Love Day Party

Earlier this week, Cole and Cade were invited to a sweet, kiddo Valentine party hosted by friends Aleah and Reese. Laura nannies for these cute girls and we've enjoyed getting to know them and watching a little friendship grow :) We headed over Monday morning for a day full of fun!

A scavenger hunt was first on the party agenda and Cole loved reading all of the clues for everyone.

A Valentine tree craft was next followed by a delicious lunch of pizza, grape/cheese kabobs, chips, and Fruity Pebble heart treats.

Forgot a bib for little man. . . this is what happens when you're in a house full of girls! :)

The kiddos then exchanged valentines with one another and played the day away. What a fun way to begin the holiday!

Turkey Time!

Nope. Not Thanksgiving.

This past Saturday it was all things turkey for my sweet boy's FIFTH birthday. Being so close to Thanksgiving, we decided to go with that theme this year and loved it. Thanks to beautiful weather and Papa and Gigi's backyard, we had a gobblin' good time!

Cole's handprint turkey invites

Making turkey shaped birdseed favors for the goody bags

1. Mix flour, water, corn syrup, unflavored gelatin, and birdseed together

2. Scoop into a greased cookie cutter on a parchment lined baking sheet

3. Make hole near the top with a skewer and let harden for 6 hours or overnight

4. Tie with raffia and voila!

Goody bags to coordinate with the invites

Heading out to Dunkin Donuts for his birthday breakfast - a free rainbow sprinkle donut was calling his name!

Party time! As I was welcoming everyone and thanking them for celebrating with us, Cole interrupted and said HE wanted to do it :) He proceeded to welcome, give the party agenda (soooo like his mama), and pray for the meal. It happened so fast I didn't get it on camera, but it was totally precious just the same.

Our 'turkey' lunch:

We let guests create their own sandwiches, had turkey shaped peanut butter sandwiches for the kiddos, chips, and a few other fun foods (thank you Pinterest!). Hobby Lobby also sported these cute throw-away "Give Thanks" serving bowls and trays for 50 cents. . . score!

Veggie platter

Fruit kabobs

Sweet cake and cupcakes made by my dear friend, Becky

Could be my favorite shot of the day :)

After lunch it was time to get crafty.

I made thankful books using paper bags and leftover scrapbook paper for the kiddos to decorate and draw or write their blessings

We also had foam turkeys for them to decorate with sequins, glitter, uncooked pasta, crayons, markers, pipe cleaners, stickers, google eyes, etc. Super cute!

Time for presents!

Cole opened the first one, spotted the candy and exclaimed, "Look! A Christmas tree Reeses! And it's ONLY 170 calories!" Hilarious. . .

Ready for cake! Cole danced and clapped as we sang Happy Birthday. I don't believe there's a shy bone in his body - he is truly the life of the party!

As the party winded down, we ended with smores around the firepit and let the kids play in the backyard. They had a blast chasing one another, collecting leaves and sticks, and attempting to climb trees.

Cole, we thoroughly enjoyed your special day and pray that you always know how LOVED you are by friends and family alike.

It's A Comin'

Can't believe that this coming weekend we'll celebrate my baby's FIFTH birthday.

Seriously. . . can. not. believe. it. Time has flown!

This year, I decided to take the chance and plan an outdoor party. For the past four years, Cole's 'party' day has always been warm and sunny - surely the weather would cooperate once again (and it looks as if it will. . .thank you Lord!)

A main reason for moving the festivities outdoors was the transition to our new home. I wasn't about to add the stress of planning and hosting 30+ family and friends on top of trying to get settled. Too much for this mama that is still halfway living out of boxes :)

I also wanted to combine the friend party with the family party (the past two years, we've done a small friend party in the morning and had 15 or so family members over in the evening). I've loved the full day of party fun, but with the addition of sweet Cade, planning two parties was too much. Thanks to Papa and Gigi, we'll crash their backyard in the early afternoon hours for some serious fall fun.

After settling on the location, I began thinking about themes. So far we've done. . .

Old MacDonald's Farm - 1 year

Puppy Fun - 2 years

Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom - 3 years

Blast into Space - 4 years

Cole's birthday will always be near (or on) Thanksgiving, so I decided to use that to my advantage and go with the fall/turkey theme. Lucky for me, Cole LOVED it!

Began working on the invites last week. I have always handmade them and wanted to continue that tradition - so inexpensive this year. All I needed was scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby which was 50% off = 16 invitations for $4.00 - YES!

Loved using his handprint to represent both the turkey AND the #5 :)

Poem at the top reads:

Thanksgiving is the time

To name the blessings in our lives

Come and help us celebrate

Cole is turning FIVE!

A few party tidbits to come. . .

* firepit/hay bale seating for smores

* craft table making blessing books

* pumpkin ring toss

* pin the nose on the turkey

* turkey shaped veggie platter and cute fruit kabobs (thank you Pinterest!)

Gonna be a fun, busy week!