Pop-its

Remember these from your childhood??? Who knew a little 99¢ box could provide so much fun and elicit so many giggles! Again... ...and again...and again! Even Hudson was excited to get in on the action! Sidewalk chalk is always fun!
{Can you see her little tongue sticking out in concentration??} And then there's those sweet little hands...still baby enough to show a bit of that sweet chubbiness that lasts but a fleeting time *sigh* Add a little vanilla ice cream and you've got yourself the perfect summer afternoon!
{Notice anything different?...a little someone is learning to use a spoon!!!!} Of course, its much more fun to drop it over and over and over again and watch mom retrieve it time and again. Hope your Summer is full of pop-its and chalk and ice cream!

Prima Ballerina

With all the party planning, our usual Friday Lunch was postponed to Monday Lunch after the little pumpkin's swimming lessons. And after lunch one more little treat... She's been begging to dance, "I want to be a ballerina and twirl, twirl, twirl," so Lance & I decided to make her wish come true. After lunch the littles, Noonie, and I stopped by the ballet studio and enrolled her in a 6-week summer class. A combination of ballet and tap. Pre-Primary. How sweet and official sounding.

She may want to be a ballerina, but it was the tap shoes that got her all excited. She did her own little rendition right there in the middle of the store, glowing with excitement when the sweet lady told her to try the shoes out in the dressing room so she could hear them go click, click, click...tap, tap, tap. Thank you Noonie for outfitting her with all the PINK gear...pink leotard, pink ballet skirt, pink tights, pink ballet slippers...and those fun "tap, tap shoes" - she's over the moon excited! Me, I can't wait to see the little pumpkin with a bun in her hair and those tiny leather slippers come next Wednesday!
Dance your heart out my sweet girl!

One Little Candle, One Little Cake...... {Dr. Seuss inspired birthday!}

Today you are you!
That is truer than true!
There is no one alive
who is you-er than you!
~ Dr. Seuss (Happy Birthday to You)

I still can't believe my baby boy is ONE! We celebrated with a Dr. Seuss inspired birthday party this past Saturday. Rather than go all out with Dr. Seuss stuff all over the place - because well, that's just not me - I decided to focus on two of the things I like most about Dr. Seuss:
1) the fun rhymes, and 2) the bright colors...even more so the turquoise blue and red. Except I added a little aqua blue too, just to mix it up a bit.

First off, the sweet birthday boy.
Isn't he cute?Wake Up! For today is your Day of all Days!"
To set the festive mood even curbside, I added a fun balloon wreath made from this tutorial to our front door. FYI just in case you decide to make one...I tweaked ours a bit because of the size of the wreath so our finished wreath has over 500 balloons and I used fishing line to anchor the "H" so that I can change it out as needed since the little pumpkin informed me that when it's her birthday she wants this wreath too..."but with a pink G" :)

I really wanted to focus on this fun verse in the Dr. Seuss book Happy Birthday to You! so I incorporated it throughout.

When I stumbled upon Kim's work of Modern Bebe Graphic Design I knew her modern take on Dr. Seuss was exactly what I was looking for in printables to help set the theme. She was WONDERFUL to work with and I highly recommend her.

Here's a peek at the invites she created for Hudson (details obscured for privacy reasons): She also designed the adorable cupcake toppers, party favor tags, banner, and "centerpiece" I used in Hudson's book.

WELCOME!Speaking of book...there were lots of simple details that were "my favorite", but his little sign-in book was probably my most favorite. I added a picture of Hudson and a fun little poem to the inside cover of Dr. Seuss' Happy Birthday to You! and had everyone write a little message to Hudson that he can read when he's older. The fun little poem (click to enlarge): Fun details on the entry table......and just because I'm not too fond of blue flowers, I decided to make my own Seuss approved bouquet of "the best-sniffing flowers that anyone grows": The kids liked my marshmallow pop "flowers" much better!

THE TABLE The BIG one! The little one. The fun ones. A TASTY TREAT...OR TWO!
What's a Dr. Seuss party without some traditional food, right? So even amidst all the red/aqua/turquoise, we made some room for...yup, you guessed it! We had hot dogs with all the trimmings because...
"For Birthday luncheons, as a rule,
We serve hot dogs, rolled on a spool."

These Wocket in My Pocket cupcake cones were a big hit with the little ones...and so cute too! I made them following this tutorial.

CAKE TIME! Then, out of the water! Sing loud while you dry!
Sing loud, "I am lucky!" Sing loud, "I am I!" "Today eat whatever you want.
Today no one tells you you cawnt or you shawnt.
And today, you don't have to be tidy or neat.
If you wish, you may eat with both hands and both feet." One thirsty boy! One sleepy boy! But not for long...One mention of toys and you perked right up! CELEBRATING! Notice the cake "sweating" in the above pic? Yup, that's what happens when it's 110° outside, your A/C decides to act up, and you can only get your house cooled down to 80°! Luckily it still tasted A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I have the best baker! Some of the little guys... Pretty little girls... Some of the fam from Daddy's side... Some of the fam from Mama's side! A Present! A-ha!
Now what kind shall I give...?
Why, the kind you'll remember
As long as you live!
Oilcloth chalk mats made from my tutorial for the little ones......and tasty little morsels and wallet photos for the not so little ones! Oh, The Places You'll Go!

One Little Candle, One Little Cake,

One Little Birthday to Celebrate!

We all love you so very much, Hudson!
Oh me, Oh my!
How nice of you to stop by!