Stella's 6th Birthday Party

Early last month our biggest girl turned 6. 

I swear it is 6 going on 16 , she is just growing up so fast. Her love of One Direction (Harry in particular) , High School Musical and all the things that I thought would be beyond her years. Alas, that is not the case, such a big girl now. 

Even though she acts like a big kid, she is still a little girl , so I wanted to throw her a pretty , girly party. Stella opted for a small party with just a few girl friends, over a big party with lots of kids. I can't say that I was disappointed ! 

So here is Stella's 6th Birthday party

Seeing as though there were only a few girls invited, I opted to make the invitations myself. It only took about 30mins all together and I used all the materials that I already had on hand. Actually the whole party was created and decorated using items from around our home and things I already had in my Party tubs. I think the only purchases were the pink roses on the table and the paper plates. If you want to throw a party with maximum impact but with little outlay, shop from around your home. Pick a theme or colour scheme that you love, because you are bound to have items laying around that you can use.

Anyhoo , this is the way the invitations turned out. 

I used a pretty floral backing paper, I wrote a cute poem to give all the information needed on the invitation and wrapped the invites in doilies and bakers twine. A few butterflies cut using the Martha Stewart butterfly punch and they were complete. Perfect!

And the overall party table 

With only 4 little ladies (plus Stella and Lacey , the boys went out with their Dad for the afternoon) , I didn't go too overboard with the food spread. Some apple and sultana muffins are displayed in the cupcake stands (from Target a few years ago ) 

The gift bags were purchased from Woolworths , and were a perfect match to the party table. They had a few pens, notebooks, and a killer python. Easy on the lollies, bigger on the girly stuff. Win win really! 

And a rare photo of Stella and Mum , in front of her party table. She was so excited and had a great time.

And our 4 little cherubs, its hard to master a photo with all 4 looking good :)

As part of the girly afternoon, each little lady got their nails painted at our express nail salon. Boy did they think they were special!! So sweet! 

We also sat around the table and made pretty bracelets and necklaces , I bought this cheap bead kit from Kmart and added a few we already had. 

They all had such a great time creating their bracelets together. 

We also popped some popcorn and sat down and watched a girly Tinkerbell movie, on a mattress I had layed out with rugs and pillows (sorry the only photo I have , has the girls all together.) It was like a mini slumber party, an insight of the years to come! 

And this year , after Stella went through the Australian Womens Weekly kids cake book, she picked the pool!! The picture in the book is quite dated and I knew I wanted it to look more girly so this is how it turned out! 

Who knew you could get bright blue jelly? The jelly was actually placed on a small blue Tupperware lid, so that when I cut the cake, I could lift the lid off and just a yummy chocolate cake was left. 

The little Lego ladies and sun lounges were a perfect addiction. 

And the princess and her cake at candle time!! 

It was a lovely afternoon , with gorgeous little ladies , having a great time together. It was lovely to have a small , all girls party. We were able to do the activities at ease and even though the house was noisy , it was filled with giggles, playing and sweet conversations. 

If you are thinking of throwing a small, girly party, I would recommend it to anyone!! 

Our baby is Two!

I can not say it enough, but kids grow up too quick! Especially my cherubs. You just want to bottle up their littleness and stop the clock. But then again, growing up means new adventures, a whole lot of excitement and more independence. 

Thats what I'm afraid of!!

We no longer have any babies in our home :( 

Our little Angus Frankie turned TWO on the 31st of October, a Halloween babe was he.

It was an exciting day for all, none more so than his big brother and sister who shower him with love , every second of every day. ( Well maybe not every second! They all like to fight like cat and dog too!)

They were excited about the cake, about his little party and about his presents!

So here it is, a birthday for a beautiful little boy. Our little boy. 

And it only feels like yesterday that I wrote this;

It has become tradition in our home to decorate the kids doors for their birthday morning. It makes them feel special and builds the excitement for whats to come!

                                    

                                              Which is lots of presents!! 

                       

I just love capturing the look on their face when they first see their presents!! Priceless. And the party that are waiting in the flanks to help the unwrapping!

                        

And he got a bike from his Grandma and Poppy!! Excitement plus (but jealousy from Max and Lacey as they don't have one yet , bad I know, but are getting one from the big man at Christmas!)

                       

                       

He was chauffeured around the house by his big sister for most of the morning and loved every second!

We decided to throw him a little party with a few friends and their kids, seeing as though we aren't near family anymore and wouldn't be doing the birthday dinner and cake with cousins.

And with his birthday being Halloween too, we had a Halloween party to attend that night so cake and candles in the morning it was!

