Eliza Kate's "Berry Sweet" Party

 

Our "berry sweet" thing turned three years old on April 21st. We celebrated on the Friday evening of her birthday weekend with a Strawberry Shortcake- girl birthday soiree. Strawberry Shortcake and all things related to that sweet pink strawberry girl have been a slight obsession of our girly all year. It's only a little shocking that EK has memorized sections of the Strawberry Shortcake theme song in German from YouTube. Since that sweet Strawberry girl teaches us how to be "pretty on the inside"--we're ok with an episode a day.

 And, how fitting that this girl's momma loved all things from the "vintage strawberry shortcake" days. Oh yes, Strawberry and I have been acquainted for quite some time. Although Strawberry Shortcake has received somewhat of a modern makeover in recent years.

 Our girl's been chatting up her "strawberry party" for quite some time. Planning and chatting about all things pink. Divulging her wishes about friends & treats--this organized one had a fun party on her brain.

Here's a quick preview of the decorations for memory's sake--The Dollar Store is my best party friend:)

At three years old, she so innocently had a few ideas about what she wanted on her invitation. I chose an invite with a large strawberry fruit graphic and EK was puzzled looking all over for the familiar cartoon girl she has grown to love this year. "Where's Strawberry?" was her comment. I knew we had to find a compromise so we decided on dressing Eliza Kate up as a Strawberry girl on the invitations. She was excited about that!!


I found a strawberry template to make jellybean holders for her strawberry crate favors. 60 card stock strawberries later, my hands ached. I'm seriously debating purchasing a Cricut cutter for future school projects & parties.
As I was crafting up the decorations on the weeks leading up to her big day armed with my glue gun & rubber cement it was fun to hear EK's "oohs & ahhs" appreciating all the little details. Oh the joys of party planning with a girl who loves details!

The traditional cartoon girl did make an appearance in the party room here and there. It's always fun to spot your familiar favorite at the big 3 party! Custard the cat even made a splash in the popcorn cups:)

The cupcake stand is really the easiest way. NO cutting & it makes a cute presentation. I found a free printable on Pinterest and went to town.

A mom friend complimented me on choosing the palest pink around. No stains on our party guests as they were leaving.

We celebrated it up at PLAY activity center. I'm the mom who loves to outsource the party and just show up:) The games were planned and organized. Between bouncing on the trampoline, cannon balling into the foam pit, sliding to make a quick exit & parachuting into the next game, these preschoolers had a ball.

This criss cross group was giggling up a storm on the trampoline.

That large, pink birthday bow barely clung to life with all of her crazy bouncing moves:)

If only this picture was a video & you could hear the most contagious of Owen laughs during the Monster Truck wheel game. That kid can make you smile with his belly giggles anticipating the ball rolling over his back:) They all loved the anticipation.

Foam square dodge ball, anyone?

Reese got into paper plate tennis--so cute!! I'm thinking about making this for a backyard game.

I was entertained watching the kiddos all follow directions and hide underneath the parachute. The pop out screams were quite the scare:)

The party room was crowded & sweaty:)...!! They surely worked up an appetite with all of that energy. I love looking out into the room and seeing all the sibling sets eating together..so cute!

 

Hadley was appreciating the Strawberry Shortcake napkin.

If you squint really hard, you can spot the birthday girl at the head of the table anticipating cupcakes and the 3rd birthday chorus.

She sat in shock that the crowd was really singing to her this time after months of practice at other friend's parties.

Her best huffing and puffing needs a little work. She blows with her front teeth clenched to her lower lip not letting much air out. We're still practicing making an "o" shape with her lips with bubbles this spring:) Needless to say, no air came out of her lips--  eventually big brother helped her get those candles out!

Miller was great about celebrating her day. Catching glimpses of him hugging his sister during the celebration warmed my momma heart! Such a pleasant change from playing the referee at home with these two.

Omi and Papa came into town to celebrate. Papa wrote the sweetest of poems in honor of the birthday girl entitled "The Girl with a Bow in her Hair" It left me a little misty eyed after gift time listening to his special reading. Such a memorable keepsake to read for years to come.

More precious-ness back at the house with family gift opening time. The grandparents came back to witness part 2 of the hoopla. Lots of Strawberry Shortcake gifts tickled her fancy. Listening to her cute comments & sweet surprised faces as she appreciated each little package was too much to handle. I love this three year old of ours! Happy Birthday to you sweet gift of mine.

this & that --iphone upload

I love scrolling through my phone at past photos reflecting on the fun we've had. Although, I am somewhat lazy uploading these gems. Sometimes phone pictures just have to cut it as lugging the big daddy-o camera just isn't as handy.
So here's to my iphone throwback photo tour:)

Miller's first question as he hops off the schoolbus every afternoon is,  "Who can we invite over?" I'm so thankful that I've settled back into the stay at home mom way of life in the afternoons. ASP kept Miller busy for those 8 weeks of my third grade teaching career.  Miller does still need me for guidance in the afternoons-- well, he just needs a helicopter mom to keep him in line.period.
Miller  loves being able to host friends at our house right after school. He wants a party everyday. It's alot of pressure some days when I really just want to veg inside while he plays quietly, but I remind myself that this is why I'm with him in the afternoons. This is our season to entertain boys while Eliza Kate is napping.
The big kindergarten boy fad is playing beyblades on the driveway. I insist that they at least stay outside if the sun is shining.

