Birthday Archives - Palmettos and Pigtails

My Princess is Four!

February 10, 2013 posted by Shara

Can you believe that my little Jaynabug turned four yesterday? In some ways, I cannot believe how time flies…its seems like I was just bundling her up and bringing her home from the hospital. But it also seems strange to me that she is only now turning four…her precociousness has always made her seem so much older than she actually is.{See last year’s picture!}

I know how in years past we have had big blowout birthday parties for her. But this year, we decided to keep it low-key and just have a special day with her.So we decided to have a girlie day with her friend Caroline. We took them to get pedicures….and yes, they are wearing dress-up tutus and high heels!They each got a goodie bag of rings, bracelets, a “magazine” to read and a piece of chocolate. There was also a brush and mirror….all of which kept them more than entertained while the got their toes painted {and while they waited for us mamas to finish up!}.After our morning of pampering, we went out to dinner at the local Hibachi steak house. And while Jayna just giggled {since when is she too shy to dance!?!?}while the servers sang to her, Millie rocked out!!!And of course we ended the day with cake and candles back at our house. Jayna had a blast spending the day with her best friend and having some lovely girl time with Mama and Loo too! Happy birthday Jayna!!

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch

October 18, 2012 posted by Shara

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday with my beautiful family amist beautiful fall weather. Dave and I spend the night in Charleston on Friday night, going on a “haunted” boat ride (aka a boat tour of the Charleston Harbor with a few historic scary stories), and then a fabulous dinner at our favorite restaurant, S.N.O.B.

On Sunday, we continued my birthday celebration with cupcakes (for breakfast?!?!). I asked the girls how old they thought I was turning….

Looks like my age is still a mystery in our house! =)

After breakfast we headed out to the pumpkin patch….but once we arrived there (in the middle of nowhere), we realized it wouldn’t open for another two hours! So we went exploring and found a state park, where we were quite successful in locating turtles and alligators basking in the sun.

Finally, we made it back to the Pumpkin Patch. Jayna loved playing in the hay bale maze, the bouncy ball mats and the tire playground.

Amelia loved the sandboxes filled with corn, and they both enjoyed feeding the farm animals. The soap-on-a-rope wash station brought memories of girl scouting days!

We had a blast as a family, but I had completely forgotten that Jayna was going to visit that same pumpkin patch with her class on a field trip on Tuesday! But it turns out she was just as excited to visit it with her friends a couple of days later.

Thank you for an awesome birthday weekend, Family!!

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Filed Under: Life

Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

September 26, 2012 posted by Shara

Do you remember Jayna’s first birthday party? It was a blast, but a ton of work!

And now, ~~couple of weeks ago~~ a month ago, my littlest baby turned one! (Don’t judge me that it’s taken me a month to show you pictures!!)

Although I swore I was not going to do a big to-do for Amelia….you know me! I just can’t resist throwing a party! Especially a VeryHungry Caterpillar themed First Birthday!

I got the idea and the template from good ‘ole Pottery Barn!

I also ordered some fabric from Amazon in order to create Amelia’s sweet dress, and some of the decorations at The Farmhouse.

And I downloaded the graphics from here (also had some great inspiration!). I cut the labels out, glued them to popsicle sticks and stuck them to clay. I also used them to create stickers for the favor tins (full of M & M’s!).

Coloring Page from here

My oh-so-artistic sister was able to use watercolors to dublicate some of the food from the book. Originally, we were going to use it to decorate the cornhole boards, but finally decided just to use it as decorations. {They were waaaay too pretty to throw bean bags at!}

In addition to the cornhole bags that I made (using 6″ circles and ironed on transfers!), we also had hula hoops, chalk, bubbles and water painting outside on the lawn.

We only had one tragedy for the day…the smash cake. It started out very cute and almost “fuzzy” looking, but when I took it out of the fridge, I noticed that one eye had fallen off!!! So I had to smooth over all of the icing and scoop the eye back up.

And then wouldn’t you know it? The OTHER eye fell too!

Not nearly as cute, but it turns out that Birthday Girls don’t care!!!

And because she doesn’t have enough cake….

Thank you Mommy!

And for everyone else, there were cupcakes and cake pops!

And you know all of those pesky monthly photos I’ve been taking of Amelia and Jayna? Well, I compiled them into frames and put them on the mantle so guests could see the progression of Millie.

I almost forgot to show you my pride and joy!!! Isn’t he adorable?!?!

And finally, the opening of the gifts! Baby dolls, picnic baskets and books, etc.

And we couldn’t have asked for better weather! What a wonderful day for a birthday party! We are so grateful for such wonderful friends!

Happy Birthday Amelia!

Linkin’ Up here!

