Mustache Party!

Yesterday was Otis' second birthday party.  And since he's such a little man, we had a little man/mustache party for him!  They are so trendy right now, really, so it was easy to find fun things to add to our party.  All I had to do was peruse Etsy and type in "mustache party" and I found a million fun things!

I chose mustache crayons as party favors.  I got them from this etsy shop, she was so kind and shipped very quickly!  And they were a hit!  (Although honestly most kids thought they were candy and tried to eat them...)

 I also got some mustache cupcake toppers for our ridiculously red and green cupcakes, from this etsy shop.  We also got some thank you stickers from them for the favors.  My mom and I found this cute snowman cake with cupcakes around it, so we got them, never really thinking about how messy the frosting would be with a bunch of littles running around!

 Otis was a very lucky little boy and got many fine new toys for his birthday!  We got him a wooden camera from Little Sapling Toys, which ended up being SO CUTE!  I just love it!  I think it might be my new go-to present for kids 2 or 3 years old.

 Since we had a breakfast party, we had tons of yummy breakfasty foods like quiche, cheesy potatoes, coffee cake, apple bread, and, of course, bloody maries!  The kids were in good pre-nap moods, and once everyone left, all of us crashed and took naps.  I say that is the perfect time for a two year old's party!  I can't believe Otis is TWO! 

The Perfect Saturday

Yesterday we had friends over for a cookout.  I was a little worried about how hot it's been, thinking we'd end up hanging out inside in the air conditioning, but luckily the heat wave broke a bit and it was in the high 70s instead of the high 90s.  And there was a nice breeze blowing, it was perfect!  We got outside bright and early, of course, to clean up the backyard and set stuff up.  Ingrid moved all the chairs into a train for her dolls, just like I used to do.  Otis helped by singing Rock a bye Baby to Ingrid's doll.

 Our friends came after naptime, and we had fun being out in the now cooler weather.  I made a tent on the clothesline that all the kids liked to play in.  They had some little pony toys and Goldfish crackers and were in heaven.

Ingrid loves her friends Camryn and Ellie.  They had so much fun together, we didn't have to watch them at all, they just ran around and played all day long.  For some reason, they decided to dress up in Ingrid's pjs and bring out musical instruments to give us a concert.

 Poor Otis tried to keep up with them, but he just couldn't.  They would run up and down the stairs while he was trying to crawl his way up the first time.  Then he'd sit there and cry, go back down, and watch as the girls ran back up the stairs again.  Oh, just you wait, Ingrid!  Next year he'll be able to keep up with you and you won't be able to get rid of him!

The party lasted until bedtime, when both my kids passed out from sheer exhaustion.  Honestly, I may have also passed out soon after.  In fact, I may or may not have gone upstairs and gotten into my pjs while Brendan was still saying good bye to our friends.  When your kid gets up at the crack of dawn, I think you should be excused if you want to be asleep by 9pm, am I right?

Birthday Party!

This weekend we went to a birthday party for a little one year old named Milo.  His mom and I used to work together and we ended up having our sons (Milo and Otis, ha!) exactly a month apart.  Here's what they looked like together when we first moved here:

Remember, these guys are ONE MONTH apart! 

Here's what they look like now, I think Otis is doing a good job of catching up!

 We had a good time playing with toys, including a little ball pit.  Kids LOVE ball pits, what a great idea to have at a party! 

They had all kinds of fun things, like curvy straws.  Ingrid was in heaven!

Happy First Birthday, Milo! 

Li'l Troublemaker

Otis is really getting into stuff now.  It's exhausting.  We just got our desktop computer fixed and put it back in the same place.  But lit up buttons are exciting and little sausage fingers just love to push them!!  Our power button used to not work, you had to fiddle with wires to get the computer to turn on or off.  I'm sort of wishing it were still like that, as Otis has turned off the computer twice today while I was in the midst of something...I got him a new baby doll at the thrift store yesterday, and I keep trying to get him interested in "Gus" instead.

He also found the recycling.  When Ingrid was this age we put all the tupperware things down under the sink so she had things she could explore.  I guess it's time we did that here, too.  Time to find a new place for our recycling!

Please excuse the boogers, but check out all these teeth!  It's so funny to see him smile now, he looks like such a little boy instead of a baby. 

It's amazing that he will be one in a matter of weeks!  I just started planning the party--gnomes and toadstools.  I found some cute invites on etsy, some cupcake toppers, party favors, and of course I will be making a felt bunting and birthday crown.  If time allows, big sister might even get a new dress with this fabric.  Exciting!

