Charlotte's Hootin' 1st Birthday Bash

Friday was my daughter's 1st birthday. I can't believe how fast she has grown! It feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital waiting for her to come into this world.We had the grand celebration of her birthday on Saturday, complete with plenty of friends and family. It was so much fun! The theme of her birthday party was Owls. We chose the theme because we've always thought she looked like a little baby owl because of her big wide curious eyes.

This was pretty much the basic set up of the main table. There were matching streamers, balloons, and a Happy Birthday banner strewn across from the kitchen and dining room to the living room. A friend of mine made Charlotte's smash cake which is the big owl in the middle. I made the owl cupcakes. I also made the little favor bags. Inside of them is candy, an owl finger puppet, and bubbles. On the outside of the bags - I added an owl coloring sheet along with a set of four assorted crayons.

The best part definitely had to be singing happy birthday to Charlotte and letting her smash the cake. She was covered in icing! She really dug into that cake. In fact - she even grabbed the icing before we could blow the candle out. I think the smash cake was her favorite par too.

She loved opening the gifts. She got some really cute things like a cabbage patch doll that was named Charlotte and born in October (just like her!), a few owl stuffed animals, an elephant that uses air to blow little balls out of his nose, and so much more. The gift we got her is in the picture above. It's a little alphabet train. It comes with a ton of alphabet blocks and she loves it! It teaches colors, 1 2 3's, and A B C's. The little caboose in back is made to be sat on so she has the option to ride it. The caboose can come off and she can hold onto the bar and push it (it can help her learn how to walk). It seems to be her favorite toy out of the batch.

The party was a great success and we really enjoyed ourselves. I think Charlotte enjoyed it too and we got a ton of pictures to capture the memories. As much fun as it was though - I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I am glad it's all over with. I never realized how stressful planning a party could be! It was well worth it though to see my little owl have a huge smile on her face.

And now of course it's Halloween. Happy Halloween to everyone! We're going to do a little trick or treating and then come back home to pass out candy. I'll be sure to share the costume cuteness with everyone! I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween.

Birthdays and Fall Festivities

Wow, it has been a busy weekend. Things won't be slowing down for us any time soon either. This is what I like to call the era of no money for the Collins family. Birthdays start this month, for our family and friends, and they do not end until January. That, along with holidays, means there is very little money to go around and plenty of time spent in celebration with friends and family.

We went to a family friend's birthday party on Saturday and then another on Sunday. Charlotte's first birthday is this upcoming Saturday (and we have been going crazy with birthday plans) along with several Halloween parties. Not to mention - trick or treating isn't long after. The next weekend after that is my sister in law's and mother's birthday. Then a few days later is my nephew in law's birthday party and the next after that is my niece in law's birthday party. My birthday is the next weekend and then comes Thanksgiving and Christmas. My husband's birthday is in January. You can imagine how chaotic (and expensive) it gets!

Before the birthday party yesterday, we decided to squeeze in a little personal family fun time. We went to a place called Hunt Club Farm to enjoy their fall festivities. We went on a hayride, picked out our own pumpkins, and visited the petting zoo. Charlotte had so much fun and Bruce and I enjoyed it quite a bit as well. The best part was seeing Charlotte's little face light up with fascination. 

Sketchy Thursdays - Sketch 10.13

I decided to play along with Sketchy Thursdays this week! Here is the sketch:

And here is my outcome...

I love how it turned out. It's actually one of my favorite layouts now. I'm so glad I played along. The pictures are of me and my hubby on our "Babymoon". As the layout explains - a "Babymoon" is just like a Honeymoon only instead of in celebration of your marriage - it's in celebration of the baby that is on it's way. A Babymoon gives parent's the chance to relax a little before all the excitement of the new arrival. I was about 4 months pregnant here with my daughter. We just took a small four day trip to Baltimore, Maryland. While we were there we did some shopping, visited the Baltimore Aquarium, and went to Medieval Times for the first time.

Yes, the stamping is crooked. I wasn't concerning myself over stamping in a straight line to much because I wanted it to have somewhat of an imperfect look. I even stamped off the page a bit. The paint splatters and crooked sewing add that same imperfect touch. I used paper by Echo Park and Bo Bunny. The little golden frame is by Making Memories. The little heart puffy stickers that are in the frame are by EK SUCESS. The stamped sentiment is a part of the Hugs and Kisses stamp collection by Hampton Art. The white rosette trim and the film strip ribbon are both by Tim Holtz. The alpha Stickers are also by EK Success.

Happy Crafting!
- Christina Collins