I didn't plan to share this until a little later, but Ella was SO excited that she couldn't stand it. I am amazed that although I ordered every piece from somewhere different, all the boxes managed to litter my front porch on the same day. Ella wanted an Olivia the Pig birthday party this year, so we've pretty much been planning since January. I can't wait to fill you in on all the details. Much like last year, we'll be dressing up for the party and then recycling pieces of the outfit for Halloween. These pictures show the Halloween look. For the birthday, we'll be wearing sandals and a birthday tank instead. The shirt is from Mini Boden, tulle skirt from eBay, tights from eCrater, shoes from Puddle Jumpers {thanks, Nana}, the noses can be found at just about any costume shop ...
birthdays
Little Ballerinas
Saturday after the baby shower we made our way to the dance studio for a sweet little birthday party for Natalie. Unfortunately, Ella fell asleep in between and wasn't very happy when I woke her up! She cried at the party and it wasn't until they started dancing that there was finally a smile on her face. Natalie's mom did a great job with the food and decorations and we had so much fun dancing with the ballet instructor. I don't know how I managed not to get a picture of Ella and the birthday girl, but here are a few of my little ballerina... Sorry that last one is so out of focus - I couldn't resist posting it, though, because the look on her face is too adorable. ...
31 Things
Today is January 31st. Today is our sweet daddy's thirty-first birthday. To celebrate, I thought I'd share 31 things I that I like about him today. 1. He's a daddy who loves sweet little girls who wake up early to color birthday cards. Ella and Molly making birthday cards this morning while SD slept in. 2. That for thirteen years (tomorrow) he's known me better than anyone else. 3. He might be the funniest person I have EVER met. He sings, dances and makes the most off-the-wall comments and it definitely keeps me laughing. 4. He is the best daddy ever. He indulges Ella for the most part, but disciplines her when it's necessary. 5. He builds really good castles, loves to do "fun tricks" and tortures us incessantly. 6. He makes the best hamburgers ever. Seriously. Mine ...
Birthday Recap
First, second and third I ate this. Followed by this. I got this. Tickets to this. And lots of money/gift cards to shop here. Then, I watched this. With her. It was a pretty good night. ...
Little Lady Bugs
Ella had a birthday party to attend on Saturday and it was so much fun. Madeline's mommy threw a fabulous lady bug themed party and had the girls dress in red and black. Wanna see what we did? Ella before the party, all dressed up with her coordinating birthday gift! Isn't the girls table adorable? Madeline's mommy used our tea party table and gussied it up in red, black and green. Madeline's adorable lady bug birthday cake, courtesy of our sweet friend Kristi. All the girls with their wings and antennas! There was a bug hunt in the front yard and the girls were a little skeptical about picking up plastic bugs at first... We got to see our bestest friend Ella Matthews! Madeline wasn't really impressed with the whole "Happy Birthday" situation. Present ...
Happy Birthday, Alston!
On Sunday afternoon Ella and I went to our favorite little boy's first birthday celebration. It is hard to believe that Alston is a year old! His sweet mommy threw a wonderful backyard picnic complete with homemade chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. I wish I had gotten a picture of the caterpillar cake she made, it was adorable. Thanks, Mrs. Beth, for letting us celebrate the day with you. ...
Fancy Family Photostrips
One of our best ideas for these fancy parties was setting up an area where the guests could have their pictures made. I wanted to be sure we got pictures of everyone in their "fancy attire" and this guaranteed that nobody got left out. I wish I had taken a behind-the-scenes pictures so you could see how it all worked, but we were a little overwhelmed in the midst of the parties. We hung black fabric from the playroom wall and put it on the floor, too. K brought home lights from her studio and set them up. It was like being in a professional photo studio and the pictures prove it! These were our practice shots from Friday afternoon. K took some impromptu photos of Ella in her panties to test the lights. When we told Ella to make funny faces these are what we got. We were both laughing so ...
Let’s Get Fancy… Again!
Sunday evening was our family party and WOW is all I can say. Have you ever had a party where every person you invited actually showed up? Well, on Sunday we pretty much did. There were very few people in our group of close family and friends who didn't come. Our house was filled to capacity and it became very hard to visit with everyone. Fortunately, everyone mingled all over the place and really enjoyed themselves despite the limited seating. THIS is our birthday cake. Can you say wow? A friend from high school made it and delivered it for us and did a fabulous job. We knew we wanted something fancy and sent her a picture of what we wanted. She pretty much made exactly what we asked for and everyone was amazed to look and taste it. Ella LOVED it, which made her mommy very happy. Not ...