Ava’s Art Party: It’s a Wrap

Impressive! The streamer wall stayed up until the last half hour of the party! As always it was just as much fun to pull down as to run through! Just look at these smiles!!! Love the streamer wall… best activity of the party!

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Ava’s Art Party: The Birthday Girl and Guests

Three… I cannot believe Ava is Three!!!!  My birthday girl and her three friends!  Thank you Emma, Noah and Kaya for being a part of a very special day!!!

Daddys Girl

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Ava’s Art Party: Fun With Art

What would a party be without fun activities.  Ava and I cooked homemade play dough in all the rainbow colors, covered a table in paper for coloring and each child painted a small canvas to take home.  It was Ava’s first experience with acrylic and my excuse to buy the soy rock crayons I had been eying for months!  If the smiles are a measure of success I think the party was a hit!

Love these paper placemats: Mealtime Masterpieces by Freds

Little Artists

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Ava’s Art Party: Food and Favors

Well, my idea to plan a low key birthday failed… as always I ran wild with planning!  Months ago I started to plan Ava’s Art Party!!! Love this theme and could not wait to get started on all the fun details!  The colorful, fun and yummy ideas were endless but I narrowed it down with the birthday girls help.  She requested cupcakes instead of a layer cake and was my cooking and play dough making assistant.  She helped measure and cut the streamers and was patient as I sometimes had to sew painting aprons instead of playing.  I just LOVED how everything came together… I definitely think that party planning is my calling in my next lifetime!  You may find this scary but ideas are already circling for Birthday #4… I am thinking perhaps an Alice in Wonderland tea party??!!!

I cheated ordering aprons from Oriental Trading Co but spruced them up with custom ribbons and buttons!

Additional favors were a set of watercolors and brush

A color wheel of fruit and rainbow layered cupcakes

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My Birthday Girl… Yahoo Ava is Two!

“A two year old is kinda like having a blender, but you do not have a top for it.” ~ Jerry Seinfeld

It is hard to even wrap my brain around.  How can Ava be two?  No really, how?

“Yahoo Ava is Two!” ~ Pa

My spirited, independent munchkin who wants to do everything herself and always get her way one moment to sharing, kind, funny and loving the next.  Larry said the other day, “I swear she is like Jekel and Hyde.” HA true!  When she is sweet she is very sweet and still those moments far out way the challenging ones, thank goodness!

She is growing so fast; sleeping in her big girl bed, eating our table or hers… no more high chair tray, getting her shoes and coat for me, feeding her babies, drinking from a cup, using silverware, swinging on a big girl swing…. AMAZING and  with each new thing I forget how much is still around the corner.   Simple, overwhelming, unbounded love… Cheers my baby girl and Happy Birthday!

Ava with her new birthday morning friend: Abby Cadabby

AVA LOVES BALLOONS!!!!  These are the closest I came to getting an actual birthday portrait…

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Love This Guy and So Does She!

I love how great Larry is with Ava.  Lately she is DADDY’S GIRL through and through!  Here he is partying with the girls how sweet!  I even caught a daddy moment although not the best picture priceless to me!

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Keeping Busy, Party Style!

At two the attention span is just not prepared for too many planned party games. My answer: a streamer door to run through and Sesame Street art. The streamer doorway FUN but I have to give credit to my friend Emily who used this at her daughters one year party. At that time we were all in awe of how the kids ran through but did not attempt to pull the streamers down. Apparently what we did not know is that the ripping of the streamers instinct must surface sometime around two years old! Ava and Hope had a blast but Emma missed all the fun.  For the art project I taped a long roll of paper to the floor with painters tape, loaded a basket full of crayons and Sesame Street stickers from Targets dollar bin, and let them go to town! Don’t worry crayon comes right off of wood floors!

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Maybe in my next life…

I will be an event planner! Despite my limited funds I LOVE planning a party. I love the details, the menu, the colors what better outlet for creativity is there? Here are just a few detail shots from Ava’s Abby Cadabby Birthday!  Pink, Purple and Blue… Poof!!! Ava turns two!!!

My first attempt at Martha Stewart’s tissue pom poms I cannot wait for another excuse to make these!  SO FUN, easy and cheap!!!!

Each goodie box included; Abby Cadabby stickers, three yummy earth suckers wrapped in fabric, two handmade hair clips, A pink feather mini boa, and a handmade Abby Cadabby tulle wand to match each fairy goddaughters tutu.

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You Are Invited!

This year I decided on an Abby Caddaby theme for Ava’s second birthday. She loves Abby and it is a great excuse to pull out the tutu! Since each of her invited friends already received a hand made tutu from me I could just imagine all the girly fun.

Here is the invite from Tiny Prints.

More to come soon….

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