon Says).

We also did a relay race using flamingo mallets to hit a ball across the yard and back.

Lydia claims that she hates cake, but likes cupcakes. Funny girl! I topped the cupcakes with white buttercream roses, and tried to paint them red using Wilton Color Mist. It wasn't quite the dramatic red I was going for, but they were cute anyway.  The girls drank punch from real teacups, which they loved.  I also made little sugar cookies to send home that said Eat Me in royal icing, but I forgot to take pictures of them!

My mom knows me well enough to offer to come a little early and be an extra pair of hands.  I always seem to bite off more than I can chew and end up scrambling to finish and fit in everything that I planned.  Thanks Mom!

Mike's mom was also able to stop by and wish Lydia a happy birthday!

Lydia is like a ray of sunshine in our home. She has such a positive attitude about things, and shares her delight and amazement about things I would usually overlook. When we do simple activities like going to the playground or flying kites she declares, "This is my best day ever!" She is independent, and likes to do things herself, like make her own sandwiches and breakfasts. She also loves surprising people, and getting everyone laughing. Happy Birthday Lydia!

Valentine's Day "Tea" Party

Elise and Lydia invited a few friends over for a fancy "tea" party for Valentine's Day. I took a tip from my sister-in-law Krista and ordered fancy tinted bread to make pink and purple tea sandwiches.

Here is Lydia with Kylie, Eden, and Natalie.

And here is Elise with Abbie and Sydney.

Happy Birthday Tyler

Tyler loves anything with wheels, so for his birthday party I made car invitations.


I had all of these great ideas for decorations, but December is busy, so I stuck with lots of streamers, and a pair of rear-view-mirror dice hanging from the chandelier.

We invited our extended family, and I was surprised that almost everyone could come on a December evening! We served dinner, all Tyler-friendly foods. He especially loves chicken fingers and carrots. Lots of our family offered to bring side dishes, which was really helpful.


Tyler had so much fun opening gifts. This is a good age, because he could mostly do it himself. Of course, his cousins and sisters were more than happy to help if he was going too slowly. He received LOTS of cars, and was in heaven. "Cars" is one of his best words, and he had many chances to exclaim it!


The cake was also a car. We had to re-light the candles to actually give him a chance to blow them out. Elise got a little excited the first time around and beat him to it. :)


Tyler is such a fun 2 year old. He learns new words every day. He will walk around naming things that he sees, and is interested in everything. He is very good at answering yes or no, and letting us know what he wants.
Tyler is a champ at going to nursery or staying with a babysitter. Babysitters always report that he was a perfect angel, especially at bedtime. For us, though, it's hit-or-miss whether he will lay down nicely in his crib. When he does, he wants all 4 of his blankets, plus his doggy, and definitely notices if you try to leave one out!
He loves to play with cars and trains, markers and crayons, and everybody's shoes. He also loves lotion, hand sanitizer, and washing his hands in the sink. He gives great kisses and makes a cute grunting sound when he hugs. Tyler is such a sweet boy, and we are lucky to have him in our family.

Happy Birthday Elise - Rapunzel Party

Elise decided on a Rapunzel birthday party. The internet, usually a wealth of party ideas, was mostly void of anything Rapunzel themed. But Elise did have one clever idea for a game. It would be like a fishing game at a carnival, except that instead of a fishing line, the guests let down their "hair" from somewhere up high, and pull it up to find a prize.

The "somewhere up high" could have easily been the stairwell, or the deck, but due to some luck (and a little pettiness on my part), we happened to have a refrigerator box on hand, perfect for making a Rapunzel tower.


The story behind the box is a little funny, so I'm going to tell it. Recently we got a new oven, and the kids and I made an awesome playhouse out of the cardboard box. We kept it in the family room for a couple weeks, until Mike got sick of it and threw it away one evening while I was out. I was so mad that he didn't check with me first, so to spite him, I procured an even bigger box from a neighbor who had just ordered a new refrigerator!

I painted it with leftover latex paint, and decorated it with fake vines. The tower fit perfectly over our coffee table, which gave the kids something to stand on to reach the window. If you ever have a need to paint a cardboard castle this website is very helpful. Or you could just call and borrow my tower. It's still folded up in the basement, unless Mike has thrown it out. ;)


My other big project for the party was making hats for all of the guests. Elise insisted on inviting a few boys, so I came up with a generic Robin Hood type hat for them,

and the girl hats were a simple cone shape with a long yarn braid.

At the party, we started off coloring pictures of Rapunzel or her prince.

