Puddin's 6 birthday...rewind

It dawned on me last night that over the course of the past few months, I really

did miss a lot of updates..including Puddin's 6th birthday! ouch- score one for the bad momma!

Puddin the morning of her birthday, Oct. 13th.

I mean, I am supposed to be documenting memories here. Sometimes, life just gets in the way. However, there will be a new and improved system around here that I hope to share with you next week, just as soon as I recap some highlights I missed in 2011.

All dressed and ready for school in her new birthday outfit. 

So, without further a do, I give you Puddin's 6th birthday bash! I know what you are thinking.... how can she be 6??? I know- it's crazy! But what a beautiful 6  year old she is, inside and out.

Breakfast of champions...birthday donut with sprinkles. She was h to the appy, happy!

This year she wanted a "Little house on the Prairie" party. I wrapped my head around this and was ready to go full steam ahead in all things prairie related. Up until September. That's when she decided that no, she would rather have a "Goldilocks and the 3 bears" party, Ru-roh!

Daddy and Puddin before school. love.

See, I usually plan parties pretty well in advance so I can get supplies on sale. And since March is the start of our birthday season, all of the kids want to discuss their party plans at the same time. This is the first time we experienced a change up.

But, it was what she really wanted so we went with it. I was able to use some of the supplies I had already purchased since the color scheme worked for either theme. bonus.

Also, when I was 11-13 I collected bears. In fact, I got one a month from a mail order thing-a-ma-jig and all of those sweet bears were up in the attic tucked away neatly.

Turned out, I didn't have to really purchase much, except the wig prop and the food. Everything else I needed we already had.

<insert happy dance>

So here are some pics from her special day...

food table...peanut butter and honey bear sandwiches, fruit, apples and dip, stroop waffles, chocolate bear pops, chocolate covered strawberries, lemonade and cinnamon, honey cupcakes with cinnamon butter cream frosting...YUM!!

This was supposed to be photo prop set up... the 3 bears chairs were here and I had planned to get a picture of all of the kiddos in front of the mural but somehow, in he bus-i-ness of hosting a party- I did not get the picture. ugh.

Seating for the kiddos. The "tables" are made from Monkey See and Monkey Do's cribs. I added a frame and plywood to connect them and make them long enough for 10 kids to sit at each table. The table cloth is yellow gingham fabric and the centerpieces are mums wrapped in burlap along with bears from my collection. The table in the foreground has baby bear and papa bear. The table in the background has mama bear and Goldilocks. The chairs are mostly from the children's preschool. They were so kind to let me borrow them for the weekend! 

Part of the crowd. We were blessed with a beautiful Autumn day and it actually got a little warm! Under the canopy is where we designated the gift opening center and the bear making activity. I precut teddy bears and we had a sort of build a bear shop going for each of the girls. I think they enjoyed having a bear of their own to take home.

It's pinata time! This year I just couldn't see whacking baby bear or Goldilocks for the pinata so we opted for a bee hive... bears like honey and honey comes from bee hives.... it was easy and unexpectedly durable! It took some real hammering before we finally got it to break! Here is Puddin giving it the first whack!

I think this is Monkey See's favorite part of birthday parties... next to the cake!

Puddin blowing out her candles. Her request... "roses on my cake". She was beyond thrilled!

Uncle Tim hanging out with Monkey Do under the canopy.

The girls eating at their tables. Each girl also had a basket of goodies to take home and to keep their bear in. We served the lemonade in the honey bear jars. It turned out pretty cute.

Daisy and Bud... someone LOVES ice cream!

 Opening presents! This was one of her favorite gifts... frogs! Courtesy of Aunt Katie. :) She was so very happy! And I am happy to say that Charma and Princess (the frogs) are still with us!

 Sweet smiles from my girl!

 Bud finishing off Puddin's cake!

 6 is for being silly!!

apparently, Monkey Do is also a fan of the silly glasses. In fact, he eventually pulled the nose off of his pair and wore them day and night as his "pwetend" glasses, even to preschool! My silly monkey!

SO, Puddin's birthday was lots of fun and she is a happy, sweet and precious 6 year old! wow!

The Picnic

For the "babies" second birthday party I tried to plan something that would be fun, we could stay at home, be outside and would not be too boy-ish or too girlie. That last part is becoming more and more difficult as they grow from babies to "big kids"! (sniff-sniff) What I finally decided on was a picnic party! Having a March party the weather part was a bit iffy but it was perfect for a boy or a girl so we went with it! Turns out it was a good choice because the weather couldn't have been nicer! The result was fabulous! So many people that are so important to our family were able to be there. Even my dad and company traveled from Mississippi for the party! Having them here and having my Uncle Jeff play the guitar and sing happy birthday to my babies was a very special moment for me! Lots of memories from my on childhood came flooding back. *sigh* So, here are some pictures and a few details... if I leave anything out just holler and I will answer your questions if I can! I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. My camera died and I was busy hostessing so I did what I could!

The food table before... we hd picnic food... watermelon, strawberries, chips,

lemonade, cookies, capri suns, and a favorite

of the Wonder twins... cheetohs!

Sweet Daisy

The cake table... I'm not a big fan of fondant and I needed something that was easy and fairly "self serve" so we went with cupcakes. The cakes were frosted with green icing to represent grass and were topped off with ants made on a die cut machine! (thank you Mrs. Brenda!) The cake toppers were bought at Hobby Lobby. They were not origially cake toppers but with the help of my black and decker drill they quickly became exactly what I wanted! I just drilled 2 holes in each cupcake to hold the candles! Easy-peasy!

In the background you can see the birthday books for the babies. Each birthday my childrn get a new book to pass around at the party. All of the guests sign it and write a little message to the children. It's a great keepsake and a perfect momento of a special day! This year I realized I had not yet given the babies God Gave Us You. All of the ther children have it and it was a must have in their collections as well so it was an easy choice. :) close up of the ants...marching! The kids loved them!

The entertainment... My Uncle Jeff

eye-balling the foodtable...yum!

our party games consisted of old fashioned fun.... playing with friends! petting the dog fun on the swing set! They played in the play house too! We also had a pinata at the end of the party but by that time the camera's batteries were long gone!

Next we snacked on the munchies!

funny- my kids are the only ones eating! Everyone else was playing!

Then we had cake...

Everyone gathered around for that and it sent little Bud into a bit of a tailspin!He really doesn't like being the center of attention unless it's on his terms! Finally, he calmed down a bit and enjoyed his yummy cake! It was a great party and the kids had a blast! It was also an easy party to plan! Just think picnic and pray for sunshine!

Now, back to the real world, where my babies are 2 years old, my house is a disaster, 2 of my children re currently in time out, and I have nothing prepared for dinner but my husband will be home in 30 minutes! Yikes!!

Come Fly with Me (part 3)

Final installment.. I promise!


Birthday cake! Boy did they love it! And yes, I gave them their whole cake with a fork and just let them dig in! They didn't eat near all of it but it made their day even more special to be able to do something so out of the normal!

Finally, the boys opened their gifts. They were given lots of great stuff and they had a ball opening up each new treasure!

And, the after show once we were home and had all had a nap... Puddin and Monkey Do "rocking out" with the new guitars in our master bedroom. Remember when I said I hadn't cleaned up... plus I had surgery and could barely walk.... try not to notice the mess!

And a little dress up time too! Aren't they the cutest little Buzz Light Years ever???