birthday

8th Birthday Battle Royale

I am catching up on posts that have been left unpublished. On October 18th our little man turned eight…yes…eight! I say it every year but time is flying by. I love how much Brayden has grown in the last year. It was fitting that we threw our game loving boy a Fortnite inspired party with all his best buddies. We rented a gaming truck, SoCal Gamez. The owner was great to work with and I highly recommend them! The week before his birthday I had surgery on my foot. I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull this party off but it all came together perfectly. All the thanks to Amazon, my Mom, husband and for pushing myself with walking when I shouldn’t have been.

I purchased the invitation through Etsy. The first seller made a mistake and never responded to me again. This is the second one I purchased. I used Punch Bowl to manage the RSVP’s.

Cake made by me.
Sprinkles were purchased off Amazon here.
Cake Topper from here.
Miniature toys from Target
Camo Background

Supply Drop Loot Boxes contained the following:
Toy Figures | Gaming Party Supplies | Balloons
Loot Boxes
Grenade Sour Candy
PickAxe Pencils
Loot Llama Piñata

I used three different colors of Jelly Beans from Party City.

NatSweets Cookies is always my go-to for decorated cookies. They taste good, they are easy to work with and they now have a store front.

Chocolatey Caramels from Party City in two colors

Small Pringles Cans, I found them at business Costco and Printables via here

Printables from Etsy
Spiky Balls from Target

In & Out was a hit. Originally I thought of just getting McDonalds but ordering from In & Out was more fun! We ordered all the burgers plain and then all the toppings came on the side. You are able to order ahead at In & Out.

Chug Jug Wrappers
Loot Llama’s from Target as centerpieces

Payton read to him at school that day as the Mystery Reader.

He started off his morning with our traditional pancake stack!

Brayden’s 8th Birthday Royale style was such a blast. I am so pleased with the way it turned out and I hope this post helps you plan your next party!

A Nutcracker, Sugarplum Fairy Celebration

Last month my sweet Payton turned six on the eighteenth of December. To celebrate her big day we invited all her girlfriends from school to swirl around in fluffy pink tutus to the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. When I was day dreaming of the party I saw lots of sweet pastel candy, cotton candy colored tutus, butterfly wings and silvery white Nutcrackers all around. We held the party at our home, we setup the table up outside because we were lucky enough to miss the rain by a few hours. The food was simple: fruit, fairy bread, sandwiches and pink lemonade. I baked the barbie cake and cupcakes. We had a special visit from the Sugar Plum Fairy who performed for everyone and then taught a one-hour class and gave glittery tattoos to all the girls. It was truly magical!

Party Details:

Payton’s Nutcracker Costume: Mint Pink Sugar

Cookies: Sugar Cookies by Britt

Cake and Cupcakes: by myself

Tutus and Wings: Butterfly Craze

Invitation: Krown Kreations (Etsy)

Entertainment: Charlene’s Dance ‘n Cheer

Happy Fifth Birthday, Peanut Butter Pie.

Dearest Payton,

Today you are five years old. How we got to an entire hand is just insane. I have loved every minute of being your mother. You have the sweetest soul and everyone who knows you cannot wait to tell us this. You are a genuine friend and care deeply about those you love. You are the best big sister and watching you teach your brother brings so much light to my life. I love our tooshie dances, our chases up and down the hallway, our lunch dates and your story telling. My! Oh my! Can you tell a story. You have one wild imagination and I cannot wait for you to start writing your own books. Though, this is your new thing to do at school, your picture books tell amazing stories already, sweet girl you are destined to do amazing things. Everything about you is amazing. I could not imagine my life without you in it.

When I was growing up I had a love for Winnie the Pooh. I know I have told you about this but that silly old bear holds a special place in my heart. When I was gradutaing high school my parents made me a scrapbook of my life thus far. A special Winnie the Pooh-ism that will forever be with me is:

If ever there is a tomorrow when we’re not together. There is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. But the most important thing even if we are apart I’ll always be with you. – Winnie the Pooh

My wish for you sweet girl is for you to live by this. You are a strong girl with the biggest heart and no matter where you are, I will always be with you. Happy fifth birthday! Your birthday, along with your brother’s are by far the best days of my life.

Things you are loving:

horses, all things princess, puzzles, drawing picture books, Frozen, Taylor Swift, dance parties & playing dress-up.

You are:

51 pounds, you wear a size 12 shoe, wear a size 6/6x.