And if you are interested in any of the decor from this party, please let me know (I’d love for all the supplies to be able to used again…by someone else!!!)

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Filed Under: Crafts, Life

My Baby is One!!!

August 20, 2012 posted by Shara

I cannot believe it has been a year since Amelia was born. Literally! I’m posting this at 2:10 in the afternoon, which is exactly when she was born one year ago! It’s amazing how much her little personality has formed over the past year! And she definitely continues to be a Mama’s girl!

Since some of you didn’t know her back then, and some of you haven’t seen much of her lately….I figured I’d give you a quick recap of the last 12 months.

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

Month 10

Month 11

Month 12

Happy Birthday Millie!

In honor of Millie’s Birthday week….(and remembering the joys of her actual birth!), I’ve decided to give myself the week off! We have a ton going on this week, in addition to planning Millie’s big party on Saturday.

AND.

(Exciting news)

My blog is getting professionally done this week!

(hopefully!)

So,

(hopefully!)

the next time we meet, I will have a brand new look and lots of pictures from Millie’s birthday!

Have a WONDERFUL week!

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Filed Under: Life

Belated Birthday Photo

February 23, 2012 posted by Shara

I had seen this idea on Pinterest and actually did have Jayna get her picture taken on her birthday….it’s just taken me a few weeks (and the purchase of an iPad and stylus) to complete it. I like it though, and hope to do one every year for her birthday!

Happy Birthday Betsy!

February 16, 2012 posted by Shara

I am a terrible friend. It was my best friend Betsy’s birthday yesterday. And not only did I not call her yesterday (we were running errands and I forgot my phone charger!), or yesterday night (Dave and I went out to dinner for a belated Valentine’s Day), but I only got a hold of her voicemail today. But at least I remembered to send her a card. Ok….Jayna remembered. So, Jayna made her a card. And, under the guise of wishing Betsy a public Happy Birthday, I’m gonna brag on my kid now. Apparently, she can copy letters now. Who knew? Here’s the card we made for Bets…..obviously I wrote the Happy Birthday, but then the rest of the card she wrote all the letters after I modeled them for her! I helped with marker positioning for a couple of the words….but still, not bad!

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Filed Under: Life

A Candyland Birthday

February 13, 2012 posted by Shara

We know how to do parties in this house. I believe in pulling out all the stops and creating the best DIY party I know how. Buy, boy, is it exhausting!!! For Jayna’s first birthday, I enlisted the help of my besty, Betsy (you like that wordplay?!?!?) to put on a Crayola themed party at my in-laws’ house. We wrapped their columns to look like giant crayons, Betsy made a custom cake, we had crayon letters in each kid’s name for favors….it was awesome.

Last year, we decided that Jayna wouldn’t know the difference (and certainly didn’t need any gifts), so we opted to have a pajama themed party and have everyone bring pajamas or books to donate to kids who had been victims of natural disasters. We had a cookies and milk buffet and the kids made puppets.

This year, we stuck with the short and sweet. And boy, do I mean sweet. I may have lost some friends as their kids hit their sugar highs!!! After seeing some cute lollipops made out of balloons and plastic wrap, I decided that I wanted to do a Candyland themed party. Thanks to the help of Loo Loo and Dave, we pulled it together Saturday morning. About a week before the party, I ordered a party kit off of Etsy….it included banners, cupcake toppers, invitations, thank-you notes, candy wrappers, etc. All of the paper goods I could possibly need. It was so nice to have everything in one little jpeg file that I could send off to Staples to get printed! It ended up costing me about $80 between purchasing and printing costs, but I think it was worth it in the end, since everything matched and there wasn’t a whole lot for us to make.

Except for the dresses. If you know me, you know I love me some matching outfits!! I made Jayna’s last week, but decided at the last-minute to make Amelia’s match completely (originally, she was only going to color coordinate with existing clothes). So where was I an hour before the party started? In the shower? No. Finishing last-minute decor? No. At my sewing machine making a dress? YES!!! =) But I’m really pleased with how it turned out (not bad for a 20 minute project!), and only Dave couldn’t tell it was a lollipop on the front!

And in case you were wondering how to get a three-year old to pose on cue?

A Skittle bribe will work!

The kids hopped along the Candyland path between our playroom, our dining room (where they decorated cupcakes), our living room (where they were supposed to play Pin the Nose on Mr. Peppermint…but nobody did.), and the kitchen (where they decorated and then filled Tupperware with candy from our lovely candy buffet).

And it’s a good thing no one else played because Jayna would have swept it! She got him right on the nose, the very first time!!

And of course, I copied the oh-so-cute idea of the balloon lollipops outside, along with a little bit of Jayna decor! The paper kit that I bought had lots of pictures of Jayna….quite funny seeing her face everywhere! But for $80….I was gonna use every last piece of that kit!! =)

Nothing like a little upcycling! Remember when I made this wreath?

