Happy 2nd Birthday, Claire!

It happened . . . our baby turned two! 

She is in that adorable phase where she copies everything you say.  I love this age!

One other thing she loves to do is say "Mommy, I baby!" And then she falls into my arms, sticks out her tongue, and acts like a little baby.  She does it to Chris too.  We can't help but love her little chipmunk smile and cuddly ways.

Here are some highlights of her family dinner/Minnie Mouse party . . .

Tiana Birthday Party

I'm not embarassed to tell you that I dream about my children's birthday parties at night.  And not just the weeks preceeding their birthday.  I am talking about one month after their birthday concludes I am thinking about what we could do next year.  It's not as though the parties are super elaborate.  The last three years it's been just our family gathering for dinner and presents.  But it is just so fun to do cakes and decorating and a meal that honors the person we love!   Hallie and I thought of several options this year . . . a Fancy Nancy party, a Pinkalicious party, Wonder Pets party or a Princess party.  Hallie just kept telling me she wanted a Belle cake and Tiana cake and Jasmine cake.  In the end we settled on Tiana.  Especially after we found gorgeous posters of her at Dollar Tree!  Once we knew we were going Princess and the Frog theme, Hallie thought of her dinner . . . Gumbo!  Hallie had never had Gumbo before, but that is what Tiana loves to make in the movie.  Hallie instructed me "Gumbo is like soup!"  So we rounded out the menu New Orleans style.

My mom and I had so much fun picking out candy for our candy bar.  Lily pads were apple sour rings, gator eggs were watermelon jelly bellies, sour patch kids were voo-doo dolls, and australian apple licorice were bayou boats.  It was a hot day, and we didn't want to fry the beignets, so we bought powdered sugar doughnuts and pretended they were the "man-catching beignets" Tiana makes in the movie.

Hallie was determined to cook just like Tiana. So she "helped" me chop by holding on to my arm (she insisted). Then she stirred up the Gumbo throughout the process.  In the background, we played The Princess and the Frog soundtrack.

The funny thing is, once we poured the Gumbo over a bed of rice, I don't think Hallie touched it.  But she loved making it and I don't think she regretted making that her dinner of choice considering how authentic it was to Tiana.  Thankfully, Claire loved the spicy concoction and downed it heartily.

 

 

We have a tradition of decorating the birthday chair.

We called Grandpa Wynn on the web camera so he could witness the present opening frenzy.

What a fun night to share between our little family.  And what a fun way to spoil our favorite four-year-old.

And by the way, Claire's birthday is seven months away and I am totally thinking Minnie Mouse!

Claire's First Birthday Party!

Our little Claire turned one on April 18. We had swiss cheese fondue (with lots of little food Claire could eat) and pink soda (Claire had milk). Claire's cake was strawberry and everyone else had red velvet "Claire-cakes" (cupcakes).

Birthday Party!

We had a "ball" at Hallie's third birthday party. It was fun, frugal, and stress-free. I loved doing this party because it satisfied my creative process and I just felt so happy to being doing something fun for Hallie's birthday. The invite and decorations were inspired by the picture of Hallie in her birthday dress. Can you guess what I spent on the decorations? $2.50! Yep, I said $2.50!

I was out of taper candles so I spent fifty cents on three at Dollar Tree.
























For the centerpiece, I used things I already had. A string of my (fake) pearls, leftover tissue paper, gold Christmas ribbon, crystal candle holders we got when we married . . .
Hallie's birthday chair was decorated and she had her picture on her plate.

I desperately wanted to buy a light blue damask table cloth but didn't want to spend the money. So I "wrapped" our table with Dollar Tree blue princess gift wrap.
Hallie's menu was based on her favorite foods and movies. We talked about the menu together so she talked for days about her "Robin Hood salad" and "Spaghetti and Meatballs just like Lady and the Tramp!"



























Hallie made every step of our "Hakuna Matata Bug Cups." She mixed the pudding, crushed the oreos, divided the servings and added the worms on top. When she ate it she told us it was "slimy yet satisfying" (just like they say in the movie).


















The wands are just breadsticks from a canister, I cut out star shapes for the top and brushed them with garlic butter then sprinkled on parmesan.

Raspberry Sherbet and Rasberry Soda made a perfect "princess party punch."





















Chris made a "birthday soundtrack" of Hallie's favorite music to play in the background. Some of the tracks were: Bella Note, Under the Sea, Be Our Guest, (you get the idea).

The other dollar was spent on princess balloons scattered throughout the family room.