Payton celebrated her birthday this past weekend girly style ... with all of her best girlfriends. Lots of pink ... lots of frou frou ... and most importantly, lots of smiles.
The dress shoppe. Grab whatever it takes to make you stylin ... feather boa, beaded necklace, doodle bop headband and heart shaped wand ... combine that with your tutu and you ought to be rockin by the time you are done.
I just have to say ... my niece is the most.scrumptious.thing.ever. Granted, I am biased, but look at her ... is she not the cutest? This picture just makes me smile ...
The beauty shoppe. Paint your nails, apply a little gloss ... every glam girl needs the perfect, final touch. Which color best suits you?
Special thanks to cousin Maddy for helping to run the beauty shoppe and making the girls look fabulous.
Haha ... that has to be the best picture ever ... no? Oh Evie ... you crack me up. Let's see it again ...
The food shoppe. Chicken nuggets, plain pasta, apple slices, goldfish and water ... some of Payton's favorites.Well, minus the apple slices. Ha.
The sweet shoppe. Every girl has a sweet tooth ... chocolate covered marshmallows, pixie sticks, cupcakes, double bubble gum and strawberry flavored marshmallows ... whatever will satisfy that sweet tooth ... it is all yours.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Chicky, happy birthday to you!
Oh baby girl ... such a serious, beautiful face ...
The souvenir shoppe. Keepsakes are very much a part of who a girl is ... just a little something to take home. Bubble bath, a shower poof ... and don't forget all the other goodies you picked up in the shoppes.
The newest additions to our family ... twin girls, Cassidy and Taylor ...
Does it get any cuter?
After Payton and her girlfriends were done shopping, it was time to hit the club. We turned up Dora's birthday jams and got out the limbo stick ... it was so cute and the kids had a blast.
Note to self: play the limbo at every subsequent birthday party.
It was hilarious to watch what each of them did ... some crawled under, some stepped over, some tried to hang from the pole and some just danced around it.
As soon as my niece saw what was going on, she crawled her little booty right on over ... it was hysterical to watch her from behind ...
A birthday party ... be it girly or not ... would not be a birthday party for Payton without her two favorite boys. I'm pretty sure Mason and my nephew, Jaxson, had just as much fun as the girls ... sans tutus.
I need to thank our friends and family for allowing this party to happen with just three days notice. We feel so incredibly blessed to call upon them at such short notice to celebrate such a special day with us ... thank you, thank you, thank you!
And I promise to try not to procrastinate in the future. Ha.
Thank you also for visiting the gift shoppe ... Payton was so excited to open all of her gifts that found their way to the shoppe. She has also promised me that we will donate some of her old toys to charity. And yes, that means we really are doing some toy purging ... soon.
Party tips, for those that have been asking ...
*Happy Birthday banner designed in photoshop, printed on cardstock and strung on ribbon.
*Feather tree accents made using feather boa pinned around a styrofoam cone (found at Michaels).
*Although you can't really tell in the photos, we blew up 50+ balloons in light pink, fuschia, black and silver to scatter across the floor. This was a hit among the kids!
*Shoppe signs made in photoshop, printed on cardstock and mounted on styrofoam board. If I really had my way, they would have been hung a little lower. Love you husband! Ha.
*The dress shoppe finds ... heart wands can be found at Michaels. Feather boas are also from Michaels in the craft aisle ... they were cut in half to become the perfect size for little girls to throw around their necks. Doodle bop headbands found in the dollar bins at Target and beaded necklaces can be found at any party store.
*The beauty shoppe finds ... lip gloss and nail polish both found in the dollar bins at Target.
*Flower cupcakes made using flower cupcake pan (found at William Sonoma) ... and decorated by my rockstar sister.
*Marshmallow treats made using jumbo marshmallows (found them at Super Target) stuck on skewers (tip: I used wooden skewers, but later wished I had bought the white sticks in the baking aisles at Michaels), dipped in pink colored white chocolate and topped with sprinkles. Cover with clear cellophane bags (found in the baking aisles at Michaels) and secure with ribbon. For display, I stacked two 2" pieces of styrofoam in a metal tin (found in the dollar bins at Target). I stuck the skewers in the styrofoam securely and then covered the styrofoam using Good and Plenty candies.