Jayna got lots of wonderful presents….many with Princesses as the theme. Which was awesome as she is soooo in to them right now. In fact, she actually asked to take a bath tonight (I’m sure the brand new mermaid bath toys were a complete coincidence!!). And then we finished out the evening by meeting Sue Sue and Papaw at Taco Boy downtown (Jayna’s favorite restaurant). Great, but exhausting, day!

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Filed Under: Life

Happy 3rd Birthday Jayna!

February 9, 2012 posted by Shara

Dear Jayna,

It is hard to believe that you are three years old today! I remember when you were born…you were such an easy baby! You smiled as soon as you were born, and Oh! Your hair! What beautiful hair you have always had!

You were so good to us newbie parents, sleeping through the night and eating well! I had people stop me all the time out in public to compliment you. You were the friendliest, most beautiful baby they had ever seen! (See? It wasn’t just me who thought so!)

And you have always been such a little ham! You remind me of Loo Loo when she was little. You love making faces, being silly and looking at yourself in the mirror!

Jayna, you already have such a kind soul. You make friends very easily, and have always been good at sharing your toys. You can be very sensitive though….you sometime will get upset just because someone else is crying! We still have to monitor what you see on TV very closely, because if a character is upset-you start crying too! And what a little tattle-tale you can be! You come home from school with stories of the “bad boys.” I know exactly who sat in time out, who didn’t share, and who had accidents in school each day!

I am so proud of your short little life already! You never cease to amaze me with your smart-alec comments that most would only think could come out of a 12 year old’s mouth! You are so smart, and are so independent….insisting on doing everything yourself. I can’t believe that not only do you know all of your letters, sounds and numbers…you can also copy almost all of the letters of the alphabet and write your name! And aren’t you a child of the times…you can work my smartphone better than I can!! And although we certainly have our “toddler” moments, you are truly a joy to be around (most of the time!).

I love how kind you are to your little sister….you always have her needs in mind and are quick to babysit her or help feed her. You are so gentle (most of the time) and so affectionate with her! I hope you two are always best friends and continue to help and love each other unconditionally.

Jayna, your love for God makes my soul so glad….although you may not know what it means completely, your heart is so pure! I love and admire how you crave knowledge about God and how appreciative you are already for all He has given you! I’m always so touched when I catch you praying with Elly, or when I see you helping a friend or showing your gratitude.

Long story short, I can’t believe you are already three years old….and I can’t believe you are only three years old! It has been such fun watching you grow so far, and I can’t wait to continue watching you turn into a kind, smart, beautiful little girl! Happy Birthday Buggy! I love you!

Love, Mommy

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Filed Under: Faith, Life

Happy Birthday Jayna!

February 8, 2011 posted by Shara

We celebrated Jayna’s 2nd birthday this weekend. Loo Loo came to visit, (and clean, and bake, and decorate, and entertain…) and so Buggy was happy! She sure does love her some Loo Loo! We also invited 20 toddlers and their Mamas (and a couple of brave Dads) to our house on Saturday for a cookies and milk pajama party! I decided that with 20 toddlers in my house, I wanted them in and out in an hour. So we decided to ask for pajama and book donations in lieu of gifts.

We will participate in the Great Sprout Tuck-In, which gives the pajamas and books to children in need. I also decided we didn’t need to do cake and ice cream with 20 toddlers in my house, so we did a milk and cookies bar instead, as the party favors.

But before indulging in the cookie bar, the kids decorated their cookie bags with stickers at the kitchen table, and created paper bag puppets at the kitchen island using foam stickers.

I had planned a story-time reading of Llama, Llama, Red Pajama, so the puppets were supposed to look like llamas, and the kids were supposed to use the foam cut-outs to add pajamas. Even a couple of the adults made puppets!

While the kids were busy decorating, we also had a puppet theater hosting shows, a playdough station, and a comfy reading nook. And all with our red and white themed decor, of course!

When all of the crafts were completed, we had the kids come over to the living room so we could sing Happy Birthday to Jayna, and she could open a gift (which ended up being the book I read). The kids used their puppets to help me tell the Llama, Llama story.

Although we ended up having a few friends stay a little late to socialize, I achieved my goal of having the party wrapped up in about an hour. I got rid of a ton of cookies (although there are more than I care to admit left…I’m not sure who is making them disappear!!), and I think the kids had fun with the crafts.

And finally, a little tribute to our fallen Steelers. Great game boys! We had a few friends and family over to watch the game, and had a marvelous time, even though the result of the game wasn’t ideal for us Pittsburgh fans. But it was nice to have a little time with family and friends over the weekend.