Isabelle's Colorful Winter Birthday Party

Isabelle's birthday was on Saturday this year, so we celebrated on her actual day. Fun fun! There were some hiccups because of basketball (and the fact that there is STILL no schedule posted so we have no idea from week to week when her games are, ugh), but we were able to bump it up from an evening party to a mid morning one, and that worked really well. It was so nice to see the sunshine!

And even though you'll never escape Christmas decorations at your birthday party when you're born in December, you can still bring in pretty and fun colors! Those darling snowflake cookie cutters came as a set (Wilton, I believe) and they added the perfect touch to the table.

I like the twinkle that the lights on the side table give...

Favors were so simple and easy and FUN: fuzzy Christmas socks for the win! We put in a few candy canes and kisses, and I think it beats the junk that everyone throws away anyway.

The girls enjoyed making hot cocoa, too. I put out some marshmallows and whipped cream, and they loved the thick peppermint sticks to swirl around in the mugs. I think those came from WalMart when I was shopping for gingerbread house supplies. :) 

I dislike plastic tablecloths  all opened up too, but I think they make a great runner when kept in half. Easy, cheap, and adds perfect color!

Our birthday girl!

She had asked for a camera and new yoga pants. I don't think she's put the new camera down all week! :)

You know how I feel about sharing pics of other people's kids online, so no party pics, but isn't this hooded blanket the absolute best thing ever?!?! Her friends gave such fun and thoughtful gifts!

The basketball game was an hour away, so Caleb drove Bill and Isabelle out there, and it was really quiet here at home. I don't think I have to tell you that I didn't mind one bit. The game was a tough one, but Isabelle scored three points in the last minute! We ended the day with goodies and a movie all snuggled up in our fuzzy blankets. Such a good day! I can't believe my baby girl is TWELVE!

 Some of my favorites from over the years...

Walk in the Park

We had a couple of "tease" days when the weather warmed up and we took full advantage. But boy oh boy, is it a harsh reality when the temperature inevitably nosedives again and the snow starts falling. Today, Wednesday, we're expecting over a foot. Lots of schools have already closed for tomorrow in anticipation.

Isabelle and I brought Levi to the park during winter break last week. This one morning was quite momentous: Levi climbed up to go on the slide all by himself! I love watching him accomplish all these big kid goals, but my heart is pleading with him to please slow down, just a little bit.

Trying to get a picture of those gorgeous deep baby blues...

He keeps making these silly faces. I LOVE them!

Got it! I still cannot believe that I have boys with such beautiful blue eyes!

Mesmerized with big sis. Isabelle got her finger pinched on the tire swing shortly after this, ouch.

Isabelle brought him down with her several times and he seemed to like it.

Look at that smile!

Then he started getting brave and this time he went down beside her. Love that little nose!!!

He looks unsure about this...

Still not feeling it, sister...

But once he was down, he got this look of such satisfaction and then marched over to the steps to climb up and do the slide ALL BY HIMSELF. My big boy!

I was taking videos of him sliding down so I don't have any actual pictures- I'll have to do that next time. So happy and proud! I love watching him accomplish things but it stings, too. He isn't my little baby anymore. :/

I let Levi walk along the pathway through the park and I was nervous that he was going to take off in any random direction, but he was so good and stayed right with us. He was not happy with me when I scooped him up and put him in the jogger once we reached the sidewalk outside of the park, but he got it together pretty quickly. Some dogs were walking by and a few birds chirping were the perfect distraction, ha! We had a nice little stroll along some side streets before heading home.

Something that surprised me while we were still at the park: he did not want anything to do with the swing! He used to LOVE going in the swings! Not this day, wanted nothing to do with it. I tried twice before giving up. I wonder if he'll be as confident with the slides the next time we go. We shall see!

Here's proof, ha ha:

So relaxed he fell asleep like this! One of my favorite moments!

Okay, time to get some sewing done before I have everyone home with me tomorrow, ha ha. Hope you have a super Wednesday. :)

An Interview with 10.5 Year Old Isabelle + Our Backyard Portrait Session

What made you smile the most in fourth grade?

The last day of school

What made you most nervous?

Math

What one thing did you look forward to the most?

Reading Group

What are you looking forward to next year, in the fifth grade? (!!!)

FACTS (modern home-economics class)

If you could spend the whole day doing whatever you wanted, what would you do? (It can be more than one thing.)

Reading, writing, swimming in the pool, spending the day helping out little kids...or something like that  (Seriously? Okay.)

