My Little Pony Party

We celebrated Ashlyn's 3rd birthday with a "My Little Pony" themed party. If you know Ashlyn at all, then you know that she has a thing for horses - particularly "blue horses". All she asked for at Christmas was a "blue horse" (Santa spoiled her and brought two), and all she wanted for her birthday was another "blue horse" (lucky girl got two more!). So of course we had to have a pony party.

Here are the higlights:

We started off the night by making rainbow mobiles.

Ashlyn sampled the rainbow jello before dinner.
*She also sampled the pizza and the frosting on the cupcakes :)

Brian put "beauty marks" on the kids.

I sent out coloring pages with the invitations for our coloring contest.
Madi and Emma were the big winners. Madi expression was absolutely priceless when I told her she won and I really wish I had a captured it, but you can still tell from the following picture that she was pretty excited.

We played 'put the beauty mark' on the pony.

Ashlyn got spoiled with presents, and lots of ponies were included.
Thank you to everyone!

Ashlyn also got her first bike!

We had rainbow cupcakes for dessert, at least that is what they were suppose to be. When I was making them Ashlyn asked what they were, and when I told her they were rainbows she said, "Um, I don't think so." Oh well, at least they tasted good!

All the girls got their own "My Little Pony" to take home.

Oh wait...no they didn't, but they were suppose to. I ordered them online on the 27th of February and they didn't come in time. Very, very frustrating. Lesson learned: either order at least three weeks in advance, or be willing to fork out the extra $10 for priority shipping. I had to throw these together at the last minute. Dang it.Happy Birthday Ashlyn! We love you so much!

A Very Special Day

Ashlyn turned three yesterday - can you believe it?! Brian took the day off work and we had such a fun day together. Ashlyn's day started with a brief stop to aunt Mindy's house. Mindy, Madi, and Maya greeted Ashlyn with a "Happy Birthday" sign, balloons, and a "Happy Birthday to you...". Then it was off to preschool. For most people, going to school or work on your birthday is no fun, but it's a different story for a three year old. She was the VIP for the week and was so happy to be the "special helper" on her special day. I also sent a yummy birthday treat for her class - zingers. Ashlyn later informed me that she did not like them. Crazy kid. Serioulsy, what kid doesn't like zingers?

After preschool we met up with some cousins at Chuck E. Cheese. Good times had by all.

After Chuck E. Cheese, we headed home so Ashlyn could finally see her "big surprise". She had been locked out of her room since Saturday and couldn't wait to finally see what was going on in there. This is what we had been up to:

Since I didn't find out the sex of my baby when I was pregnant with Ashlyn, we had painted the room a neutral green and I had planned on decorating accordingly after the baby was born. Well, after three years, I was tired of the green and I really hadn't done much with the room. I decided that it was high time Ashlyn to had a "little girl room" and what better time to do it than for her birthday.

I took "before" pictures, but can't seem to locate them. So just believe me when I say that her room before was BLAH!

We did the project as cheaply as we could. The daybed is my old bed that we freshened up with a new coat of paint. Even the bed spread is an old one of mine, but I did add some new pillows. I got the idea for the tent from here, but I didn't want to spend the $$$, so I made my own for 1/2 the price. The only thing I had to buy for the button butterfly pictures was the fabric. And the butterflies that we hung from the ceiling I had purchased two years ago for Ashlyn's first birthday party. I did also buy new curtains and the shelf above her dresser. Even though we reused/recycled and handmade most of her new room, I think it turned out pretty cute. And what did Ashlyn think?

Yep, she was pretty happy with it - even though her big surprise wasn't a "new blue pony" like she had guessed.

We had 'breakfast' for dinner - Ashlyn's favorite - and then, thanks to uncle Marty, we went to see some horses! This was probably the highlight of her entire day and she wasn't shy at all. She feed them carrots and rode on one by herself!

Brian and I have a small 2nd job on Wednesday nights, so we sadly had to leave Ashlyn for an hour with Grandpa - she didn't mind at all. When we came back, we had cupcakes and milk, and Grandmom gave her a couple presents. Finally, at the end of her special day, Ashlyn got a "new blue pony". Lucky girl.

We are having her party tomorrow night - can you guess the theme?

Bring It On!

Having lived in Utah for 30 years, I've come to accept the reality of winter. In fact, I enjoy it. Hot chocolate, sledding, softly falling snow, the warmth of a fire, comfort foods, the holidays, snuggling up under a warm blanket, a big bowl of homemade soup - what's not to love?

Most people are sick of winter once Christmas is over, but not me. I love those relaxing days in January when there isn't much to do but sit indoors and spend time with family. I wouldn't say I love February (even though it is the month of love), I have just come to accept that February is cold and I try to have a positive attitude about it. Let's face it folks - it's not changing. Global warming? It certainly doesn't feel like it.

But now it is officially March and it is time for some serious sunshine!! Spring fever is in the air. We are definitely ready to say goodbye to the two things I don't like about winter - icy roads and sickness. All in all, I think we fared pretty well this winter, except for Trent. He suffered through pink eye, viral croup, runny noses, fevers, ear infections, and lots of sleepless nights due to the break-through of four molars. Poor guy!

Come on spring, we are ready and waiting!

Smurf

Madi, Ashlyn & I took advantage of a little sunshine and two napping babies and headed outdoors. I broke out a new box of sidewalk chalk and the girls came up with some mighty fine modern art - I just hope that someday my daughter will be able to at least draw a circle :) Of course, Madi had to have the pink chalk and Ashlyn had to have the blue chalk - thank goodness they don't have the same favorite color.

Madi got quite a coughing spell so we had to cut it short, coming back inside after a meager 15 minutes. And since my daughter can't do anything without making a mess of herself, this was inevitably the end product of our little outdoor retreat:

Gimmy A Break

I made Ashlyn step away from her morning cartoons today so I could get her dressed and ready for the day. Half way through the process, she said (and these are her exact words), "Mommy, could I possibly take a break?" What?! Apparently getting ready is pretty hard work for a toddler. Either that or she really didn't appreciate the cartoon interruption and needed to get back to her show pronto, so she could see what was happening to Aurthur, or Clifford, or George, or whomever was on at the time. Oh to be a kid again!

All the hard work paid off though, because we were getting ready for a playdate at Kangaroo Zoo.

Last winter I made it a point to take the kids somewhere fun once a week. I have felt like such a slacker this year because I have been so wrapped up in my studies that we just haven't done as much. Today was much needed and fun break for not just the kids, but for me too. Thanks Heather, Ava & Tate!!