*The souvenir shoppe finds ... cute little bins and pink bubble bath (all found in the dollar bins at Target).
*The venue ... I rented our community clubhouse, which worked perfectly.
Putting Payton to bed tonight was such a bittersweet moment. As we tucked her in, said our night nights and I love yous ... we reminded her that tomorrow is her birthday. She jabbered something back to us about school, leaving us not really sure if she truly understood.
As I gazed across the bed at her ... her jabber became a distant chatter as flashbacks of her birth scattered in my mind.
If only I had known then what I know now.
If only I had known the ridiculously immense amount of love I would have for this child.
If only I had known how proud this child would make me.
If only I had known then that everything I thought mattered in life ... really doesn't matter.
If only I had known then what I know now.
My baby is turning five years old ... and I'm not sure how to put into words the emotion this brings me. Sitting here, typing out f-i-v-e-y-e-a-r-s-o-l-d ... it just really chokes me up. It seems there is something about the significance of this birthday, yet I cannot quite put my finger on it.
She is a big girl now.
Having a child or two with birthdays right after the New Year typically leaves me in a scramble. In true Bethany fashion ... I decided late last night that we would have Payton's birthday party this weekend. As in, three days away. I was really feeling guilty for not having planned her party and felt I should not let my procrastination be a reason to delay her party into late January.
And so party we will.
Because if there is a life that deserved to be celebrated ... it has to be that of this girl ...
Now if you will excuse me ... I have to go see how those flower cupcakes are coming. Put a husband in the kitchen and things may go wrong. Ha.
Happy 5th Birthday, Payton ... we love you more than words can ever say!
Whelp ... I guess summer got busy. So much for my pact with um ... myself ... to blog about our summertime adventures. I feel like therapy has consumed our life and I am currently evaluating our 4-mornings-a-week therapy schedule ... momma needs a break!
Somehow, it has been almost 7 years since I became a momma. I ... in no way, shape or form ... know where the time has gone and that bums me out. Big time. I feel like I've missed so much, even though I've been here the whole time!
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School is back in session. Man, I love my kids but I'm loving the fact that I have my afternoons to myself this year! Our mornings are nutso ... three kids, three different buses, three different elementary schools. Come lunchtime, I'm ready for a break!
Mason has started 1st grade. I think he and I both were more nervous for him to start 1st grade than we were for kindergarten. I don't know what it is ... the fact that he is older, has more responsibility and is more aware of the social aspect of school? Why does the social aspect of everything stress me out so much?!
Speaking of ... I snapped this picture in a hurry as we got out of the car at the bus stop. Mason was less than thrilled and sort of placed himself behind the car so his friends would not have to see his mom doting on him. Oh dear ... I am such an embarrassment!
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Nika was so excited to start school this year ... she jumped right into the mix of things at orientation ... I'm excited to see what this school year does for her being in a peer modeling classroom.
Even though Nika is just 9 months younger than Payton, I feel like developmentally she is so much younger. She has come so far since coming home from Russia, but she still has a lot of catching up to do. We are waiting for more spontaneous speech to show up ... her therapists do not believe she has apraxia like Payton, just really weak oral motor function. She can repeat every letter and sound of the alphabet, but developmentally she is not really putting those sounds together spontaneously.
Payton continues to be the little mother hen to Nika ... sometimes nicely, sometimes overboard. Ahem ... bossy little thang.
Here comes the bus!
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Payton is in love with school. Even the sheer mention of school, she runs to get her backpack and is ready to go ... whether or not she gets to go to school that day. The fact that Mason got to get on his bus before her was a problem ... a big problem. I had to pull her from his bus line ... kicking and screaming. Oh, she cried. She just wants to get on the bus with everyone else! Hopefully now that she knows the bus order, things will be better ... even Nika gets to go before her.
I was so excited to wait for her bus with her. I knew she would be so excited ... and of course I missed all the rah-rah-jump-up-and-down on video. Grr.
Crazy chick. I can't believe we only have one year until kindergarten ... ahh!
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And for kicks ... we had fun looking back and reading about the first day of school last year ... oh, the difference a year makes! Click here and here ...
