Because Babies Grow Up

Raising Creative Kids through Play, Music and Literacy

Main Menu

Spring Garden Party

by

It’s hard to believe on this snowy day that 2 weeks ago we had a Spring Garden Party for the girls and their friends. And, let’s be honest, for me and my best girlfriends here in Tennessee! I had been curating a board with Fancy Girl Party ideas for quite sometime and loved making so many of the ideas I pinned.

Fancy Girl Board on PinterestGarden Arbor

rustic arbor-pinterest

 Brent built this rustic arbor for the party. I ran out of time to add the lace, but we compensated with the shabby chic banner. We placed a bench under it for some great photos of party guests.

IMG_4463e

 

Shabby Chic Banner

shabby chic banner

Here are the party guests sitting on the bench under the garden arbor. You can see the shabby chic banner hanging behind them.

party-guests

Tutu Table

tutu-skirt-tableI mod podged the table in scrapbook paper that matched the fabric of the banner and the tulle I used for the skirt.

more shabby chic decorations Boutonnieres

fabric-flower-pins-pinterestI made a variety of fabric flowers and glued safety pins on the back to make them attachable to the girls’ clothes. I stored them in this cute blue vintage-style box I found at Michaels.

IMG_4424e web

Yarn Pom Poms

pom-poms-pinterest

The pom poms were added to this hat box with other party favors for guests to take home. Each girl got a notebook, squinkie, and pom pom.

party-favors

 

Puzzle Necklace

puzzle-necklace-pinterestI made these puzzle necklaces. I already had silver spray paint from our New Year’s party a couple years ago. I bought a dollar store puzzle and assembled it with the kids. Then I pulled out a chunk of 9 pieces, one for each guest, including our girls. Then I spray painted them silver and finished it with a finishing spray. I found necklaces at Michaels that came three in a package. It was the least expensive I could find. I also bough jump rings to connect the puzzle piece to the necklace. The girls all loved their necklaces.

Mini Cupcakes

mini-cupcakes-pinterest

For snacks we had mini cupcakes inspired by those baked in ketchup cups. We also served cheese cubes, tuna fish on crackers, fruit and nuts with butter mint candies.

food

We had a blast playing outside the whole time. I had flower fairy coloring pages for the girls while they waited for everyone to arrive. Some enjoyed them, but mostly they ran around the yard looking adorable in the sunny spring weather. This party was only elaborate because I was in a creative mood brought on by the end of winter. I thoroughly enjoyed all the projects and sharing the prep with the girls.

How do you celebrate spring?

Gingerbread House Frosting Recipe

by

Joy-decorationI love this time of year! It’s so fun to decorate for Christmas: putting up the tree with lights and ornaments, setting out nativity scenes, strategically placing snowmen and Santas throughout the house. We are having a blast! So far, our tree is lit but without ornaments. It may stay this way… I have several nativity sets that I love, but trying to keep little figurines away from little hands has proved difficult!


Christmas-MantleChristmas-girls

One activity that I enjoy but we haven’t done regularly is the make gingerbread houses. I posted back in October some Monster Houses that we made from Make and Takes eBook and mentioned a recipe I found that I liked for turning frosting into the glue that holds the house and its decorations together. Since I was thinking about it again, I thought I’d share my version of the recipe.

Frosting for Gingerbread Houses

In a bowl, beat until stiff peaks form
-3 egg whites
-2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
Add 1 pound powdered sugar a little at a time until all is mixed in smoothly
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla

You may need to add more powdered sugar so that the frosting is stiff. It should be able to hold gingerbread houses together fairly easily. Plus it’s amazing for sticking heavy pieces of candy to the sides of your house.

Happy decorating!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a VTech Ride and Learn Giraffe Bike.

Snack Time

by

The standard education parents get about how much their children should eat goes something like this: “They will eat until they’re full.” So, based on that I kept giving my oldest food as long as she kept eating. After her third or fourth helping I started to wonder if she’d ever get full! She has also consistently been in the 99th percentile for weight (and, fortunately the 95-98th percentile for height) so I’ve had to re-evaluate the standard education because my daughter is not standard. She’s a bottomless pit!

All day long she asks, “Can I have a snack?” I seriously regret ever using the word snack in the first place. Although I’m sure something else would have taken its place. So I am constantly trying to create ways to lengthen snack time and choose snacks that are filling but lower in calories. Here are some solutions that have worked for us and are quite fun, too!

To lengthen snack time I look for ways to prolong the eating. This gives her tummy a chance to tell her brain she’s full. I keep anything that has small sections, like an egg carton. I cut it down so it only has 4 or 6 sections. Then I put a couple of each snack into a compartment. For example, I put 2-3 grapes in one, 2 pretzels in another, her chewable vitamins in a third, 3-4 dried blueberries in the fourth. She gets really excited watching me put the snack tray together. Then we sit down at the table and visit as she eats. I ask her questions and help her remember to swallow before talking. We talk about what she’ll choose next, what she likes most, what color the snacks are, how many are in each, how many different snacks, etc.

Sammi’s all-time favorite, though, is Easter egg hunting. The Easter eggs from last year have been a regular toy around our house. I fill each egg with just 2 of a snack. Then I hide the eggs around the room, give Sammi a basket and let her find them. If I really want to drag it out, I only let her eat one egg then we hide them all again. We continue hiding/finding until either she’s bored or the eggs are all empty. While this is a ton more work and I don’t always feel like it, it has been a great way to slow down her eating and get her moving in the meantime.

Here’s to fun, healthy snack times everywhere!