Little's Second Birthday Party

Guests loved the banner of Littles second year!!

His gift table, with the special trike Dada and I got him.

yummy nuggets and homemade strawberry lemondade 

were a hit, there was a veggie/fruit table too I swear!!

Little and cousin Noah had the most fun with a

small water table Gramma has, isn't Noah adorable!!

He was in a pretty great mood that day!

Tia Linda baked some tasty treats for the birthday party, 

cupcakes for guests and a smash cake especially for Little. 

Little was so cute and calm; eating his cake, drinking his lemonade and

 asking us to wipe his hands that were full of icing.  Was my favorite part of the day.

More water play for all the kiddies, Little loves to play 

with cousins Rene and Audrey. He pretty much looks up 

to cousin Rene right now.

Little opened his gifts in front of friends and family, 

boy did he get a good amount.  We just had to snap photos of

Squishy being a little scene stealer! 

 

After the presents we pretty much let the guests 

mingle and hang out.  We brought out more chips and dips

and Little enjoyed some indoor soccer with his new ball. 

Here are some photos courtesy of Tia Lorri

  

  

When Im having a lot of fun I tend to forget to take pictures!! This is a problem because later I look at my camera for pictures and I realize that I have close to none.  Thank goodness for Dada!! While I was doing things like handing Little gifts, setting up the cake or calming him down from a mini meltdown, Dada was snapping pictures for us to remember in the years to come!

I also have to say that it makes me incredibly happy that we have amazing family and friends who all came together to celebrate Little on his birthday!  The party turned out a little bigger than we thought it would be, but Im glad we decided to have it and I think everybody had a good time!  It was a great day. In the end Dada, Little and I were very tired, very sleepy and very very happy.  

Next up our photos from Little's actual Birthday!! It was a great couple of days for us. 

<3 Mama Chuca

Party Progress

Hello all!
So my laptop is acting pretty wonky because I have yet to put all of my old work onto our hard drive. I know I know its soo bad of me!! To bring me to my point, I used iPhoto to tweak the photos a bit so the colors are a little off today (especially in the invite photo).  I usually only need to brighten them because I often take pictures with horrible lighting!

I just wanted to give a little peek of the invite I created for Little's second birthday.  I wanted the invite to match the party, simple and sweet.  I really only handed out invites to grandparents and the rest of the  family was pretty much word of mouth, like I said its a very small party.  The big number two is a DIY I'm working on for the party table or the door (haven't decided).  I just wanted to show a little progress  and a couple of cute pictures of my Little.

LOOK at that curl, I want to throw a party just for that one curl alone!! When you have a kid who's hair grows slower than grass you get excited for these things! I just want to cut it off and keep it in my purse!!! But I won't, Ill leave it be. Promise.

On a very special note: Today is my parents 15th wedding anniversary!! Math off a bit? Well 15 years ago Papaw and Gramma (who was just called Mama then) got married and we got the best Dad we could ever ask for!! Thank you to both Papaw and Gramma for giving us an amazing childhood.  At this very moment they are off on a road trip to celebrate like the youngins they are!!

8 more days till the birthday party... scramble mode ON!
<3 Mama Chuca

Currently.

Little and I singing "The Wheels on the Bus"

Reading:  Unfortunately Im not reading anything at the moment, that makes me sad.  The last thing I read was the Hunger Games Trilogy, which was amazing and awesome!! I didn't know if I was going to like it or not but I watched the movie and figured Id give the book a chance, so glad I did!! 

Watching: Due to a very demanding little boy I have been watching a lot of cartoons lately.  I have noticed recently that Little is very into tv right now, so we are putting a stop to it!  Yesterday when I called Gramma at 2pm to ask how Little was, she still had cartoons on for him and Squish because he was throwing fits when the tv was changed to a different channel.  NO sir that will not do for me, from now on he is cut waaaay back.  As for me...thank goodness for DVR, I usually just record anything I want to watch then try and get it in when Dada and Little are wrestling, when Im cleaning or when Little falls asleep.  The usual suspects on DVR:  True Blood- Ive been re-watching last season to catch up for SUNDAY's premiere, Girls, Big Bang Theory- reruns just because I love it, and I try to record any new movie once in a while from HBO or Cinemax that seems interesting for Dada and I. 

