Hope Turns 51... Or Something Like That

I figure if I'm properly getting back into blogging, I should probably catch you up on our big summer events.  On August 22nd, Hope turned 15.  Like, WHAT?!  Basically, Facebook Timehop and I are enemies at the moment.  "Hey.  Remember when Hope was tiny?  Let me show you a picture of that so you can cry in your coffee this morning."  Thanks, Timehop.  Does it really need to be an everyday occurrence?  Anyway, this was probably the most low-key birthday celebration for Hope that I can remember... and it was really nice.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good themed party, but it was special to just enjoy the day and take her out for some photos.


Since Hope has been in that anti-photo phase for a while, getting her situated for our mini session was pretty hilarious.  I was so happy when she asked if we could do photos, though.  Um... ABSOLUTELY ANYTIME!


We Sheltons are notorious for expecting extensive birthday celebrations, so we had her low-key party at our house the day of her actual birthday, and she also had an epic girls' sleepover and trip to Silver Dollar City the weekend before that.


Of course, Hope hung out with her friends for the sleepover and while we were at SDC, so Poesy had the time of her life getting all of the attention from her mama and daddy.  We definitely didn't mind.

Poesy's 6th Birthday

Welp, my baby is 6.  Yep, you heard me right... Poesy is 6.  It's hard for me to wrap my brain around all the time that has passed since I was holding her tiny body in my arms and listening to her baby-babbling, but here we are.  She requested a Shopkins birthday this year and I did my best to fulfill those dreams.  Poesy and I have birthdays 4 days apart, so stuffing all of the celebrations into one weekend can be a tiny bit challenging.  On the other hand, two parties in one weekend?  (Read: two birthday cakes in one weekend?!)  Well, I'm always on board for a party.


My Shopkins-obsessed darling really wanted to have a party at home with her friends.  Of course, I LOVE this because one day kids tend to outgrow that (at least, that's my experience with Hope). Poesy requested a themed cake, so I went to work coming up with a cute one.  (I ended up being really happy with it, btw!)  She picked her dress from a costume place online and it was perfect for the occassion.  The rest was easy-- 1.) Buy cute plates, cups, candles, etc.  2.) Poesy puts on all of the accessories in her jewelry box.  3.) Invite friends over for a good time!


We had a dance party, played "drop the Shopkins in the milk jug", and had a very, VERY cold piñata experience.  It was a great day and my girl had the time of her life.  Mission: accomplished.

Oh, and here is what my super-sweet/smart/loving/social/talented/animal-loving girl looked like on her official birthday:


Happy birthday, Poesy girl.  Happy 6 years of making our lives better.  Even the weather sings a different tune to make your big heart smile!

Love, Mama

Birthday Snow

 
Well... today is one of my very favorite days of the year.  It's my birthday!!  I get so excited every year that we have snow on my birthday.  Snow is my absolute favorite.  Weirdly, it motivates me. There's nothing better than snow day crafting.  Really!

2016 was a good year for me.  I grew closer to people that I truly love, really made our house feel like home, and traveled to new places.  Did I complete all of the goals I set?  Of course not.  And that's okay!  It's time to make some new ones, roll some over from last year, and get moving.  I'm excited for 2017 and the things I have cooking in this ol' brain of mine.  Happy Friday, January 6th, friends.  I'm off to go eat cake and snuggle my family.  Oh yeah... and grab drinks and do karaoke with friends later!

**Since this is my first outfit post in forever, here are my details:

Dress: vintage;  Tights: We Love Colors;  Shoes: Bali Elf;  Clutch: Modcloth (similar)

Happy Birthday, Poesy

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know that last week was birthday week in our house.  My birthday is on the 6th and Poe's is on the 10th, so this specific week in January always keeps us busy-busy.  We were supposed to be out of town on Poesy's birthday for a gymnastics meet this year, but Hope ended up getting a stomach bug a couple days before and had to miss.  For Poe, this meant two days of celebration instead of just one!


We started the day with birthday pancakes and taking care of sister.  Poesy's a spunky little gal, but can be very nurturing as well.  She spent half of the day in bed with Hope watching Powerpuff Girls.  Once Hope started rallying, we took Poesy for a special bday cupcake, watched her unwrap her gifts, and ended the day at Chuck E Cheese and her favorite Japanese restaurant.  Birthday #1 was a perfect Poesy day.


On the second day, we threw Poesy a party with eight of her friends and their parents.  It was a lot of people to fit in our house, but it was a crazy/fun/chaotic time.  We played freeze dance, taped down hopscotch, and ate our weight in strawberry cake.  It was a very gloomy day outside, so thank goodness for all the different camera options.  My DSLR couldn't keep up with the low lighting for most of the party, so I snapped tons of iPhone photos, Instax photos, and even borrowed some from friends (thanks Doren and Michelle!).


Happy 4th birthday, little Poe.  I can't believe how quickly time has passed!

**You can see my birthday post from last year and Poesy's birthday post from last year.

Poe Turns Two

Yesterday was Poesy's 2nd birthday.  We invited some friends over to help us celebrate and made that little gal feel as special as possible.  She chose donuts over cake, I made cardboard playhouses for the kids, Hope made a heart-felt gift (no surprise there), and there was a confetti free-for-all at the end.

I can't believe how fast time is going this time around, but I know that it's my job to make these moments count.  Second birthday = success.

(The dress I'm wearing will be at Emerging Thoughts soon!)