Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Emma's Frozen Birthday Party

I helped plan a simple FROZEN themed birthday for my niece Emma.
This was her invite.

We wanted the snacks to be festive, but also mot too much trouble.
Here is what we went with. 
Sven Snacks/Olaf Noses = Carrots/Cheetos
Elsa's Snow dip = Ranch dip for Carrots
Kristoff's Swedish meatballs
Olafs arms = Pretzels
Snow balls = Cream Puffs
Warm Hugs= Hug Candy
Snow Flurry = Coconut Cheesecake Bites
Melted Icicle = Water
I made little signs for all the treats that included the frozen characters on them.

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 For the decor, we used what we had…
A big beautiful picture of the birthday queen as a BABY.
White vases with sparkly twig like sticks coming out of them. (From the Christmas decorations.)
Emma's Frozen dolls
A few printables that I made including a HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUEEN EMMA banner
Hanging silver snowflakes, again from the Christmas Stash
Teal blue, pink, and a purplish pink accents.

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 Emma and her Mom made the cake and toped it off with all the frozen characters.
All in all we had a festive look, and it was a fun party.

Guests were asked to wear costumes… I somehow didn't get very many pictures of people dressed up.

Happy Birthday Emma Girl.
I hope you had a great birthday.
Love ya.

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Thursday, September 4, 2014

Claire's 1 Year Stats





Claire turned ONE on AUGUST 28, 2014
She melts our hearts daily, and makes us laugh.
It is fascinating to see what she has learned in just one year.

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Stats are:
Weight: 25 lbs; 96%
Height: 30.5 inches; 89%
Head 18.5 93%

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Yup, still our big beautiful little girl.
What an amazing year it has been.







She wasn't afraid to take off even on the dock.

We went to the lake to take pictures twice…
every time… claire wanted to run, and run!

She'd fall and just get back up and RUN!



Love this scrunched smile.





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We really couldn't ask for a more adorable, happy little girl.
We love ya Claire, Claire.



Wednesday, September 3, 2014

⚓ Claire's 1st Birthday ⚓

We SAILEBRATED Claire's birthday on Labor Day.
She turned 1 year old on August 28, 2014.

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I wanted to do a sailor theme. My friend Camie's mom was nice enough to make this sailor dress for little Claire to wear.

We tried really hard to take pics at the lake, but Claire thought it would be more fun to run. We were afraid she would run into the lake.

This was the second attempt. We got quite a few fun shots, where she was laughing or smiling… but not really that many where she was looking at the camera. Too much fun at the lake to look at the camera, I guess. ;)

This was her invite. I found something similar online, and the sailor theme took off.

We were able to rent the club house at our apartment complex for the afternoon. Which provided a nice big area to have the party.
I could have not pulled any of this off with out the help of Cruz, Candace and my family.
Thanks for all the last minute help. We kinda had a crazy morning. But in the end everything workout perfectly! And I was happy with how everything turned out.
 I was planning this for over a month. I made all my own signs and banners.
It was really fun to see the banner pictured above with Claire from Newborn to One Year. What a big girl she has become.

Above Picture also shows…
Pink Coral which was pink (Strawberry Kiwi) popcorn
Live Bait which was gummy worms
Claire's Smash Cake.

A few of the snacks included…
Ocean Water, Life-raft Punch, Oyster Pearls, Clam Cookies, Catch of the Day, and Cupcakes.
(See above and below pics.)



 We also had …
"SAND"wiches
"SEA"sar Salad
Sailor Knots (Pretzels) 
 I decided to order the cake, to have it be less stressful. I thought it was cute. A big fish.
Lucky for me one of my Sister-in-laws had some starfish and a big sail boat that I could barrow. It really added to everything.
 These little Sun Bathers were adorable!!
My brownies were a little gooey… so they kinda look a little weird… but seriously loved these.
I searched HIGH and LOW for that sour striped candy, found it at macey's.
 Some of our guests. I wanted to invite everyone… but the clubhouse has a rule of 25 people… too bad.

SMASH CAKE time!
She got into it. It was so fun to watch her figure it out. She was slow at first licking one finger… and soon dug right in.

I made this little "ONE" t-shirt with a iron on transfer.
It was perfect to just pull off and not to have frosting covering her entire body. However Claire LOVED the cake and pretty much got it all over.
When she was all done she it was almost like she was trying to get it all off herself. Which sent some frosting flying. 
 CAKE TIME. Cruz thought it would be fun if we got some frosting on our faces too. ha ha.
Finally we got to the pool.
I got this little swim suit as part of Claire's birthday gift… and it got here in perfect timing for her to wear. I loved the little anchor on the front. 
 Swimming FUN.
Pillar and I tried to get pics of her kids and Claire… but we had no luck. Guess we will have to go swimming again. ;)
Little Sadie also joined the party. So cute and little.
Emma was in swimming land and loving it.
Gift table. 
We also made these little gift bags to the little mates who were at the party.
I fell in love with these little sailor ducks I randomly found at Smiths. I came home so excited to show Cruz… he just laughed at me and said "Yeah, they are cute." 

Family and Friends. 
 This was adorable to see Claire and Roman playing with this toy.
Claire LOVES this sailor hat. She wears it around the house often.

Opening the presents. 
Thanks everyone!!!
Claire has lots of new toys, PJ's and clothes.
She has been loving it all week. 

We had a fantastic party.
I felt like all my planning and what not was well worth it.
I know Claire would have been happy with just a normal day… but I couldn't resist celebrating her 1st year mark with a fancy party. She is such a fun, happy girl. 
Love You Little Claire, Claire.
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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Random Road Trip

We decided to take a little road trip before the summer is long gone. 
Jackson Hole and then to Yellow Stone. We loved every minute, and wish we could have stayed one more day. (Isn't that how it always feels.)

Here is a bunch of pics from our little trip!

Jackson Hole… 
fun little tourist place.


 Claire wasn't too sure about this pic. (above)

I love that Claire is waving in this.


 I had not been to Yellowstone since I was a kid. It was Cruz's 1st time.








 Idaho Falls! What a pretty little place. Our hotel was right by the falls and this cute little Japanese tea garden. 





We made a quick little stop to see the temple.



Even though we didn't have a ton of time we decided to see the GRAND TETONS. 
There was lots of driving, but it was stunning!

Happy little Claire.



This little spot was my favorite part! SO SO pretty.

I love how Claire is looking up at the trees.