If there was one terrible mistake I made during the pandemic, it was hosting a pretty big birthday party for two. At the time, the numbers were steady and our families were all healthy and being careful and the news had encouraged us to make outdoor activities a priority. No one got sick and our two girls loved being celebrated, but in hindsight I feel guilty for the potential exposure and a little gross for flaunting our get together on social media. As we reflect on the previous year, there aren't many things I would do differently, but this is something I might would have reconsidered (written in December 2020). We arbitrarily decided, long ago, to only do big birthdays while the girls were in elementary school. Golden birthdays and milestone birthdays are the exception, but we ...
birthday
You Are My Sunshine | Polly’s Party Recap
I debated waiting to post until I have all of the photos from Polly's birthday party, but I wanted to share how we were feeling on her big day and how much fun everything was, long before we talk about how pretty it all was (but it was so pretty!). I used to pride myself on being wholly unsentimental (and, yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds). I didn't get super emotional on "first days" with the big girls and I never felt sad to leave stages behind -- it has always been so fun for me to watch the girls grow up and it's hard to be sad about things they are so excited about themselves. I don't know what changed with the birth of our third baby girl -- hello, midlife crisis -- but I'm having a harder time watching the days go by than I ever have before. This milestone was ...
Ella’s Golden Birthday Session
I am the luckiest girl in the world to have this pretty girl as my daughter and this one as my sister and best friend. Armed with a knockout model and the best photographer in all the land, I get to have annual photographs that look like this! My sister was sweet enough to take Ella on a little adventure after school, so that I could finish preparing for her surprise party last month. It was the perfect excuse to get her out of the house for a few hours and to have my sister work her magic. It has been several years since we did individual photo sessions of the girls and I wanted to capture this little moment in time. Ella is right on the edge of being more than a child, but not quite a teenager. She has the most hilarious sense of humor and the greatest laugh (as evidenced in a few of ...
To My Golden Girl
Dear Ella, How can you be eleven years old? We've been talking about (and planning for) your golden birthday for a whole year, but it still blindsided me a bit. You've grown leaps and bounds in the last year and I have to do a double take when I look at you sometimes. There have been years when you changed very little -- the scales didn't budge and your little feet squeezed into the same pair of shoes, two summers in a row. Then there was this year -- you got so tall and you're raiding my closet and your face looks less and less like a little girl every day. I could let myself get overwhelmed, or worry about the teenage years right around the corner, but instead I let myself enjoy these days. With every year you grow, we have more in common. There are fewer things to bicker over and ...
Sophie’s ‘Let’s Play’ Party
Remember a few days ago when I shared some of my favorite birthday parties of years past? I shared that to give you a dose of pretty, because Sophie's party this year was all practical and no pretense. Last year, she attended the birthday party at a local play place and hasn't stopped talking about it since. We were already in the thick of party planning for our unicorn bash, but she assured me that we would have to celebrate at Let's Play this year. Honestly? I tried to talk her out of it. It seemed overpriced and limited and the creative part of me really wanted to throw something beautiful... and blog worthy. Hear my heart when I tell you that every party I've thrown has been for the girl and not for the blog, but I sure do enjoy giving you those recaps each year. I agreed that since it ...
Little Letters | April
Dear Sophie, today you are seven! When you reminded me yesterday that it was your last day ever to be six years old, I almost cried. I'm not usually nostalgic, but something about your voice and the quiet of the house and your sweet snuggly self just got to me in that moment. Dear Snuggle Time, you are my favorite time of day. When Sophie sneaks into our room after bedtime, wearing mismatched pajamas and dragging Pink behind her as she comes, we can't help by smile. Josh and I both know what's coming -- she'll squeeze right in between us and say "snuggle time?" I hope you are a daily part of our lives for many years to come. Dear Unicorn Tee, it's been an entire year since you were introduced into our lives and we still see you multiple times a week. Thank goodness for this ...
Happy Birthday
Because I know how much you love public declarations (and displays) of affection. Happiest of birthdays to you. 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2009 ...
Camp Ella Birthday Party Recap | Vlog
I knew today's Blogtember prompt was to share a vlog, so I had planned to take plenty of video from Ella's party for you. When I got to the barn that afternoon, I realized that my video camera didn't have a memory card inside, so I had to use my big girl camera for both video and photographs. It was hard toggling back and forth while trying to monitor the party and keep everyone happy, but I'm super happy with how it turned out. I've been saying for actual years that I was going to start sharing more video here and now that I finally know how to edit and make it all pretty, that might actually happen. How excited are you? No, really... HOW excited?! This was the most atypical birthday party that I've ever thrown and simultaneous the most fun. If you've been reading here for any amount ...