Riley's 2nd Birthday

My baby boy Riley turned 2 on Sat. June 25th and my twin boys are turning 4 on Aug. 12th, so in all my wisdom, I decided I was just going to have one big party for all 3 of them.

My thought was that I would do cupcakes and a little present on their actual birthdays and then, since they are all in love with dragons right now, I would plan one fabulous dragon party for all of them. And as an added bonus I would even be able to save a little money by only having one party.

It was a great theory, but I should have known there was no way my boys {who have turned into quite the little party planners} were going to let a birthday pass without a party. They wanted a theme, a tablescale, favors and a dessert bar!

Luckily, I happened to have a few party supplies laying around the house {{smiles}} so I gathered up all my pirate stuff, printed out a pirate banner and cupcake toppers, whipped up some cupcakes and my AMAZING husband made some chocolate pirate pops, pretzel sticks and chocolate covered oreos!!!

So here are the pictures of Riley's second birthday and his unofficial birthday party....

What's a pirate party with out a mast & sail?

the dessert table

ring pops

chocolate covered pretzel sticks

chocolate covered oreos

Daddy's chocolate pirate pops

cupcakes and toppers

Riley kept alternating between the ring pop and the chocolate pop!

Ethan enjoying his pirate treasure and a pirate pop.

Hayden also enjoyed a pirate pop. They were the hit of the party!

Overall, I think it turned out pretty well for a last minute, thrown together unofficial birthday party. Riley ran around all day telling everyone, "it's my birhtday" and singing "happy birthday to Riley!!!" {{LOL}} He was as happy as could be and loved his special day. And that is what it was all about!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET BABY!!!

Riley's 1st birthday

2 years ago today, while the rest of the world was mourning the death of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett {who the news occasionally remembered to mention}, I was welcoming my sweet little baby Riley into the world. Happy Birthday little man, I love you with all my heart!

In preparation for his 2nd birthday, here is a look back at a few pictures from my Lil' Stinker's 1st Birthday Party.....

The Lil' Stinker!

The cupcake that started it all! I saw this cupcake in my
Hello, Cupcake book and I knew what his theme was going to be. :)

I loved how AWESOME these cupcakes turned out.
They were quite the adventure to make,
but so stinkin' cute when we finally finished!

Riley wasn't really sure what to do with his cake!
He wanted a spoon to eat it with! {LOL}

He figured it out and soon had no trouble shoveling it in!

When you give children black frosting at a birthday party,
 you have to include a new t-shirt as a party favor!
you will notice I passed them out before the cupcakes!

The favors also included personalized water bottles for the older kids

and bubbles for everyone. Who doesn't love bubbles?

We had a watering hole and a skunk's den to climb thorugh.

Riley had a GREAT DAY
and agreed it's FUN TO BE 1!

I can't believe it's already been another year and today Riley can shout out.......

WOO HOO... I'm Two!

Sweet & Simple Bridal Shower

I am totally in love with chalk board anything {I think it's the teacher in me} so I decided it would be fun to use chalk boards along with a few other simple homemade items for a sweet & simple bridal shower. 

Everyone enjoys a glass of wine and some tasty treats at a bridal shower so I came up with some inexpensive ideas to add a touch fun and elegance to the party.

I used paper mache letters and some scrapbook paper to make LOVE the centerpiece of my table. 

I framed a subway art poster personalized for the bride to be with their names and
 wedding date to add a personal touch to the table and it doubles as the gift. :)
{The poster was inspired by a free printable I found on Tip Junkie}

I love the black and white with just a pop of the lime green for a splash of color. It looks so elegant and yet the chalk boards keep it fun.

I used the same scrapbook paper from the letters to create coordinated labels for the wine bottles. Now my 2 buck chuck looks down right fancy! {{lol}}

Some glass etcher, chalk board paint and masking tape turned my dollar store wine glasses into these FABULOUS wine glasses! And the added bonus is now you won't forget which glass is yours!

I used the same chalk board paint to turn my dollar store tray into this fun serving piece!
I even made my own chocolate covered marshmallows to help keep costs down. 

I used a heart shaped mold and white and milk chocolate chips to make these beautiful candies.

I love to include meringue cookies because they are just so pretty to look at.

Who doesn't enjoy donut holes?

Finally, I made some DELICIOUS cupcakes and displayed them on a set of stacking boxes
 I already had that happened to match the theme perfectly.

 

I loved the final outcome of this party. It was sweet and simple and filled with love.