Someone was so tempted but very patient as I was setting the food out for the party. I was mean and made him wait until people arrived to eat. So he sat here for about half and hour. Watching, waiting ......

I kept the party and decos very basic!! Shock , horror and surprise for me I know! But it was a busy week leading up to the day and he had a ball regardless!

                          

                         

Some simple Goodie bags from Woolworths with bubbles, a lolly pop and a few lollies, nothing too major!

                         

I presented Angus with the Womens Weekly cake book with a few days to go , and despite all the attempts from his siblings to try and convince him to have a certain cake, he chose this!! Good boy!! Nice and easy for Mum!

                         

It was a simple , 2 tiered butter cake with chocolate fingers and Curly Wurly chocolate for the front gate!

                          

                          

                          

And then it was over. And now we have a big 2 year old, that is toilet training (and nearly mastered it), doesn't sleep with a bed rail on his bed anymore and is just one of the kids!

He is loving, affectionate and by golly is he active and mischievous. But we wouldn't have him any other way! 

Where did the time go?

Thats right .... too quick!

Ice Cream Party

Last weekend we held a wee little party for Max and Lacey's 3rd Birthday!!

It was quite a rushed party really, with the time and date/day only sent with 5 days to go , but seeing as though I had already picked the theme some months back and started to collect bits and pieces, the prep wasn't too hard!!

We kept the guests to a bare minimum, my sister and her family (4 kids) and my cousin and her 3 kids and my parents (in laws were away). Having a small number of guests was fantastic, as I have held quite a few parties in the past that have got well out of hand in the guest department and it makes the party less enjoyable for everyone. As far as Max and Lacey were concerned, their were kids, lolly bags and cake. That makes for a pretty good party in a 3 year old eyes!

But obviously in my opinion, with more time, I probably could have pulled together a few things a bit better, but I happy with the way the party looked/ran with minimal effort involved.

Anyway, I thought I could share with you some pics, them them speak for themselves and then do an info post to follow tomorrow. So if you have anything in particular you would like to know about, just shoot me an email or message of Facebook or comment on this post.

So without further ado, Max and Lacey's Ice cream Party.

(Please excuse the lighting in the table pics, the party was held under our patio. Very practical but it doesn't make for the best backdrop and certainly doesn't do the camera and lens any favours. But you have to choose practicality over looks sometimes, just sometimes.

There is always one child that doesn't like tot play the game and join in on the group photo. (and a 5 year old that likes to smile with her 'fake' smile!

The kids all LOVED creating their own ice cream sundaes, choosing the sauces and toppings is a real novelty (especially for our kids who don't get ice cream very often, if ever)

Stay tuned for more info x

She turned Five!

Last week I kept super busy with birthday preparations for our big Five year old!! I can not believe that our Princess Stella is now 5, she certainly acts it, but its always had for Mum to accept! Right?!

Anyway, we held a Tea Party for Stella and some school friends on Saturday afternoon,  so things for her actual birth day were kept quite simple.

I made some small pom poms to hang in her door way and curled some ribbon. The look on her face when she came in to us in the morning was priceless. So excited and it was all heightened with a bit of effort in her room.

I like to think we don't 'over spoil' our children. They certainly do NOT go without  but gifts for Birthdays and Christmas' are kept simple. Clothing for the coming season, some colouring/activity books, a book to read and a few toys. A few of Stella's parcels didn't actually arrive on time but she was more than impressed with her loot!!

The main present was a gorgeous dolls house that I purchased on sale from Sweet Creations, the roof lifts and stays open and the front opens out. All the furniture came with the house so that was a bonus!!
Everyone has loved the new addition to our house, the boys especially!!

Such a gorgeous girl is our Stella x

Thankfully, the rest of her parcels arrived while she was at school that day, so when she came home she was surprised with another package. Her eyes lit up and she was very happy!!
As you know, we are all bunny lovers here and these are just the best additions to her collection.
These can also be purchased from Sweet Creations

I made cupcakes for school , 34 to be exact, and they were well received. I love how excited they get for taking along goodies like that. Sharing a piece of her birthday happiness with everyone I guess.

Instead of a family dinner where we are rushing to eat , so the kids don't have a late night before school, we decided on an afternoon tea with family. Having their 4 cousins over is a party in itself, so some simple nibbles and everyone was happy.

A birthday in our home is not complete without a green ice cream frog cake. Such a big tradition that everyone looks forward to!

She put all her bunnies to rest on her bedside table that night, so I knew they were a success!!

When saying goodnight and showering her with love and kisses, Stella confessed that it was "the best birfday ever ever" and my heart swelled. As a parent you can't ask for much more!