Anticipating:  Saturday we are taking Little to see Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted!! I know I know, Im trying to cut him down on tv but Im taking him to see a movie??  Bad Mama!  Well honestly I have always felt that going to the movies was a whole experience; the movie posters, the popcorn, the trailers and the chatter of the audience.   So Im thinking this is really a treat for the whole family, Dada and I LOVE these movies!!

Laughing about:  Yesterday Tia Linda and I worked out to the Jillian Michaels: Extreme Shed & Shred DVD she recently bought.  It was our second time trying to keep up with the ladies in the video and this time was worse than the last.  The only good thing the comes from us trying to get through this DVD (besides our awesome muscles were going to have) is watching Little and Squish try to do the exercises as well!  They are hilarious; bending down to touch their toes, running in circles around us and stretching their little legs out to copy their mamas.  The only thing funnier than watching them exercise is watching each other!

Listening to:  I love hearing all the new words Littles been saying lately, such as nana, hello (almost british sounding), and NO.  Its actually funny to hear and see him say no he because uses his whole mouth just to say one little word.  We laugh every time he says it... Me: mamas going to work now, can i have a kiss? Little: No.  Cue Dada and Mama bursts of laughter! Yep he knows what it means. 

    I hate to say this but the only time I really listen to music now is when Im in the car and most of the time I am in the car Little is with me.  

When Little is in the car we listen to:

The Beatles- Twist and Shout (his fav)

Florence and the Machine- Dog Days are Over (his fav)

Regina Spektor- Fidelity (his fav)

The radio - Fun "We Are Young" (too much listening, his fav) & 

Goyte "Somebody that I Used to Know" (his fav)...

When I was younger I listened to music all of the time, everything was a soundtrack to my life! When Im in the car by myself I listen to a huge array of music some of my fav bands/musicians are:

The Beatles, Muse, Deftones, Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, Regina Spektor and that list could go on forever...

Eating:  Little has a new huge passion for Bananas lately, he literally wakes up and goes to bed asking for "nanas".  Other than nanas, I haven't been eating too much of one thing lately except pizza and I can always eat pizza!  But I have had a serious craving for sushi and beef sashimi since last week and I definitely need to hit Miyakos, my favorite sushi spot, soon.    

Working on: Im working on a book for my Little, just a little something for him from us for his birthday.  Lately when we draw together I draw him just like that picture below and before I tell him who its supposed to be he starts pointing to himself and saying "this".  I really hope he enjoys this book. Im also working on making 2 million (ok more like 50 or so) tissue paper flowers for my besties baby shower!! Im getting so excited for her shower, but I have less than 2 weeks and I'm working on lots of ideas...too many ideas!

Wishing: That I had a team of professional tissue flower builders to work for me! But for realsies Im wishing I had more time away from work to spend with the Little, Dada and I are definitely going to have to take time off for a small trip with this little boy soon.  Im thinking well take him on a trip to Seaworld's new water park Aquatica!! 

I got this cute post idea from an amazing blog called Sometimes Sweet!  I hope everyone enjoyed a pretty good sum of whats going on with Little and I lately!!

<3 Mama Chuca

P.S. If you haven't already, please enjoy that Regina Spektor video I have up there ^^ its one of my favorite songs/videos as well!!

TGIF!!

These photos are from a couple of weeks ago at Gymboree bubble/parachute time! I just love to watch him play with the bubbles and sit down like a big boy while waiting for the next activity.  Always makes me smile. 

TGIF Ladies and Gentleman!!
Here are a couple of things Im looking forward to this weekend:

Friday:
Spending some time with Tia Linda and Squishey tonight, hopefully we'll be having a Chic Fil A dinner!! Im such a bad Mama, but we just love those chicken tenders! Maybe Ill talk Tia into a quick trip to Target, we are after all Target LOVAS!
*Not looking forward to watching the new Footloose for the 5th time, Tia Linda loves it but I prefer the original!

Saturday:
Of course Im looking forward to our Saturday morning Gymboree and big breakfast, it will be especially awesome because Papaw (Littles Grandpa, Mamas Dad) will be joining us!! Mama is in desperate need of a new car and Papaw is going to help us look around, plus he loves a big breakfast! Keep your fingers crossed for us!!  Ive been doing my research and dusting off my haggling skills, I'm still a bit nervous because I can barely negotiate with my own toddler to wear sandals instead of rain boots! Saturday night is down time, yes we will be staying home to relax eat some popcorn and watch a movie! We had a long week!

