Claire was so excited when she found her scooter, helmet and pads in the garage as she was feeding Rollo in the morning! She wasn't supposed to see it yet but she's a sharp cookie. Here she is posing in front of Kate and Abbey's house. A HUGE thank you for having her over for lunch so we could get all the last minute prep done. It was a big help and Claire had so much fun with Abbey on her big day!
Aren't they the cutest?
OK... so here is the set up! We spent a lot of time on all the decor and fun details:Thank you to Mimi who helped teach me how to make the Dora decoration for the cake. It's called color form and it takes a long time and a lot of patience! We started it Thursday night and basically painted with toothpicks. We had t o wait for things to dry before going to the next part. Not an easy thing to make but it turned out great and it made it so special for the bday girl! Claire picked out the picture. I also made the Fiesta Flowers out of tissue paper and pipe cleaners to decorate everything. There were about 20 in all. Super simple but again, a lot of time!
For the kids we made these ice cream cone cupcakes - super fun and they loved them! Claire did a great job with the sprinkles and gum drops!
YEAH! Uncle Billy came in from Austin and helped us out SO much the last hour and a half. Thank you so much Billy! Claire was so happy to have you here!
Neil is an amazing artist! He drew and painted the Dora poster to go on the door. It was a great touch after following the chalk painted sidewalk up to the door.
While we waited for everyone to get there, the kids could make a homemade maraca made out of paper plates and kidney beans. Just decorate two plates and staple them together with the beans in between. They loved this craft! It went over better than I ever thought it would. Even the big boy cousins got into it =)
I made this scrapbook page out of the pictures that I took for her invitation. It will go in her birthday scrapbook. Claire hugged it when she saw it for the first time... definitely worth it!
Our sweet Eden slept for the first 30 minutes or so! Here she is trying to wake up.
Making maracas
Kyle and Justin spending a good amount of time on theirs!
The kids had so much fun playing on the playhouse and sandbox. Thanks to Eric who helped us with some last minute yard work in the backyard. We worked back there all week including redoing the entire sandbox. (another HUGE thanks to Grandpa who made an amazing sandbox cover so we don't have to redo the sandbox ever again! The cats will have to find another litter box in the neighborhood!)
Miss Leyna
Kate and I in the backyard - love our trees! Thanks for all your help Kate!
Uncle Billy, Grandma and Aunt Heather
Abbey and Leyna
Our big four year old! My mom and I made her shirt earlier in the week - thanks mom for all your guidance! Had fun making it and it was the perfect Dora shirt for such a special day!
Ayden
Colby and Kamryn
Grandma and Claire
Eden LOVES to swing!
Once all 11 kiddos got there we started our Dora Adventure!! We had three stops each with their own prize for their goodie bags. I had them come in and get their bags to find out that Swiper had swiped the pinata (that would be Neil). We had to follow the map to our three stops to find our pinata.
For the kids we made these ice cream cone cupcakes - super fun and they loved them! Claire did a great job with the sprinkles and gum drops!
YEAH! Uncle Billy came in from Austin and helped us out SO much the last hour and a half. Thank you so much Billy! Claire was so happy to have you here!
Neil is an amazing artist! He drew and painted the Dora poster to go on the door. It was a great touch after following the chalk painted sidewalk up to the door.
While we waited for everyone to get there, the kids could make a homemade maraca made out of paper plates and kidney beans. Just decorate two plates and staple them together with the beans in between. They loved this craft! It went over better than I ever thought it would. Even the big boy cousins got into it =)
I made this scrapbook page out of the pictures that I took for her invitation. It will go in her birthday scrapbook. Claire hugged it when she saw it for the first time... definitely worth it!
Our sweet Eden slept for the first 30 minutes or so! Here she is trying to wake up.
Making maracas
Kyle and Justin spending a good amount of time on theirs!
The kids had so much fun playing on the playhouse and sandbox. Thanks to Eric who helped us with some last minute yard work in the backyard. We worked back there all week including redoing the entire sandbox. (another HUGE thanks to Grandpa who made an amazing sandbox cover so we don't have to redo the sandbox ever again! The cats will have to find another litter box in the neighborhood!)
Miss Leyna
Kate and I in the backyard - love our trees! Thanks for all your help Kate!
Uncle Billy, Grandma and Aunt Heather
Abbey and Leyna
Our big four year old! My mom and I made her shirt earlier in the week - thanks mom for all your guidance! Had fun making it and it was the perfect Dora shirt for such a special day!