If you could have lunch with anybody in the whole world, alive or deceased, who would it be?

Kate and Claire (friends)

What's your favorite color?

Pink

What's your favorite outfit?

The long dress that you made me, that you tie on the shoulders

What do you wish I would let you wear?

Mini-skirt, I guess (after probing for a few minutes)

What do you think Daddy would say if a boy asked you to be his girlfriend?

NOPE

What would I say?

NO

What super power do you wish you had?

I'm kind of thinking of the powers Elsa has, like ice power things. Oh, water powers!

Which season makes you feel the happiest?

Spring

What thing do you like best about yourself?

I was a pretty fast learner when I took piano [lessons]

What one quality do you look for in a good friend?

Kindness

What one thing that has happened made you feel the most special?

When our family does something fun all together

What's your favorite memory?

**And this is where she got overwhelmed and got mad at me and refused to answer. Go figure.**

Ten and a half years old. I can hardly believe it. She made me a girl Mom, and I loved her from the very first moment I ever laid eyes on her, a blurry image on my computer screen. And we just knew. She was meant for us and we for her.

Isabelle's SURPRISE Half Birthday Fiesta Bash

Planning and executing a surprise party is not for the faint of heart.

Especially a weather-dependent one living in an area like New England, where unpredictability is pretty much the norm.

But we did it, our half-birthday girl was completely surprised and had so much fun, and I lived to tell about it. Win win. :)

The entire week leading up to the big day, I stalked the weather report, as if that's going to change anything, and every few hours, the forecast would be entirely different. From thunderstorms to just cloudy, back to showers, then partially sunny...it was crazy! There were heavy downpours that morning, but I had a Plan B in case we couldn't go swimming, so I was determined to make the most of it. BUT the sun popped out around noon, and the rest of the day was glorious. Just absolutely beautiful.

A little backstory on the whole half birthday fiesta... since we have two December birthdays, we celebrate one in the beginning of December and celebrate Isabelle's later in January. It works for us. Well, this year, everyone and their uncle kept getting sick. Like really sick. This (school) year has gone down as the absolute worst in terms of fevers, coughs, colds, infections, and general illness. I blinked and March was here, and we had not celebrated our birthday girl. That's when I decided to throw her a pool party in June. Poor thing, she never asked about her party after it kept getting putting off- she must've thought we just weren't going to do it. :(

Decorations were simple but festive. I made just a couple flower poms, but most were from the dollar store in a package of two. Perfect. The rest was simply crepe paper streamers and balloons. It was so fun and colorful! I had arranged for Isabelle to hang out with my Mom that morning so I could decorate and finish the cake, and honestly, I did not get everything done. I ran out of time! And it was so, so sticky hot, which totally zaps my productivity. The cupcake cakes weren't how I wanted them; the rest of the streamers never got hung; I forgot to put out some of the food... and in the end, it didn't matter one bit. Everyone had such a good time, and I think anyone in a three-mile radius would agree, as they could probably hear the squeals and screams. Ten (and a half) year old girls are L-O-U-D, ha ha!

Here are some pictures of the day:

As she turned the corner and her friends yelled, "Surprise!" - love that grin!

Someone was feeling a bit left out that HE wasn't swimming.

 But Mimi and Grampy got some smiles...

And I know I've said it a million times, but the way Levi makes my Dad feel like a kid again is just the best thing in the world to watch.

Aw, look who's finally in the water! Big brother to the rescue!

In the middle of getting their dinner ready, I looked out at this scene and my heart nearly burst.  Laughter and love and friendship and fun. It really doesn't get any better than that.

There may have been some additional silliness for the blowing out of candles ;)

Lastly, we held the party from 3-6pm, so I bought some individual ready made pizza crusts (I think they came in a package o three) for the girls for dinner- we added the sauce and let them choose their toppings. Of course, when it was time to eat said pizza, they were all munching away on bags of chips and cookies- all the snacks I'd put out by the pool that I thought they'd eat when they first got out there. Oops. ha ha 

I also had apple juice, which no one touched, and Honest lemonade pouches, which clearly were the fave. So simple!

The only thing I'd really wanted to accomplish was taking Isabelle's portraits with the giant "10" balloons, and I was out of town all day Sunday (U2 concert...more about that later!), and then it has rained off and on since then, and now they are deflated enough to look kind of pitiful. So I don't know if I'll use them, but they were so ridiculously priced that I just may make it work. ;)

All in all, a wonderful celebration for our big girl!

Happy 10...and a half...my darling girl!