Sunday:
Im super stoked to hang out with one of my besties for lunch, baby bump catching up and shopping!  Baby shower shopping that is, we will be heading to the party stores to look for decorations and inspirations.  Did I mention I'm hosting this par-tay?!?  Eeesh cross those fingers again, its my first time hosting a baby shower!!! My mom and aunts always make it look so easy, Im gonna give it my best!

Im also very happy to announce that not only did I finish my preggy besties shower invites, but I also just took on a new freelance client!! Woohoo Mama!!

Have a Happy Weekend everyone!

<3 Mama Chuca

P.S. Im going to be adding weekly features soon, I hope it goes well....yes cross your toes (if you ran out of fingers)!  

Birthday Inspiration

Little will be 2 soon!!  Well July 24 he will be 2, but that still leaves me little time to plan a Little party! (see what I did there)  Last year we gave Little a "Where the Wild Things Are" birthday party and it turned out great.  This year we decided to give him a  Brown Bear Brown Bear birthday party, it has been his favorite book for quite some time. So much so, that we have to hide it sometimes ( I know were horrible!) so we can take a break, we literally know it by heart over here!!  Im so excited about this theme because there are so much possibilities, I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to this special event!!
We decided that we were going to make it a little smaller than the first birthday party, so it will be just family and a couple of close friends.  A small backyard barbecue will do for our Littles big day, its everything he loves; family, being outside, cake, friends and water games! I think its better smaller so I can make the gift bags for the kiddies that much more special and I can try to do as much DIY as I can!!

For eats:

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We LOVE cupcakes, so we will have a lot of them (in all the animal colors) for our guests in place of the cake.  We will still have a small cake for Littles big #2 candle and for him to eat all on his own however he wants, after all it is his birthday.  We will also have an awesome lunch/dinner...(Linner?) of bbq and some sides.  We will provide fruit and veggie trays as well, yes people will be full and happy! 

 Party Decor:

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These are just a few examples I've found that I really want to incorporate into this party! I love the idea of guests, young and old, wearing party hats in celebration.  I especially love the idea of the balloon carrying pictures, for one Little loves balloons and the another is Im really into picture banners from over the year.  This balloon banner will do the trick and be very interesting to look at!  Since there will be less guests, I think I want to make a photo booth to commemorate the occasion.  These seem to be really popular right now and Im jumping on board!!  The last photo is something I think Little would enjoy, he happens to have a couple of little animal figures that he keeps track of daily to play with.  I just think it would be so cute and really nice for Little to have his little friends help him celebrate his birthday as well.  Another thing that will be a major part of decorations, not pictured though, are balloons... a TON of balloons!! He will be in balloon heaven that day!

 For the kids:

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Its amazing how much personality Little has and that he clearly has his own likes and dislikes. So right away I knew I wanted all his favorites to go in the kiddie bags!! Coloring and drawing is a pretty big favorite in our home and I love the idea of making our own colors for each of the kids (along with a notebook of course)!  IF that doesn't work then Ill be providing colors and little notebooks for each kiddo, I have this idea that they could say something like "Little Little what do you see?"...corny?? That third photo is actually a gift ball, each one of those goodies is wrapped in different layers of crape paper formed into a ball. This is an amazing idea because A. I could easily wrap Littles favs in it B. what kid doesn't want to unwrap a ball full of goodies and C. Little has a great fondness for Balls!!
The last photo is awesome because I could make ears of different animals from the book to place in the kiddie bags.  Brown Bear ears, blue horse ears, purple cat ears, white dog ears... and so on, I told you so many possibilities!

Im super excited!! Although our theme is the Brown Bear book, were thinking we are going to focus more on the colors of the animals for the decor of the party.  Since we live in Texas, ugh Texas heat in July, I will also have water games, water guns and a inflatable water slide (Little is going to LOVE it). I just know I will be adding to that little Pinterest board up until the week of the party, Pinterest is a curse sometimes ;). Ive already begun working on the invitations, SO CUTE, and soon I will begin the PINATA!! Hello?! its a party of course were gonna have a piñata... a brown bear piñata! This is one of my favorite parts of motherhood, creating super special days for my Little and relieving the excitement the day of.

<3 Mama Chuca

P.S. Follow me on Pinterest if you like, or you can view the rest of my Little's Brown Bear Birthday board!