Kate is 1!

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet Kate!  It's hard to believe it's already been a year since she was born. She arrived a feisty ol' soul and has stayed true to her personality.   She is a happy, funny, smart, & precocious little girl.   She's so much fun and has added so much happiness & joy to our family.

Kate's 1st Birthday Party

Kate's Shabby Chic Princess Party

I think I started planning Kate's 1st birthday party the day she was born.  OK, not really, but ideas were swirling around in my head for months before the big event.  I didn't know the sex of either of my girls before they were born so I never got to have a super girlie baby shower.  I wanted to do something completely prissy.  I imagined lots of pink and roses.  I spent lots of time hunting Pinterest for ideas.  I stayed up many late nights brainstorming & creating all the DIY decorations.  If you know me, you know that I am nuts for pretty DIY things.  I went a little overboard.  I'm pretty proud of how it all came together.  Even though Kate won't remember the day, I hope she will cherish the photos & know what a special day is was for all of us who love her.  It's been the best year of my life and worth celebrating in a big way.  Happiness is...

The birthday girl and her big sister

The beautiful park setting.  We had Sydney's party here in May and I fell in love with the location.

The centerpieces

I used old spaghetti sauce, jam & salsa jars and added lace and felt flowers.  I really wanted to use real roses but carnations were cheaper and they held up perfectly in the heat.  I found plastic faux lace tablecloths for a dollar each.  They were perfect.

I decorated the sweets table with a few of my mom's vintage mason jars and Kate's 1 year photos.  I took the photos myself in our backyard.  My girls never cooperate with pro photographers so I figured I'd give it a shot.  Pun intended. ;-)  She still didn't really cooperate but I was able to get a few good ones.  The white frames are from IKEA.

The beautiful, bright-eyed birthday girl

Shabby chic crown cookies made by me, with Sydney's help, of course.

Cake pops made by Kate's cousin, Ashleigh.  I bought the pretty rose planter at IKEA.  I also bought the matching table runner and paper napkins there.  I am loving IKEA right now.

Ribbon mobile

Sweets and party favor table

The girl favors

The cute little boxes were 8/$1 at Dollar Tree.  I decorated the little box with a flower sticker, crown ribbon and I added a crown hair clip.  They were filled with a tiny bottle of bubbles, plastic costume jewelry and other little toys.  I made some especially for the boys too but I forgot to get a photo of them.

Close up of the beautiful cake pops

Kate's gorgeous birthday dress and ruffle bloomers made by Wendi of Sweet Stuff Creations.  The photos don't do it justice.    

Newspaper hats for the boys and...

 shabby chic crowns for the girls

I bought packs of cardboard crowns at Micheal's covered them in pretty scrapbook paper.  Then I added flower stickers, doilies, ribbon and other embellishments.  I had so much fun making them. 

I made this to go around Kate's highchair but I ended up using it to decorate the sweets table.

A year on a clothesline.
 

I can't take credit for this idea because I am fairly sure I saw it online somewhere, although I can't remember where.  I thought it was a fun tribute to my sweet girl's 1st year.

The pinata

I attempted to make a rose ball pinata like this.  It was a huge FAIL!  When I popped the balloon it collapsed and it looked like a deflated dinosaur egg.  I ended up buying a character pinata and I covered the picture with a giant doily.  I added blue and white doilies, fabric roses and ribbon to make it extra pretty.  It was (almost) too pretty to break.

Kate hitting the pinata.

 The kids waiting in line to hit the pinata.

Kate's friend, Baby Scarlett

Kate's smash cake. 

I made the cake topper out of polymer clay.  I am thinking of making and selling these when I am brave enough to reopen my Etsy store.   

The cake

The best part of any birthday party!  I wanted a fancy 1st birthday cake but they were super pricey.  I didn't have a lot to spend so I ordered a grocery store cake and made cake toppers.  I made a paper crown, pennant banner and a "1" sign.  I loved the cake!  It was delicious too.

Kate's castle.

Pinata bags

Kate watching as the crowd sings to her.  Her bib is also from Sweet Stuff Creations.

Pink buttercream frosting face!

1st lollipop and first sugar high!

My sweet family.

It was a great day!

The end!

I'm a busy, little bee.  Making lots of pretty things for Kate's 1st birthday.  I feel inspired & full of purpose when I'm creating.  I really need to make a career out of this.  I just need some direction.  I'm going to need something to do when the party is over.  I feel like I've been planning this shindig since the day she was born.  Where has the year gone?  I can't believe Kate will be a year old soon.  What a year it has been!  Challenging, fun and one of the best.  My girls bring such joy to my heart. 

Sydney is 3!

                                     

We spent Sydney's birthday (for the 2nd year in a row) at Disneyland.  We had so much fun at Breakfast with Minnie & Friends and exploring the park.  The only snafu was that we discovered Sydney is not fond of boats.  Once we learned what rides to avoid we had a fabulous time.  Sydney loved every moment & Kate was mesmerized by the sights and sounds.  Both girls were so happy and well behaved.  Our little family of four ended the evening at home with pizza & ice cream sundaes.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate Our Sydney. 

Here are a few photos of our Disneyland adventure.

 I'm 3!

 Who's behind me?

 Starstruck!

 Nice to meet you Chip!

 Minnie's biggest fan!

 Kate meets Minnie. 

 Teacups with daddy.

Syd & Daddy