Then we played that silly baby/wedding shower game where you cut a piece of string (yarn hair) and have to introduce yourself for as long (or short) as it takes you to wind it around your finger.


The activity that everyone liked best was making a giant tangled web of yarn hair in the backyard. I stole that idea from my friend Stacy, and it was perfect for a Rapunzel party.


After making the web, the kids ran a few races through it. They really liked that part too, especially the boys. If I ever host a Spiderman party, I'll have to remember this.


After that we tried melting ice cubes with plastic rings inside. This turned into throwing ice cubes to break the ring out. :)

For the cake, I decided to make cupcakes in ice cream cones, because they look like little towers. They didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped, but Elise was still excited about them.


At the end of the party, we played "Let down your hair" to give out the favor bags. For the boys, we sent their prize down with the hair so they wouldn't have to wear a girly hat.

It was a fun day.


At 6 years old, Elise is so energetic and creative, and loves to have Lydia and Tyler follow her around and play along with her ideas. She is artistic and slightly competitive, has her own opinions, loves to be girly, and loves her friends and family. She writes the cutest little notes, and loves to surprise people. Elise is a wonderful daughter and a fun big sister.

Happy Birthday Lydia - Wizard of Oz Party

For Lydia's 4th birthday, she wanted to wear her Dorothy dress and have a Wizard of Oz party.


I had a hard time thinking of Oz party favors, beyond just rainbow-colored things, so I decided to make each girl a pair of "ruby slippers". As always, I was a little too ambitious and I ended up spending a late night turning this:


Into this:


At the party, the kids painted rainbows,


Played a freeze dance game,


And a "What's Missing" game,


Went on a hunt for the broomstick and melted the Wicked Witch of the West (drawn with watercolor markers on freezer paper),

Opened presents,

And had rainbow cupcake cake!


Lydia had a great day. She is such a loving and fun girl. She has quite a sense of humor for a 4 year old, and loves to make people laugh with her made-up jokes and good natured teasing. Lydia likes to give hugs, and kisses "on the wips" to any parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle who will let her. We love having Lydia in our family.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

Tell me, how is it possible that Tyler is already a whole year old? Ridiculous, I tell you! He was just born like a few weeks ago, I swear.


Here is his birthday party invitation. The first time I read Where the Wild Things Are to Tyler, I just knew it had to be the theme for his first birthday party. He cracked up and wiggled excitedly through the whole book! For about a week afterward, all I had to do was begin saying a few words from the book, and I'd have him giggling. He loves when they RRRROAR their terrible ROARS! And gnash their terrible TEETH! And roll their terrible EYES! And show their terrible CLAWS!!!


I had all these great ideas about how I would decorate for this party and incorporate the theme, but I procrastinated too long and so there were no hanging vines or blown-up pictures of the wild things. There were no "King of all Wild Things" crowns. Oh well, at least the cake got done! It was inspired by an illustration from the book. I surrounded the cake with cupcakes, and each of those had a Wild Thing dancing on it. I just printed them on the computer and taped them onto toothpicks.


Here you can see all the dancing wild things. Tyler was completely clueless about what do do with that candle. I think Elise blew it out for him.


I just love the expression on his face. I've been pretty relaxed about letting him taste sweet things (compared to when I was a first time mom, anyway) but I still think a whole chocolate-frosted cupcake was a bit of a novelty for him.


It didn't take him long to figure out exactly what to do with the cupcake.

Tyler at one year...

• is easygoing. He just "rolls with the punches" when his sisters pick him up, hug and kiss him, bump into him, take his toys, and so on.
• doesn't demand entertainment and attention, but is easily entertained and loves attention. I think his default setting must be "giggle".
• is equal parts cuddly and busy. Sometimes he is content to just sit on my lap and snuggle, and other times there is no containing him. He just wants to be down and crawling, or cruising around furniture. He's been the most mobile of all 3 kids at this age.
• doesn't have any words yet (not even mama and dada). He sometimes does a bye-bye wave, and I caught him on camera once doing a bye bye wave while saying "ga ga", which seemed like "bye bye". But he hasn't done it since.
• has 5 teeth.
• loves to pick up small objects and put them in his mouth. We hope most of the time those small objects are actually food!
• loves the dishwasher, vacuum, toilets, remote controls, phones, cameras, and any kind of tool or gadget he can get his hands on.
• still likes to be swaddled, but with his arms free.
• is a thumbsucker, but only when he's tired. Boy, does he love that thumb!
• still looks like a baldy from afar, but has quite a bit of blonde hair.
• has kept his baby blue eyes.
• is a great addition to our family and we LOVE LOVE LOVE him!

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!