It's nice when the playdate just organically falls into place at the bus stop. No phone call invitations. It just all gets set up under the shade of the stop sign. And, on the days we journey back alone we venture home alone it's fun to join in with the three boys next door for a rowdy game of baseball in the backyard. On this sunny day a few weeks back they used their boogie boards for a redneck pine straw surfing game in between our houses. We don't have to look too far for some fun in this hood. I can just barely get him back inside for dinner.
I'm still coaching Miller on the graceful exit of leaving a playdate. He's just so grumpy when it's time to pack up. I finally grounded him for a day with no playdates until he got his attitude about leaving in check. We rehearsed, "Ok, mom..sounds good--there's always tomorrow" script & prayed our way into the next playdate occasion. The social graces are being mastered in action on our block. Turning this boy into a gentleman one day at a time;) Coaching, coaching, coaching--always coaching this one.

It's the simple games that keep boys entertained for hours.

 Here's our first official hunker down in the basement with bike helmets. In no time we owned this safety drill while the whole world was spinning like crazy outside. Sirens blazing--the whole shabang. Eliza Kate did have a look of concern, but when we got all together in our safest spot, she relaxed.
Trying to get my blogging act together again!

Chattanooga Day Trip

We took our crew on the road for a quick day trip to Chattanooga on Thursday of our break. The TN aquarium has been on our bucket list for awhile. We considered venturing to our hometown Atlanta aquarium, but since all the kids were on break we knew it would be slammed.

This was Eliza Kate's last time to make the below the age of 3 free admission. We took full advantage:)
I love days that we can play & learn as a family. The penguins were our first exhibit stop along the way. Miller's getting old enough to teach his sister little facts and read the descriptions. He had fun identifying the different types of penguins. We studied their colored  bracelets to figure out each penguin's name. EK was highly entertained by their tobogganing belly flops into the water. Can you spy the torpedoing penguin diving at the bottom of this shot? 

Trapped in the shark tank! Landon really likes to play---lucky kids:)

A micro phoned scuba gave us the inside scoop from inside the 2 story high tank. Sharks were swimming all around him. That held our interest to see him dodge the swimming sharks.We used the picture glossary to figure out each fish as it swam in front of us.

Miller used the two finger rule to touch the sturgeon. Little sister wasn't brave enough to attempt such a feat. She enjoyed the experience behind the safety of her brother.

The rooftop exhibit in the freshwater side felt like you were wondering through the rainforest.

We stopped here and there on our tour for a break. Eliza Kate was just old enough to journey out of the comforts of her stroller. We did take it along just in case she wanted to sit & stroll for awhile. The TN aquarium has a smaller, cozier feel to it as you travel to each exhibit. It was definitely more manageable with two walking kids.

We took along a picnic lunch and then walked ran along the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge. Miller made many connections to our trip last fall. They both had their eyes on the prize when they spotted the splash fountains below the bridge in Coolidge Park. We didn't get to splash last time we were in Chattanooga so they were pumped about this adventure. It was an overcast day so in between each splash they used their towel to warm up. The water was a little cold being early April.

It was so much fun to hear them full belly laugh from all of the chasing excitement.

Miller was brave and conquered running through the middle of the fountains. Eventually, he convinced Eliza Kate to follow him. She's brave when big brother talks her into a challenge:)

Another Chattanooga first was riding the vintage carousel. It was closed the last time we visited. We barely dried off enough to hop on for a spin. Miller looked up high to scout out the animal that was not going to be stationary:) We needed something to take Eliza Kate's  mind off of her missed nap. She's just now getting to the age where she can miss her nap every once in awhile for special events. After dinner at our favorite The Big River Grill, we called it a day. Looking forward to our next trip to the great city of Chattanooga. There's SO much more to experience!

taking a break

I love springtime in downtown Marietta. One of our favorite family hangouts when the weather is warm involves pizza and the choo choo playscape at The Marietta Square. The Marietta Pizza Kitchen is always our dinner choice and this time we had a primo spot overlooking the tracks watching the real trains pass by on a chilled out Friday night.

 

Good times on the slide...giggling and chasing eachother.

Grant spent the night over spring break. These boys swam in their own heated pool--aka the bath tub. They are a hoot-these two. Grant likes to laugh & Miller loves an audience so they make a great pair of friends.

The weather was so gorgeous in Atlanta. We were blessed with lots of sunshine for bike riding and outdoor play. Some staycations we're forced to stay inside--so we realized the high 70 degree temps were an added blessing. I love setting up my chair in the front of the garage and letting the boys ride in the driveway. It's spring break "laying out" at its finest--mom's style.

Grant brought his bike over so there was lots of trading wheels and taking eachother's ride ons for a spin.

Eliza Kate squeezed in some grocery shopping over the break.

And, sidewalk chalk artwork in her new shorts.

After dinner one evening, we discovered a new use for the pink buggy. It's been converted to a mini roller coaster on the slightly slanted part of our driveway. Look at EK--no hands!!

Even Landon loaded up on the Ezyroller for some roller coaster action. Nothing like using your imagination for a thrill ride.

Miller was trying to make his buggy take loop de loops on an upside down coaster. This dare devil of mine exhausts me with every thrill seeking adventure he cooks up. BOYS!

Daddy needed a good, sturdy push back up the driveway with active hands to help.

We hosted a few neighborhood playdates. Our snowcone machine got a good workout. One afternoon we passed out 8 shaved cones with syrup. Miller was quite the host and so proud that the snowcones were created in his kitchen from yours truly. Just call me Hawaiian Ice Momma ;) I learned how to make my own syrup from a pin on Pinterest, but I'm searching for a dye free alternative. I have a feeling we'll need to stock up on syrup for the summer. They go fast with a block full of boys.

It warmed up enough for a water gun blast off in the backyard one afternoon. We filled the bucket with warm water so the cross fire would be more enjoyable. Nothing like good ole fashioned outside fun on a week off from school.