60 Years of Memories!

So....it's been awhile. And I don't even have that good of an excuse as to why I have been neglecting the blog. But my mom has been bugging me to write something, so here I am. Little does she know, I had a post in the works (from nearly two months ago!) that is all about her. :)

Last month In July, my mom celebrated her 60th birthday!!! We, my sisters, my dad and I, wanted to do something special for her, but she was adamant about not wanting a party, so we knew we had to think of something else. My mom is an amazing person, one-of-a-kind to be exact. She is always doing for others, putting everyone else first and willing to drop whatever she is doing anytime someone needs her. This type of person deserve something special. Something to remind them of how much they mean to everyone else and how grateful everyone is to have her in their life.

The gift idea was a no-brainer. We came up with the idea of creating a birthday scrapbook, with a goal of contacting all of mom's friends and family to include special messages and photos in the scrapbook. We started by raiding mom's email to get all of her contacts and sent the following email to everyone requesting their participation.

The messages came POURING in!! I honestly raced home everyday to check the mail and read the messages people were sending. I couldn't believe the turnout! Letters, poems, stories, birthday wishes and photos - it was incredible the variety of messages people sent. And the amount of people who participated - her parents, in-laws, siblings, cousins from Scotland(!!!), best friends, golf buddies, college roommates, elementary school friends, old neighbors, fellow students and teachers. Clearly this lady means a lot to a lot of people!!!

As the big day was approaching, we found ourselves sneaking around behind her back, raiding her photos, scrapbook supplies and getting together to work on the book. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to do this -- our mom is so curious and asks a gazillion questions about everything. You would think two sisters could get together without getting drilled by our mother about what we're doing and why were were hanging out. I'll give her credit tho -- she knew something was up, and she hated not knowing!!! We kept teasing that we were planning for her "big bash". She was not impressed. haha

The big day arrived and "60 Years of Memories" (as we called it) was complete. We planned a family dinner at our house to celebrate and it turned out to be the best birthday party of all time. Easton was lucky enough to spend the day with "Ga" and when they walked into our house, she was welcomed by streamers, balloons, noise makers, party hats and a "SURPRISE!" from Cash, Briggs and Zain. Doesn't get any better than that!

Colleen and I were like little kids in a candy store. We were so excited to give her her gift, we made her open it away!

Her reaction was priceless. I actually caught the first 10 minutes of looking at the scrapbook on video, but I don't think she'd appreciate me posting it for the world to see. Just take my word for it -- she was "flabbergasted". With each turn of the page, I think she was more and more surprised at what the book was all about and to see everyone who participated. The photos tell a great story.....

"How did you do this??"

The scrapbook opened a can of emotions and I think we all enjoyed reading the messages as much as the birthday girl. We are so thankful to everyone who participated -- you played an important role in helping her celebrate 60 years. But I do think this is going to be a hard birthday to beat. I think her exact words were "best gift ever!!!"  And that equals SUCCESS!!!!

And no birthday is complete without cake and cute boys! :)

LOVE YOU MOM!!!! :)

Celebrating ONE!

Well here we have it. First birthday come and gone. And the celebration was one to remember! Way back before I can even remember, I secured the date and theme: The Cat in the Hat. From there, I went on a pinterest rampage, pinning every Cat in the Hat party idea possible. The possibilities were endless, it was up to me to decide how crazy I wanted to get.

On his actual birthday, we started the morning out with balloons, followed by pancakes, some shopping and finished it off with grilled cheese and a cupcake! Easton couldn't have been more thrilled!

Invitations for the big day were created by none other than ME! I fiddled around with the wording, and landed on the following. I was quite pleased with the DIY-ness.

Next up, the decorations. I decided I didn't want to go Cat in the Hat overboard, so my focus was the color scheme; red, white and turquoise. Being April, we weren't sure what to expect as far as weather, so we hoped for the best and planned for the worst. That being said, we kept decorations simple, with the chance that there'd be 50+ people inside (15 being 5 and under) and decorations would go overlooked anyway. My mother-in-law snatched up an awesome Cat in the Hat cutout on display at Kroger which was a great addition to the decor!

A Year of Easton progression display:

One of my favorite pinterest replica's was Dr. Seuss's Happy Birthday To You guest book. I displayed the book on the entry table as guests arrived with a cute sign asking them to write a birthday note to Easton. This will be fun to read to him each year on his birthday!

And Easton's party attire (sorry for the lack of good photos):

Next was the food. I spent lots of time pondering over the menu and landed on festive, yet simple. That being said, we had a schmorisborg of appetizers (which I failed to get a picture of), that entailed green (deviled) eggs and ham (rolls), truffula fruits, oodles of noodles, wings and things (chicken wings), pink yink ink drink and more! The main course: pizza! Because who doesn't like pizza, well, besides Carter ;)! And since I"m lacking pictures of the food display, I'll showcase some of the party guests.

And last but certainly not least, the goods: dessert!! Cookies came highly recommended by a neighbor, and the smash cake was courtesy of Aunt Coll. Thanks to pinterest for the adorable marshmallow pops idea!

Easton was not shy when it came time for cake. I'm not sure how he felt about all the singing (perhaps we were all a little off key), but come cake, he was both hands in!

 All done!

We lucked out with the weather. It was a perfect 60 and sunny and that was a huge relief. We pulled out all sorts of things with wheels, blew up the bounce house and wore all the kiddos out.

Each little one left the party with none other than a Dr. Seuss coloring book.

And talk about presents! Can I please show you how spoiled this kid is?

The gift bag below won for 'most creative' and Easton got his very own table set from mommy and daddy!

And what's a party without the traditional fab 4 shot:

Well, that's a wrap! And as bittersweet as it is to say that I have a ONE year old, I'm looking forward to year two!

A Year of Easton!

While I get caught up on Easton's 12 month recap and 1st birthday party celebration post, enjoy a glimpse of Easton during his first year of life!

This slideshow generated with Smilebox

Easton's 1st Birthday Wish List

First birthday party planning is well underway. Looking for ideas of what to get our favorite little birthday boy? Look no further! Below are some things that we think he'd like, but as first time parents, we welcome some of your favorite first birthday gift ideas, too.

1. Water Table - this kid loves to splash!
2. Tub Tunes Water Drums, and other interactive tub toys
3. Wooden Play Food
4. Mega Bloks
5. Musical Instruments (Band in a Box, or B. Parum Pum Pum Drum)
6. Rocking Puppy
7. Play Tunnel
8. Bike Trailer or Bike Seat (Bike trailer is currently at Costco!)
9. Kiddie Picnic Table
10. Li'l Squirt Baby Pool

Other ideas include, but are not limited to:
Graphic T's, Bathing Suit and Pajamas for Summer: size 12-18m
Fall/Winter clothes: size 18-24m
Shoes, size 4
Detroit sports gear and anything sports related (per daddy's request)
**Tball Set
**Sports Balls
Sit n' Scoot activity toy
Climbing Toys
Cardboard Blocks
Educational toys (wooden alphabet blocks, nesting blocks, puzzles, etc.)
Swim Lessons
Tool Bench
Kiddie Art Supplies

What are your favorite first birthday gifts??

Birthday Planning

Easton's 11 month birthday is quickly approaching, which means, the big O-N-E is just around the corner!! I've been in the 'planning phase' for quite some time now (date has been set since October!), and after much deliberation, I've decided on a theme. Can you guess what it is?

Invitations went in the mail today and I'm working on the decorations, menu and favors. Stay turned over the course of the next month for updates on the big bash!