Party Decor...Part 2

Brayden's 2nd Birthday Party had a safari animals theme to it. I made a lot of the decor out of scrapbook paper (from Hobby Lobby) which allowed it to be a lot more personalized. I cut out letters for the "Celebrate" sign and hung on a twine from the curtain rod. A cute little blow-up monkey hung by it as well.

I hung a fishing net from our entry ceiling and

hung "Barrel of Monkeys" from it.

I found a great deal on bins of sidewalk chalk in the dollar

section at Target and simply wrapped them in Zebra fabric.

I put a small little safari animal on top and added the kids' names on each favor.

I tied a balloon and lined them up on my kitchen bar counter.

I found a chipboard "B" and ModPodged scrapbook paper on it

after painting the edges black. I attached it to a sheet of scrapbook paper

and hung it from our dining room chandelier.

I made the circle garland from a 1 1/2" circle punch. I used ModPodge

(could use glue) to adhere the scrapbook circles together with twine in between.

I hung these from the arms of the chandelier.

Happy 2nd Brayden!!!

I just cut out scrapbook paper

and glued it on a plain brown gift bag.

For the candy from the pinata, I gave each child

a brown paper sack w/ a circle punch with their name on it,

so they could stash their candy to take home.

An awesome gift from Grayma & Graydaddy

that made an appearance at the party. You talk to the parrot,

and he really mimicks what you say. Brayden LOVES this!

Brayden's monkey mask and very cool "Brayden Goes to the Zoo"

book from Mimi & Papa...and Frecklebox.

Check it out, these are SO cool!

Cupcakes, cupcakes, and more cupcakes...

I made cupcake flags with scrapbook paper

and toothpicks. Super easy!

Jungle Juice! YUM!

I covered our coffee table with white butcher paper.

It was a fun area for the kids to color on...and not have to

worry about getting on the furniture!

The masterpiece after the party...

Brayden's 2nd Birthday Party

For Brayden's birthday party this year, we had it at our house. We invited some of his friends over for pizza & cake. We had a great time just hanging out and celebrating his birthday.

Family pic (Note to self: Next time, make sure the balloon doesn't look like it's growing out of his hair. Ha! Photography 101)

All the kiddos

It was amazing they stayed somewhat on the couch together!

The Krugers - Matt & Julie with Kelsey

Emily & Cate Woods

Erika with Brayden

Ben...enjoying his cupcake

Olivia was really enjoying that chocolate cupcake!

Birthday Boy!

Priya

Erin with Lucy

Jett - LOVE that smile!

Elephant Pinata time! We got the kind that you pull strings... the right string will release the candy. Perfect for little ones!

WOOHOO...the candy fell!

Brayden picked up one lollipop, and all he cared

about was opening it to eat. He just stood there in the middle of

all the candy on the floor, trying to unwrap it. Ha!

Intense look...he's got his (4) lollipops, and he is happy!

Cake time...this was the birthday boy's

lion cupcake!

Digging in...

(Reminds me of last year)

YUM!

Opening presents...I never have experienced anything like this. Brayden loved opening the presents. He wanted to play with every one though and was upset when we made him move on to the next present. So, we would set it aside and one of the kids would go and pick it up to play with. Ha! Also, all the kids crowded around super super close wanting to see and help open all the presents. It was bizarre. Pretty funny how kids act at this age. Oh, the realm of toddler-hood!

He got so many fun things to play with. One of his new toys were the little matchbox Hot Wheels cars. He carries them all around with him, lines them up on the ground or table and lets them fly down the track that his Daddy bought him. So fun!

After the party was over, he crawled up on the couch and pulled the blanket over him. I think he wanted us to know he was ready for bed.

Birthday Boy!

TODAY is Brayden's 2nd birthday! SO hard to believe! It blows my mind to think that our baby is now very much a toddler and growing more each day. He seems to be growing by the minute, and I love seeing how God is developing him into a little boy who I pray seeks God with ALL his heart as he grows up.

More pictures from the birthday celebrations

in tomorrow's post...

Dress Like a Cow...and Eat Free!

