Samantha's Fancy Nancy Birthday Parties

Whew!  It was a weekend full of parties celebrating one very special little girl.  And all of the time and effort was definitely worth it ... just to see her eyes light up with happiness over all of the decorations and the people that could be with us to celebrate the day that she came into this world six years ago.  One of the decorations at the party said it best:

We settled on a theme -- Fancy Nancy -- about two months ago and it couldn't have been any more perfect for a six year old girl's birthday party.  "Fancy Nancy" is a storybook character in books designed for little girls where the lead character believes in making everything French and fancy -- extra decorations and big words (often explaining in parentheses that a certain word "is fancy for" another ordinary word). 

We made fancy invitations for Sam's friends at school by taking an already adorable invitation and enclosing it in a purse-shaped envelope that I cut out of cardstock and embellished with a fancy button and a fancy purse strap.  On the invitations, we made sure to ask the girls to wear their fanciest ensambles ("a fancy word for outfits").

The birthday girl at the Accessories Table:

I put together a collection of rings, bracelets, necklaces, dress-up glasses, tiaras and boas for each of the girls to choose as their party favors. 

I even set out bottles of my own nail polish to paint the guest's nails.

The mirror and frames for the party came from the Dollar Store (for a $1!!!) and I spray painted them with purple glitter paint to make them even more fancy, of course.

My fancy girls and me before the party:

I also set up a Posh Puppy Station for the girls.

Once all of the guests arrived, we sat down to read a Fancy Nancy story about how she received her posh ("posh is a fancy word for fancy!") puppy and how she named it. 

Then, each of the girls got to take a poodle (Fancy Nancy's posh puppy is a poodle named Frenchie) from the table, along with some fancy ribbon and a name tag (Dollar Store!).  They used the ribbon to make a collar and then I labeled their name tags with the name that each of them chose for their puppy.  The girls LOVED this!

At the table, I had favor bags (cheap, dollar store gift bags) for the girls to make fancy using jewels and stickers -- all of which were just randomly from my craft box, just waiting to be used on a project like this.

They also got to decorate some Fancy Nancy fans.  Also a big hit because girls this age enjoy crafts!

The Birthday Girl, hard at work:

For lunch, I made it easy on myself and ordered pizza.  To accompany it though, I served fancy fruit skewers (Sam and Sophia helped me use beads to make the ends of the wooden skewers fancy).

Waiting to be served their pink lemonade and pizza:

For dessert, I had a sundae bar where they could choose various toppings to make their ice cream fancy.  This was a great idea because I had the ice cream scooped up ahead of time in little cups.

Instead of a cake, I opted for cupcakes for the girls.  This was just to make things easier for me, again.

The 6 candle received some extra jewels to make it even more fancy:

The girls went crazy with excitement over the sundaes, and I was glad that Steve was there that day to help me with the party and to keep Jack occupied.

After lunch, the girls got to accessorize.  The squealing was contagious!

How adorable are these girls?

Opening presents before the parents arrived to pick up our fancy guests:

I would definitely say that our first "friend" party was a complete success, and as soon as the last guest was picked up, I put all of the kids down for naps while I set to work picking up the house and preparing for the family party that was scheduled for the next day!

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For the family party, I changed a few decorations around and made a pink and white checkerboard cake (definitely a fancier cake than just a standard three-layer cake).  I used pink pearl candies to form the border and stuck a few candles on the top.  Various cupcakes filled the table and the doll dresser. 

(As a side note:  That dresser (and another smaller now-pink one) belonged to my youngest sister 20 years ago.  My mom gave it to me for my girls a couple of years ago and they have used it continuously ... scuffing off the paint and often drawing on it by mistake -- Sophia!).  I decided to give both dressers, previously white, a face-lift before the party.  I simply used spray paint that I already had on hand and made those colors work with the theme of the party.  The girls loved it!)

We served chicken and beef tacos and all of the fixings, including rice and beans.  After dinner, we migrated to the living room to open gifts.

Holding up her blanket that Aunt Deb made for her:

As is our tradition, we then headed back to the dining room to sing happy birthday and to have cake and ice cream.

Jack loved the cupcakes!

Happy 6th birthday, Samantha! 

Samantha is 6 Years Old Today!

Samantha turned six years old today -- six!  It seems like she has been "five and a half" for so long, and now she is officially six.  She has been counting down the days because, with this birthday, we decided that she could have a "friend party" in addition to the regular family party that we have every year.  The invitations were passed out to the girls in her class two weeks ago, and we have been putting together all of the details this week in preparation for the "friend party" this Saturday and the family party on Sunday.  It will definitely be a full week of celebration!

This morning, we started the day off with the traditional cinnamon rolls (with a candle) for breakfast.

Sophia and I sang happy birthday to her after she opened her birthday card from Steve and me.

Then, after getting both Sophia and Sam ready for school, I loaded up the van with Samantha's birthday treat for all of her friends at school -- dirt cupcakes.  (Sophia helped bake the cupcakes yesterday and then Steve and I put them together late last night, after I got home from work.  Sam was so pleased to see them when she woke up this morning!).

When we pulled up to the school, the board out front announced "Happy Birthday to Samantha Lapinski."  Sam had been waiting to see that ever since school started this Fall.

After Sam arrived home from school this afternoon, I had her gifts ready for her to open.  She opted to open her cards that she received in the mail in addition to my gift and the one from Sophia.  She wanted to wait and open her gift from Steve and Jack later that night (when I was at work).