The Rainbow Party

Ingrid was so excited it was finally the day of her party!  We had some friends and family over and it was a madhouse.  Unfortunately we were stuck inside because it was raining, but in our new house it's not that big of a deal because we have space!  Last year I kept fretting it would rain because our house was teeny and there wouldn't have been enough room for everyone.  I love our house.

Ingrid put her party duds on and was ready to go. 

We hung up rainbow garlands, rainbow lanterns, rainbow balloons.  We had rainbow striped party hats and favor bags, lots of food and drinks, and everyone had fun chatting and playing. 

THE CAKE!!  It was amazing.  Our friend's mom made it, she did an amazing job.  White cake with buttercream frosting, six layers of yumminess.  Totally made the whole party.  Ingrid was begging to eat cake, she even got her own fork out and dug in before we could stop her!  That's my girl!

We are just so lucky to be back in Milwaukee and have such great friends and family.  They were awesome and got Ingrid tons of paints, markers, stickers and paper--she is going to be so entertained! 

Another birthday done.  Phew.  These things are exhausting.

Sound of Music Party

Our friends had a themed birthday party yesterday.  I absolutely love Sound of Music, so I was excited for the party.  I had made the birthday girl's dress (green and white, like the curtain dresses) and I had the perfect dress for Ingrid to wear.  Awhile ago I got a dress from Alisha at Lishyloo and it was spot on for this party!

Otis needed something, too, so I whipped up a faux lederhosen shirt for him.  Gotta love felt!

Adeline seemed to have had a great party, and we felt lucky to be included in her day.  Yay Sound of Music!!

It's Sunny! No, It's Cold. No, it's Snowing...

The past few days have been pretty crazy, weatherwise.  We had some super nice sunny days, where we were out in our tshirts and loving the backyard.  We enjoyed the flowers, took nice long walks, felt like winter was a bad memory.  And then this morning we wake up to...SNOW?  Huh?

Good thing we took advantage of the nice weather while we had it.  Our backyard is pretty great.  We have a nice big cement patio, great for drawing with chalk and riding the trike.  There's also a pretty good amount of grass and trees and flowers for exploring and rolling around. 

Saturday was our good friend Poppy's first birthday party.  Cupcakes, balloons, and babies, oh my!

Ingrid had a ton of fun, as usual.  That girl loves her cupcakes!  And I liked the fact that most of my mom friends here in Milwaukee are cloth diaper, baby wrap using crazies like me!  It was nice to sit and chat and compare which diapers our babes were wearing.

Otis was worn out after the party.  He and I cuddled on the couch afterward and I managed to sneak my way out of the blankets to take this picture.  He slept like that for an hour at least.  It looked so cozy.

And in sewing news, I finished my Sound of Music inspired dress for my friend's daughter's Sound of Music inspired birthday party coming up.  It turned out so cute, if I do say so myself!  Can't wait to see it on her.

But now it's snowing, and I have to get groceries, which means I actually have to get out of my pj pants and put on real clothes.  *Sigh* 

Toddler Birthday Party

We went to a new friend's 2nd birthday party yesterday.  Sheesh, those things wear me out.  It was fun, Ingrid got to run around with new kids, play with toys that weren't hers, and make an ice cream sundae with lots of yummy goodies.  She thoroughly enjoyed herself!

Before the party, Brendan's parents came over with fun things for our house.  One was a family heirloom rocking chair for our living room.  I am really nervous about it being in our house, as we tend to ruin furniture between cats and babies, but they swore up and down that the rocking chair is for rocking babies and it's lasted a long time.  The first thing Fletcher did was curl right up in it, so yeah, cat hair will be all over in no time!

They also brought this awesome old desk for Ingrid's room:

I'm pretty stoked about it.  I found it lying in their basement when we lived with them a few years ago.  Ingrid was just a baby so I didn't want it right then, but I knew when she got older I'd want it.  Well what do you know, she's really the right size and age for it and we are back in Milwaukee, so it's ours!  Hooray!  Overall a very good day.

Valentine's Day, Toddler Style

Monday night we went to a friend's house for a toddler V-day party.  Ingrid was so excited about this, she kept asking for days "Is it Monday yet?"  It was a crazy mess of kids running around, ball pits, candy, food, and pregnant ladies.  So much fun! 

 

It was also a great send off for us, as it will be the last playdate Ingrid has with her Michigan friends.  It's hard to believe that when we moved here, Ingrid and Allie were 8 months old, Ben was just starting to walk, Olivia wasn't even born yet, and now look at them!  So big, such personalities, and new baby brothers on the way!  We'll miss you guys!