A Dinosaur Princess Birthday Party

You know I can't resist posting about the kids' birthday party each year. My inner creative goes nuts as I research everything that has to do with anything connected to the party theme. And I think this every year, but this time, I mean it: This was my favorite birthday party yet!

The theme? A dinosaur princess one, of course.

Brooklyn's dress. Tiara headbands.

I'll say it was easier to come up with dinosaur-themed things than princess ones. Taking to Google for a "princess party" search ends up with a billion results featuring Disney princesses, but what if you just want a generic princess theme? I settled on lots of gold, sparkles, and crowns, and hoped the shiny dinosaurs were enough. (According to the two birthday kids above, they were.)

Stomp, sparkle, roar, we're turning two and four! Clever...right?

Cupcake wrappers. Pearlized dinosaurs. Gold dinosaurs. Dinosaur sprinkles.

I praised myself last year for the genius move of ordering out for all the cakes. This year? Well, it got away from me. I lost January to guests, work travel for Tyson, and family travel for us all. By the time I was thinking - really thinking -- about all things dinosaur and princess and party it was really too late to order anything from a bakery. I tackled all three cakes and 36 cupcakes the day before the party. My cake decorating skills may be mediocre, but it was nothing some sparkles, sprinkles, and gold dinosaurs couldn't save.

(And if you're interested: Layer cake recipe. Buttercream frosting recipe. Chocolate cupcake recipe. Apple spice cupcake recipe. Cream cheese frosting recipe. Everything turned out yummy and I will be using all of these recipes again and again. Especially that chocolate cupcake one - yum!)

Definitely my favorite one. That pterodactylis giving me life.

I create a photo banner every year with pictures from the past twelve months. It's one of my favorite (and most difficult) tasks. We leave it to hang for a few weeks even once the birthday festivities are over, and then I tuck the photos away in a box upstairs. It guarantees that I've at least printed out some photos each year instead of leaving them all to the digital confines of my computer.

Dinosaur banners. Gold balloons.

Mostly, it was dinosaurs, dinosaurs everywhere.

Literally everywhere.

Dinosaur necklace.

Brooklyn is shaking her groove thing with one of these dinosaur tails. Foam crown craft. Ginormous giraffe courtesy of my brother. That's what uncles are for, right?

This was also probably the most relaxing birthday party we've ever had. I toned down the guest list to a more manageable size this year and the kids were all old enough to fend for themselves. I didn't have to worry about nursing a baby or hovering over six tiny hands trying to reach the cupcakes. (Only two tiny hands... *cough* Nolan *cough*) 

Everyone had fun with all things "dine-a-sord" (that's a Nolan-ism) and princess. Caden asked me if we can have another party after quiet time today. I'm enjoying the last few chocolate cupcakes. Also prepping for actual birthdays around here on Tuesday (the twins') and Thursday (Nolan's). There's a chance that our current snowstorm may be keeping us snowed-in tomorrow, but at least our house is decorated appropriately.

If you're interested:

Candy first and third birthday party
Barnyard second birthday party
Ties and Tutus first birthday party

Thanksgiving Tree

Thanksgiving.  It's this week.  It's one of my favorite holidays.  Which for me this year means gearing up for a road trip to Iowa and packing clothes, potty chairs, diapers, and, most importantly, loads snacks and distractions for the car.  (Though exactly when and how this packing will get done with three kids around remains to be seen.)

But for the past week or so, we've taken a little time out at dinner each night to talk about things we are thankful for.  I can't take credit for the idea as I've seen it floating around the internet in different forms over the years, but now I have kids old enough to participate in what I hope will become a family tradition.  It's also about as simple and as cheap as far as projects go (BONUS): branches from the yard, sparkly cardstock I already had, cut into leaf shapes.  String I also already had, hole punched, looped through, and tied in a knot.

Each night at dinner we go around the table and say one thing we are thankful for.  (I mean, except for Nolan.  Though I can pretty much guess that if he could talk his answers would amount to "milk", "pretty much any and all food", and "the two middle fingers on my right hand that almost never leave my mouth".)  Our one rule: no repeats.  Brooklyn got stuck after "the color blue", "the color pink", and "daddy".  Only three days in, huh?  We've helped her out a bit since then.