Ayden
Colby and Kamryn
Grandma and Claire
Eden LOVES to swing!
Once all 11 kiddos got there we started our Dora Adventure!! We had three stops each with their own prize for their goodie bags. I had them come in and get their bags to find out that Swiper had swiped the pinata (that would be Neil). We had to follow the map to our three stops to find our pinata.Our first stop was Bubble Hop where they had to count on the hopscotch squares to get their bubbles. Everyone loved this one and it was hilarious to see what the kids would do =) Some of them got it and some of them not so much!
Then it was off to the front but here they saw Swiper!!
Swiper NO swiping!!
Then it was through the Dora Tunnel to get to the Happy House (they got lollipops here)
Here they are at the Happy house hunting for their hidden smiley face balls. So much fun!
Here's Claire participating in the singing part... the kids weren't too into singing the "Come on vaminos" song with me but I finally got them to be loud at the end!
And finally... the pinata! It was a pinata where you pulled strings rather than hitting it. Much more peaceful and safe! A magic string would release the candy inside. I think it was the 5th string pulled...
And the goodies are here! Fill those bags up!
OK - tried to get a pic of Claire with me and the cake but it didn't happen. So here I am (a dork with my hat) and the cake with the four candles
Enjoying their ice cream cone cupcakes
Eden LOVED the cake Mimi was giving to her. It was chocolate with cream cheese frosting. SO good!
And playing again =)
Opening gifts - thank you to everyone! She was a spoiled girl. I tried to do no gifts this year but she was appalled by the suggestion. We'll be giving a bag of toys away to Medina's Children Home and packing some up to save for Eden.
Neil and Justin
My family - Jenny was able to come in too! Too bad Claire's eyes weren't open =(
Our sweet family and Claire showing her little purse with makeup in it... she loves the makeup she got. It's been a challenge but I know she enjoys it!
So after all that, we went out to Benihana to celebrate Grandma's birthday (it's on the 8th). We like to take advantage of family being in town so we celebrate two in one!
Eden feeding Heather goldfish
Claire was MORE than exhausted and considering the day we had, both girls were amazing! She wanted us to hold her so we took advantage of it =)
And they're out... here are the sleeping beauties crashed out in the car. It was a FUN, exhausting day! Thanks to everyone who made it so special!
And what does mama do? I make my girl take one last picture before she changes into her PJ's with her favorite microphone from Mimi and her bag that Grandma made to match her shirt.
Then it was off to the front but here they saw Swiper!!
Swiper NO swiping!!
Then it was through the Dora Tunnel to get to the Happy House (they got lollipops here)
Here they are at the Happy house hunting for their hidden smiley face balls. So much fun!
Here's Claire participating in the singing part... the kids weren't too into singing the "Come on vaminos" song with me but I finally got them to be loud at the end!
And finally... the pinata! It was a pinata where you pulled strings rather than hitting it. Much more peaceful and safe! A magic string would release the candy inside. I think it was the 5th string pulled...
And the goodies are here! Fill those bags up!
OK - tried to get a pic of Claire with me and the cake but it didn't happen. So here I am (a dork with my hat) and the cake with the four candles
Enjoying their ice cream cone cupcakes
Eden LOVED the cake Mimi was giving to her. It was chocolate with cream cheese frosting. SO good!
And playing again =)
Opening gifts - thank you to everyone! She was a spoiled girl. I tried to do no gifts this year but she was appalled by the suggestion. We'll be giving a bag of toys away to Medina's Children Home and packing some up to save for Eden.
Neil and Justin
My family - Jenny was able to come in too! Too bad Claire's eyes weren't open =(
Our sweet family and Claire showing her little purse with makeup in it... she loves the makeup she got. It's been a challenge but I know she enjoys it!
So after all that, we went out to Benihana to celebrate Grandma's birthday (it's on the 8th). We like to take advantage of family being in town so we celebrate two in one!
Eden feeding Heather goldfish
Claire was MORE than exhausted and considering the day we had, both girls were amazing! She wanted us to hold her so we took advantage of it =)
And they're out... here are the sleeping beauties crashed out in the car. It was a FUN, exhausting day! Thanks to everyone who made it so special!
And what does mama do? I make my girl take one last picture before she changes into her PJ's with her favorite microphone from Mimi and her bag that Grandma made to match her shirt.
Can't believe she's four. All week she's been saying "When I'm 5...." are you serious? Slow down girl!!
No comments:
Post a Comment