Payton’s 4th Birthday {Disneyland}

(bear with me as I play catch-up of events)

Payton’s second wish for her fourth birthday was to go to Disneyland. Since daddy was in Austin for her special day, Grandma and I took the kids to the happiest place on earth. We learned last year when taking her Disneyland one week before Christmas it meant chaos and this year was no exception, it was pure chaos! Last year it was raining the morning of and this year it was nearly 80 degrees. Luckily for us, the kids don’t really care if we ride too many rides. All they seem to care about is seeing the princesses, Brayden needs to see Goofy otherwise his two-year-old planet will spontaneously combust, cotton candy, popcorn, a ride on the carousel, maybe even a coast through Ariel’s undersea adventure and finishing off the day with purchases made at The World of Disney is all they truly need. Actually, this is our routine 75% of the time, luckily for us we have passports so it makes it easy when the crowds get the best of us.

We made the most of our December 18th trip and tried doing holiday-type things like decorating sugar cookies at Mickey’s Jamboree. This was the highlight of our trip because Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, Donald, Mrs. Claus and Santa were all nestled back away from the chaos. The kids could interact as long as they wanted with the characters. We were probably thirty seconds away from being tossed out of the park for Brayden’s stalking skillz (yes with a ‘z’) on Goofy and Pluto. I am sure the human behind the fluff was so annoyed with my kid. Hell, he even parked himself down next to a teenage girl during one of the last hillbilly shows and made himself comfortable. At one point he kept inching closer to her, grabbing her hand and leaning on her arm. This kid has mad skillz (again, with the ‘z’) and he’s only two. It was fun chasing him around, they had fun and I had fun watching them act like crazy ass kids. After the kids, grandma and I consumed way too many sprinkles and icing we exited the park and met my sister’s family to celebrate my nieces 9th birthday and miss p’s 4th. Dinner was chaotic like the park, but more so because my son decided he wanted to enter into his terrible two’s that day. Lord help me and let it pass quickly because I can’t look like “that” mom out in public any longer than I have already endured. Okay, enjoy the picture overload. Payton’s fourth is finally recapped. Now onto planning the fifth birthday.

Brayden already getting to dart because he made contact with Goofy. See the disinterest with Mrs. Clause?

We’re still all good here. Engaged young boy somewhat paying attention to his Grandma’s direction…somewhat…

what else is in there? I’ve already tasted all the sprinkles. I need MORE!

Payton, bless her patient heart. She decorated her cookie, obliged for her photo and stayed put with Grandma to watch the show.

Grandma now decorating Brayden’s $6 cookie.

Plethora of affection for Mickey & his pals.

“holy s*** mom! It’s actually Mickey Mouse!”

Okay, I’ll give him a hug. He seems alright and he sings about hot dogs.

But Goofy is just like me! We’re so cool we blow kisses to one another.

I ran away from my mom and found another girl. Slowly but surely I will work my way over.

we also finally talked mommy into purchasing two balloons, the yellow one is still floating high onto her ceiling 5 weeks later. take that $7 balloon that mommy thought wouldn’t last!

we gave mommy a run for her money today, can’t you tell how worn out she is? but I got an Anna crown so I am good…

Grandma enjoying my craziness and for me giving my mommy a run for her money. payback!!

a picture says a thousands words.

Happy FOURTH birthday, Peanut Butter Pie! I hope this post provides you with many laughs when you’re old enough to understand all of this!

my baby turned two.

This past Friday my baby boy turned two. It is insane that he is no longer considered a “baby”. I know in my eyes he will always be my baby but he is turning into a boy so quickly and his baby face is slowly diminishing. I love each new milestone, each new word and honestly there isn’t one thing I don’t obsess about with this boy. I could stare at him for hours watching him closely analyzing everything around him. He has the sweetest soul, is the biggest animal lover and loves sports. He wants to do everything his big sister does and honestly she is his biggest fan, too! Payton is so patient with him and helps him each day sounding out words, helping him draw, plays games and whenever they’re apart they want to be back together again. My sweet little man is already sarcastic and has the most infectious laugh there is. His ability to kick and throw a ball is amazing, I cannot wait to watch him grow as an athlete. His love for the Chargers has already set in and wherever he sees football or the Chargers logo he exclaims, “GO CHARGERS!” at the top of his lungs.

To celebrate his birthday we headed to Disneyland a few days early. He could not wait to see Goofy, Mickey, Pluto and Mater. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by Goofy and we had one ecstatic boy on our hands. The day was perfect, he is perfect and we couldn’t have asked for a better day to celebrate his birth.

I love you, Brayden James. You completed my heart the day you were born and the past two years have been magical. Thank you for choosing me.