Also keep your expectations LOW.  At least for the very little ones.  I'm pretty sure that someone wound up in time-out after we were one answer in the first night.  And while I'd love some shots of them hanging their answers up on the branches (possibly their favorite part, besides picking out which leaf to use each night), it's usually pretty dramatic with a lot of "no don't stand ON the bookshelf" and "give me your leaf right NOW"-type comments happening.  Maybe they'll be able to hang them by themselves with a little less stress in a few years.  Like when they're 16?

Shown above: Caden's answer from the very first night.  Can't say I blame him.

I meant to start this awhile ago so we had it up for the whole month of November, but that just didn't happen.  Oh well.  Do what you can when you can.  We started last Monday and will continue until we leave on Wednesday.  Or maybe I'll bring some leaves along for Thanksgiving Day, as well.  It's something you can do for a few days this week, or as a big group with whoever you celebrate Thanksgiving with, or even in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

And we've had some impressive answers.  My designer heart couldn't help but be glad when Brooklyn named colors  s the top things she was thankful for (blue the first night, pink the second), but was also surprised that while Caden's first night was bread, his answer the second night was church.

(Other answers include "cheese", "pizza", and "bunny crackers".  Guess the kids have a thing for food.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Valentine's Day Snack Mix

Just a quick post as we get ready for a Valentine's-themed playdate tomorrow morning.  I wandered the aisles of Target yesterday (it's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it) looking for things to combine into a Valentine's Day snack mix as our contribution to the festivities. I thought it would be an easy thing to throw together if anyone is looking for a way to add more Valentine's fun to their weekend!

Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (because: hearts, duh), chocolate covered pretzels, Craisins, strawberry-flavored wafer cookies (only used about half the package, chopped each wafer into four pieces), Valentine's Day M&Ms, and mini marshmallows, which I found in the cabinet after I took the above photo.

It's a bit more sugary than our normal snacks around here (replace "a bit" with "a LOT"), but I don't mind making exceptions for holidays.  Gotta love a snack mix: open packages, dump in a bowl, and mix!  (Especially great if, say, you happen to be almost 38-weeks pregnant and don't have the energy for baking or anything much more elaborate.  Just a hypothetical situation there.)  Super simple, a bit festive, and I think a bunch of toddlers (and their mamas!) are going to enjoy it tomorrow morning!  

Caden and Brooklyn's Farm Birthday Party

I love a good theme party.  My mind was churning many months ago about Caden and Brooklyn's second birthday.  Since they like animals, (one of their first "words" was "moo"), and we're (hopefully) several years away from buying into whatever Disney/TV show/video game/movie is currently most popular, I went with a farm theme.  Fun and gender-neutral...especially important when you have boy/girl twins!

Cups: Bandana Print Cups

Straws: Cow Print Paper Straws

Caden and Brooklyn's birthday is actually a couple of weeks away, on February 20th, but I knew that I wanted to give myself some time to recuperate before baby arrives on the 22nd. Throwing a party before having a baby a day or two later doesn't exactly sound like my idea of a good time.  Since I'm still suffering from some post-party exhaustion, this was a smart move.  And I think it might take me the next couple of weeks to sort through and organize all of their loot!

 

Hay Bales: Mini Straw Bale

Table Runner: Bandana Table Runner

Napkins: Red Gingham Luncheon Napkins

Chalkboard Stickers: Chalkboard Fancy Frame Labels

Caden, my routine and rule-follower, strongly disliked that I dared to decorate his high chair.  He refused to sit in it for the entire party, and didn't use it again until the next day after the banner was taken down. #reallifewithtoddlers

I had several other ideas for decorations and whatnot that I wanted to get done, but time constraints and pure late-pregnancy exhaustion dictated what I was actually able to finish. Most of the decor was made by me using a combination of burlap, kraft paper, red and white gingham scrapbooking paper, and an assortment of twine/ribbon/string that I already had.  Keeping the list of materials to a minimum helps keep things simple and coordinated without much effort...or money!

 

Tablecloth: Red Gingham Table Cover

Cow Plates (abovoe, between flowers): Cow Print Dessert Plates

I wish I could take credit for the cow cake, but I have to give hats off to a local bakery.  I gave them a picture of what I was looking for, and it turned out PERFECT!  In case the obvious lack of professionalism didn't tip you off, I did make the chick cupcakes.  With Caden and Brooklyn's "help", I made about two dozen chocolate and two dozen blueberry cupcakes, iced with cream cheese frosting, and added mini chocolate chips for eyes and mini orange Starbursts for the beaks.

