Blakely's 4th birthday bowling bash!

I really didn't plan a major birthday for Blakely this year.  I knew I didn't want to have it at my house like I had done previously.  My house looks like a daycare and I didn't want to have to deal with all the cleaning and stress that comes with inviting a bunch of people over.  

To be honest there are not a lot of places to have birthday parties where I live.  Especially for 4 year olds.  There are more options for older kids.  Anyway, I tried to think of something that I knew Blakely would love no matter what.  One day she asked me to go bowling and it hit me.  Let's have her party there!  We haven't taken her in a while and she absolutely loves going.  So I found a cute invite on E.tsy about 2 weeks before the party, printed those things and sent them out.  

This was really the first year that Blakely has friends that are not my friends kids.  She made some friends at dance last year and has made some through MDO and gymnastics.  I really had no idea how many kids would show up because it was kind of last minute but we had a great turnout!  About 12 kids I think?  Besides the invite I didn't do much for the party until the week of.  I know, totally not my normal party planning style but it was so easy and I enjoyed not stressing too much about it.  

missing a few friends here.  I am surprised we got them to sit still for a pic!  

I got some nuggets, a fruit tray and some lemonade from Chi.ck fil.a.  Then I threw some cheet.oh balls and popcorn in a bowl and the food was done.  I tied some balloons to each chair and that was really it for decor.  I had small favor bags that had some bowling themed suckers, pencils, tattoos and bracelets for each kiddo.  

I called the lady who always does Blakely's cakes and she decorated a super cute cake for me at the last minute.  Seriously love her.  

checkout the bowling pin and bowling ball candles on the bottom right of the cake!  so cute!

All the kids loved bowling.  Some of them had never done it before but I have a feeling they will be going back.  The littler kids can use this slide thing to bowl the balls and of course use it as a slide as well ;)

 I had the party at one right drink nap time which I hated but it was my only option.  Needless to say Blakely was PASSED out in the car before we even left the parking lot!  

Since we did a party with mainly her friends (and my friends) at the bowling alley we did a small party with family on her actual birthday after she and I had a girls' day.  They got her gifts and a cake and it was low key fun.  She wanted to blow out the candles about 5 times so she could make 5 wishes.  One of them was to go to Dis.ney Wo.rld.  Can not even wait to tell her about that!

My girl sure is blessed with a bunch of people who love her and for that I am very grateful!  

4

My Blakely Ann is 4 years old.  Yesterday was her birthday and I kept her out of school and we had a girls day together before having a small party for her with my family last night.  

We went and ate bacon (her choice) and then we went to the library.  She wanted a book about flowers, one about Jesus, cats, coral reefs and dinosaurs.  We stopped at the park and then for ice cream on our way home.  When we got home she told me she was exhausted and wanted to go to bed.  She took a 2 hour nap and then we went and ate cake with my family.  It was a perfect day.  

It truly is amazing how fast 4 years can go.  I remember the night before I gave birth to her laying on the couch amazed that I was going to meet my daughter the next day.  And now she has grown into this amazing, spunky, hilarious and caring little girl.  I could not be more proud of her!  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Blakely thought it was pretty cool that everyone was wearing green on Mommy's birthday!  

My mom, aunt and Grand had a little party for me yesterday and Blakely was SO EXCITED about it.  I meant she couldn't stop talking about it.  Right when I walked in the door (she was already there) she started telling me about the shamrock cookies and the pink plates and the cake and the presents that I was going to get.  She told me which chair to sit in and then she told Lonnie all about it when we got home.  Then she told Juanet all about it this morning.  IT was pretty much the sweetest thing ever.  

We are partying hard here for my 33rd birthday.  Blakely went to MDO and Lonnie went to work.  I am laying on the couch all day and then my MIL is coming to make dinner.  Woo hoo!  Party animals.  I am just thankful to be right where I am at 33.  Couldn't be any luckier. :) 

Ice Cream Third Birthday Party

I decided on an ice cream theme for Blakely's party this year.  I wanted something that was pretty easy and that I wouldn't have to spend a bunch of time on.  Knowing I was going to be in Denver and then on light activity leading up to the party I tried to do all the crafting before I left.  Which I did but I didn't do much of.  I just made some ice cream cones and bought some fabric for the table.  I purchased the banner which I usually make and that made life easier!  I did the party at 2 in the afternoon so I wouldn't have to serve a lot of food and could just do the ice cream bar and a couple of little snacks.  It worked out great and I am so glad that I went with easy.  With the way I have been feeling lately I can't imagine if I had tried to go over the top as I have in recent years.  Sidenote...Lonnie still thinks this is "over the top".  He doesn't think we need to do a party at all.  Is he the crazy one or am I?  That's what I thought...sorry honey!  

Can we just talk about how cute her skirt is?  I could not find an outfit that I liked anywhere and then finally found this cute ice cream print fabric at this Etsy shop.  

This is her "what do I get for letting you take all these pictures" face. 

Invitation, banner, and food tent cards from HERE.  They were awesome and I will definitely use them again for any invite needs.  