Today was "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-Fil-A, and if you dress up like a cow, you get a free meal! So Brayden and I cut out "cow spots" and put them on our t-shirts and headed our way to get some yummy Chikin!

Ready for some Chikin dressed up as a cow.

He had spots on his shirt, a "Eat Mor Chikin" sign

around his neck, and a cow nose to complete the look.

Soon after sitting down to eat, we were informed of a "Cow Drop"

out in the parking lot. A helicopter was coming to Chick-Fil-A

to drop 200 mini plush cows with parachutes down into

the Chick-Fil-A parking lot.

He got SO excited when the cows started

dropping with their mini parachutes.

The crowd of a couple hundred people were SUPER intense about catching these cows! Ten cows had red stars on them and the people who caught them won a YEAR of free Chick-Fil-A...WHAT?! I was really hoping to catch one of those, but as the drops went on, I just wanted to catch ONE cow...Poor Brayden wanted one so bad, and I just couldn't catch one. I tried so hard, but ended up getting pushed around and stepped on by men jumping a bit higher than I could. He was so bummed when I didn't get one...

I felt so bad that I couldn't get one...

...but then we saw one of our amazing HS girls from church.

She had caught one and gave it to him. SO SWEET!!!

He was SO excited and played with it the entire night...

throwing the cow up and letting the parachute slowly bring it down.

Thanks, Madi!

Brayden with his cow from the helicopter Cow Drop

Rain, Rain, and More Rain!

We have been FLOODED here lately. Not literally...but almost! It has been raining NONSTOP for several days. Brayden loves sitting at the window saying, "Rain, rain, rain, rain..." as he does with most words...repetition, repetition, repetition. Just like when he says, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy..." I love it though. I remind myself to love those moments and cherish them.

Watching the rain with Daddy

Lions and Tigers and Bears...

Our little guy is REALLY into animals. He loves looking thru his books about animals and pointing and 'naming' each one...or saying, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy..." until I tell him the name of each animal. He loves making animal noises as he names them. It's fun to see him learning and soaking up so many things. One thing that shows me he is SUCH a boy...he used to have this cute little "quack, quack" when he'd be making a duck noise. Now, we're entering toddler-hood and he's really starting to act "all boy." His duck noise is now "quack" - but in a deep, man, scruffy gurgle. He keeps us laughing!

4th of July

For 4th of July this year, we enjoyed time with friends who have become like family to us. It was great to begin celebrating it at church - honoring our heroes who have fought for our freedom and also to ultimately point to Christ for the eternal freedom we have in Him.

We then spent the afternoon outside at Brayden's friend Kelsey's 2nd birthday party. The kids had a blast playing in the pool and on the swings. Then we headed to our friends Steve and Julie's for dinner. Next...firework time!

We have a favorite little place we love to go watch fireworks. We watch the Kingwood Town Center fireworks, but we set out blankets and chairs near the Kingwood Golf Course driving range. It's a blast and we love it that all of our friends head out there to watch the fireworks together.

Me, Kasey, & Julie w/ our little ones:

Brayden, Priya, & Kelsey

Matt, Julie, & Kelsey

The Chriswells - Steve, Julie, & Frazier

Our awesome summer intern - Donika

with Erin Harris & Lucy

Andrew & Bekah Kruger

Now, the fireworks began...and our little guy suddenly got REALLY scared. Poor baby!!! He sat there with earplugs in, his glow necklace on, and his eyes closed...(no, he is NOT sleeping...at all! Just really scared!) :(

That's better...now he feels safe with Daddy!

Overall...a great day! One that we remembered our heroes and the freedom we share in this amazing country of the United States. Thanks so much to all who serve our country and all that you give to ensure our freedom!

Party Decor...Part 1

Brayden is *almost* TWO! I've been working on a lot of prep for his party...decorations, invitations, etc. Here's a sneak peak into what's to come at his party...

Invitations...

Invitations inside...

Party Decor, favors, etc...

A Toy Story Fan

Brayden got a Toy Story "Woody" doll from Grayma, and he LOVES that thing! He carries him everywhere and loves saying, "Woo-wee!" He is a fan!