 

Lanterns: Bandana Western Paper Lanterns

Try as I might, I failed at getting any decent photos of the fireplace banner (thanks, late winter sunlight...or lack thereof!), but it reads "Oink  Baa  Cluck  Moo   We Are Two!"  It's too bad, because in my (not-so-humble) opinion it turned out adorable!

While not a "kids" party there were still some kids around, so I wanted to have an activity for them.  The top of Caden and Brooklyn's train table flips over to reveal plain boards, making it perfect for art projects!  I printed out some farm-themed coloring pages, added a couple boxes of crayons, and let them go at it.  I think some of the adults may have gotten in on the action, too...  (Who, me?)

 

 

The following is what happens when you tell a slightly distraught (almost) two-year old that yes, he can have another piece of cheese, if he just stands by his sister and says, "cheese". 

Sometimes (erm...most of the time), that's the best you can get.  #reallifewithtoddlers #again

After everyone sang and we blew out the candles, Brooklyn looked around with a big grin and said, "Mo...peese!"  ("More, please!")  Of course we couldn't resist, and while we didn't make everyone sing again, they did get to go through the fun of lighting and blowing out the candles one more time.  I suppose that's only fair since there are two of them and all.

Not sure what the face is for, since he ate up the cake like a champ.  And by cake, I mean frosting.  Using the end of a candle.  Because Papa showed him how to lick the frosting off the end of the candles after we took them out of the cake, so forks were now clearly out of the question.  Obvi.

Besides the farm, two was certainly our theme for the weekend, with two almost two-year olds on our hands...and just two more weeks before we welcome Baby!

Projects: Valentine's Day Canvas

The Christmas decorations are put away.  Even the toys are organized and structured back into some semblance of "tidy", instead of the post-Christmas chaos of new-toys-meet-old-toys-meet-where-did-we-even-get-you-from-toys?

I enjoyed the cleanliness, the openness (doesn't your living room feel so much more spacious once the Christmas tree is down?!?), the neat and tidy and uncluttered look, free from any and all holiday decor.

Then I got the itch.  Maybe it was too mundane and uncluttered.  We don't really have any Valentine's Day decorations.  Neither Tyson or I are very big on V-Day itself, but I AM big on all things holiday and festive, so immediately began thinking of ways to remedy that situation.  By enlisting the help of:

Toddlers.

Super easy, a little messy, and they LOVED it.

Supplies: 8x8 canvases, acrylic paint, foam brushes, felt heart stickers, scrapbook paper (not shown above).

Let's do this.

(Please excuse the long photo montage of twin toddlers painting, but they were all just too cute not to.)

(I love foam brushes for toddlers because they are easy for them to hold and control.  Also it's pretty difficult to pick up too much paint with one, unlike a traditional paintbrush, which can be more awkward and "gloopy".  Foam brushes are also easy-peasy to rinse out, or cheap enough to toss if that doesn't happen!)

(Don't forget to rinse out your toddler(s) as well.)

(Maybe I should back up to say that step one is to cover your floor with a sheet.  Caden accidentally flipped his paper plate of paint onto the floor, where it landed upside down (of course), within the first 20 seconds of painting.  #oops)

(The above is an example of how most of the photos of Caden painting turned out.)

I added the letters after the paint had dried, cut out of scrapbook paper that I already had. Print out your words in the size and font of your choice, trace, and cut.  Or trace very carefully directly off of your computer screen, if you moved approximately three months ago and have yet to set up the printer.  Your choice.

Caden and Brooklyn then went to town with the felt heart stickers.  No pictures, because somebody had to carefully remove each tiny, annoyingly stuck-on paper backer from each individual heart sticker before they could be used, and I couldn't move at a speed that was acceptable even for one toddler, much less two.

They were pretty proud of their creations.  They love all things paint and stickers, so this was super age-appropriate and fun for them, AND held their attention for awhile (major WIN for any toddler mom!)  So easy for me, too.  Besides peeling all the backs off those darn heart stickers.

Operation Valentine's Decor complete.  For now...

(Obviously this could be adapted for any holiday or for no holiday at all, with different word choices.  These would also make fun gifts for dad or grandparents!)