Dining room setup

I let Blakely pick out the toppings that she wanted.  She picked M&M's, Skittles, sprinkles, marshmallows, and gummy bears.  I found these trays with four each so I added chopped up cookies, mini peanut butter cups and mini chocolate chips.  Most of the kids put a little of everything on their ice cream and Blakely went back for seconds, of course.  

Can we talk about this cake?  I found a picture of a cake like this online...not sure where just goo.gled ice cream cakes and sent the picture to my local bakery.  They did an awesome job.  And they even did it for me twice since we had to cancel the first party.  I could never get cake anywhere else, they did our wedding cake too!  Blakely requested strawberry cake and at first that didn't sound good to me but it was delicious!  

When everyone arrived we mingled around and let the kids play for a bit.  Then we all ate our ice cream and snacks.  

Blakely with Grand and Aunt Jerry

Blakely and Jenni

Blakely and Pop Pop.  And then she was DONE with pictures!  

I bought a little piñata for the kids to beat on.  They thought it was really fun but it was impossible to break!  Lonnie had to cut a bunch of holes in it so it would finally break open.  

Then we did presents.  Man, this girl is so lucky.  She got a ton of new stuff.  She did really good opening but probably only because I had a major talk with her before the party.  I knew she would want to play with the first thing and then forget all the other presents.  I explained we would open them all and then she could play with them.  I was proud of her saying thank you although she could have one a little better at that!  

Literally her favorite present.  A package of preemie diapers for her babies!  

Then we sang Happy Birthday and ate the cake!  

All in all it was a super fun day.  I know she had a great time and she still talks about it and wants her friends to come back over.  Love this little family of mine!   

3 years

Three years ago today we were blessed with this sweet miracle.  

Gah.  I still tear up when thinking about that day.  

I remember so many nights of wondering if I was ever going to get to experience pregnancy.  Wondering if I would ever get to experience labor and birth.  Wondering if I would ever get to raise a child.  Well I did and I am.  I am so thankful for that.  That day three years ago was the best day of our lives.  I looked back over the pictures this morning and you can just see it in Lonnie's eyes and in my eyes.  Happiness.  Total happiness.  

We were planning a big birthday bash for our girl yesterday but we had to cancel it the day before.  She got a stomach bug and was throwing up multiple times a day.  This was my first experience as a mom with the stomach bug and let me tell you...it has been awful.  My poor girl wanted to do nothing but lay on the couch and watch movies or sleep.  She fell asleep on the couch many times (unheard of) and she told me a few times that she was "ready to go to her bed and close her eyes".  She has been dehydrated and it has been a struggle to get her to drink fluids.  Today is day 5 but she stopped throwing up yesterday.  I think we are on the mend today.  She actually wanted to play with her babies and paint for about 45 minutes this morning before wanting to go lay down.

She was very disappointed about her party being postponed.  She had been asking every morning how many more days until her ice cream party.  When I told her we were going to have it in two weeks she said, "okayyyyy, I know I'm real sick, Mommy".  My mom and Jenni came over yesterday anyway and gave her a few presents and we sang her Happy Birthday.  She liked that but didn't last very long before wanting to lay down again.  

sicky...

first smile in days...

Hopefully we will have better luck in two weeks!  

Happy birthday sweet Blakely!  

Yesterday

Yesterday, I turned 32 years old!  I am not one to get torn up about aging but I will say that I do get a little emotional on my birthday because I just start thinking about my previous birthdays.  In my 20's they were all the same.  Parties, green beer and fun with friends and family.  The last few years were a bit different.    

In 2011 I was pregnant and had a horrid headache the entire day (well really the thing lasted a good 3 months) but it really didn't matter.  I was finally pregnant and life was fantastic!  I laid in bed most of the day with my hands on my belly...thinking about the baby, talking to the baby and drifted in and out of happy happy sleep.  

In 2012 I woke up on my birthday to this beautiful sight.  

I remember Lonnie and I got a babysitter that evening and went downtown to the World's Short.est Par.ade.  We stayed all of 30 minutes because I got emotional and wanted to come back home and be the one to put Blakely down to sleep for the night.  I cried happy tears while she nursed and I ended up falling asleep in the bed in her room while watching her sleep.   

I found out the day before my birthday in 2013 that our 4th IVF had failed.  I was very sad about that of course but was easily cheered up by these two smiling faces.  

We went to the pet store and the park.  I put her down for the night and snuck back into her room an hour later and slept in her bed.  

Yesterday I woke up to the sounds of a giggly toddler which then turned into a very loud version of Happy Birthday to Mommy!  We took her bowling for the first time and had a blast.  We went and ate amazing greasy Mexican food that we never eat and all three of us loved every second of it.  

When Lonnie had asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday last week I couldn't think of anything better than bowling and dinner with my two favorite people.  I let Lonnie put her to bed while I enjoyed a glass of wine.  She must have known about our tradition because at about 1 am she woke up crying and saying that she wanted to sleep in her pink bed with Mommy.  So we did.  We snuggled all night and she woke me up with kisses this morning.  

Sure, I am Irish and born on St. Patrick's Day but that is not what makes me lucky.  These two people I am sharing my life with are what make me lucky.