The birthday girl:

Sophia was just as excited as Sam:

I got Sam a super-soft fleece suit that she has declared that she will be wearing to school tomorrow!

Holding up the card that Sophia made for her -- I drew the cake and candle and Sophia colored it.  I was so surprised at how well Sophia managed to color inside the lines!

When Steve arrived home from work, just as I was packing up to leave and go teach, he surprised each of the girls with a pair of earmuffs.  I guess that they were a huge hit because the Sam opted to wear them ALL NIGHT LONG.  In fact, she wore them while playing Jenga (the gift that Steve had chosen for Sam) ...

... And then ... when I checked on the girls before I went to bed, I found Sam wearing hers in bed ... fast asleep!

Happy birthday, Samantha!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ... Winter!

The snow started falling last week around here -- in the middle of November.  I have a feeling that it is going to be a looooooonnnngggg winter.  At least I am prepared ... Everyone has a proper-fitting winter coat, snow pants, boots, hats, gloves, scarves ... Yes, we are ready.

Oh!  And we have shovels.

Working as a team in the driveway:

And now, we have a good 6 inches in the driveway!  Too much for the girls to even think about shoveling.  Maybe we'll make a snowman instead!

Jack is 18 Months Old

Jack is a year and a half old today!  When I told the girls this morning at breakfast, Sam exclaimed, "But Mom ... he just turned a year old!"

I know ... I feel the same way. 

The months are flying by lately.  It seems as though I blinked, and most of my teaching semester is over for this year and Sam's birthday and holidays are being planned as we speak.  And in between, I have a one growing little boy that has absolutely stolen my heart.

It's safe to say that his smile is contagious.  When he laughs (he is SO ticklish under his neck), you can't help but chuckle over his cuteness.  He can really light up a room.

He is ALL BOY.  There is no denying it.  He prefers to be with his daddy at ... all ... times.  He will cry and throw himself into a temper tantrum if he thinks, for just one second, that Steve is going to do anything outside and not include him in it.  The mere start-up of the lawn mower just gets him completely worked up from inside the house, and I have no choice but to dress him warmly and flag down Steve so that Jack can ride with him.  We exchange a knowing look and just smile.

It's rare that Jack ever sits down these days.  He is constantly on the move.  There are places to go and rooms to explore.  He doesn't really even walk anymore -- it is more of a rump-shaking sprint.  In fact, he is often moving so fast that that boy is usually tripping over his own feet. 

Speaking of feet, Jack loathes wearing socks.  He loves to wear shoes/boots, but once those come off inside the house, he is insistent that the socks come off too.  The same is true for any rides in the van; no shoes/socks equates to a happier passenger. 

Now that the colder weather is upon us, this is going to make for an interesting winter season.  For example, Jack chose to model his new snow pants for winter ... without socks.

Along with his snow pants, I pulled out a winter coat that I had purchased for Jack at the end of winter this last year on clearance.  I like to try and buy as many things as I can on clearance at the end of a season to stock up for the next one.  I bought Jack's coat and a coat for Sam and Sophia for a total of $30 last March, and they are perfect for them for this time of year.

(Note the bare feet, yet again).

With all of his activity these days, Jack is continuing to take two naps a day -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  I wasn't sure if he would be ready to drop that morning nap yet, but it has become clear that he is still dependent on it.  He gets grumpy and begins to rub his eyes between 9:30-10:00 am if he hasn't had a chance to snooze.  On the days that we are busy running errands, he will end up falling asleep by lunchtime in the vehicle.  Poor Sophia -- she can get tired too.

Afternoon naps are usually longer and ALWAYS take place in his crib.  I try to make sure to schedule most of my events around that precious nap-time, as I know just how critical it is.  My little man typically takes an afternoon nap from 1:30-3:30 pm.

Jack understands so much these days.  He takes directives well and rarely gets into too much trouble.  He knows what things he is not allowed to touch (including going near the fireplace) and he has two older sisters that keep a close watch on him.  He loves books, puzzles, and blocks right now.

Jack has also started telling me, probably about 50% of the time, when he needs to have his diaper changed.  He will come and get me, while grabbing at his diaper, indicating that he has just dirtied his diaper.  This applies to "#1 or #2."  I have no intention of potty-training him until next summer, but I am hopeful that this is a sign that he may be easier to train than I originally anticipated (hearing that boys are sometimes harder to train than girls).  We shall see ...

Jack's vocabulary is starting to grow now.  He says "momma, dada, cat, uh-oh, ya (for yes), no, hi, bye, poop, me, egg, good, hot" and quite a few others.  He is also learning animal sounds right now.  When you ask him a "yes/no" question, he answers with the appropriate response, including nodding or shaking his head.  It is the most adorable thing ever.

I've also noticed that he has a real fascination with fish lately -- both our aquarium at home and the fish at Meijer.

It is going to be such a fun holiday season this year with him.  I am still debating on whether we will need to put up a gate around the Christmas tree this year.  We have one that we borrowed five years ago from Steve's sister and brother-in-law, and we have only used it one year -- the year that Sam had just turned one and we needed to keep her away from the ornaments and presents.  Since then, we have lucked out with the kids and their ages -- they have either been too little to bother with the tree/gifts or old enough to understand and keep their distance.  The saying that gets used a lot in our house during the month of December is: "pretty to look at ... but not to touch."