1: Kate's Rainbow-Themed Party

Last year my friend had a rainbow themed birthday party for her daughter.

I loved the idea so much that I knew that that was what I wanted to do for Kate's 1st birthday.

So here you have it...

The rainbow image is from Google images; I then added the text on Photoshop.

This cake was a labor of love!!

With some help from Chris we created this masterpiece together.

It was NO easy feat; there was a lot of cutting involved and leftover pieces.

Some of the leftover pieces became this little masterpiece...

 A miniature rainbow cake for Kate; with a slight lean to it. :)

 A tray full of fruit.
Need I point out the obvious? ;)

 When Madelin turned 1...she DOVE into her cake and "demolished" it!!

When Anders turned 1...he was bit timid at first and then took charge of his cake!

Well, Kate was a little less of a cake destroyer...there was no destroying at all, just picking here and there!

1

 Little miss and her crumb covered face! :)

 Kater with one of her presents.

 I, of course, had to make tissue paper pompoms that are all the rage right now.

They were so easy and quite addicting to make.

Here are some more pompoms.

I created the "one" with cardboard and painted it with craft paint.



 

 

1: Kate's BIRTHday

This little lady is a busy little thing and quite feisty!

She LOVES to climb, dance, adores her family, eat fruit and not much else, give love, and get up in her brother's space (which drives him up the wall).

She's not too fond of sleep, her car seat or car rides and Anders pulling on her!!  

 

We started the day out with a trip to the Farmer's Market...a Hansen favorite.

 Kate swam with her brother and sister and the neighbor girl.

Not quite sure what is going on with Anders... 

 

Sister "helping" sister open presents.

 

 

Now this is more like it!

Anders and Madelin in the background opening the presents while Kate is throwing a fit amidst the chaos.

Welcome to opening presents for.the.rest.of.your.life.Kate!!!

 

Kater Bug timidly eating her "Husker" (first football game of the season) cupcake.

 She loves that frosting and sprinkles!

 

Happy 1st Birthday to our baby! :)

The Last Four Months of Kate's First Year

Do you remember this post just a few short months ago?

Here is a follow-up to the last 8 months...

 

 

9 months

 



 

10 months

11 months

 



 

And wouldn't you know at 12 months she would be sitting oh-so-nicely for her big sis!!

Girlfriend is quite the little mover!

Remember these from when she was born?? I swear that JUST happened yesterday. :)

The First Eight of Kate the Great

That was nice, wasn't it? ;) It's crazy that little miss is already 8 months old. She was pretty fussy for the first 7 months due to a sensitive tummy. Now that she can crawl and (to some degree) keep up with her brother and sister, she is much happier!! :) She has been a blessing to our family; Madelin adores her and Anders still isn't quite sure of her (especially now that she can get into his stuff).

 1 month

2 months

 3 months (This is pretty much what the first 7 months looked like!) :(

 4 months

 5 months

 6 months

 7 months

8 months

It's unbelievable to think that in just 4 months Kater will be 1!!!

Lovey for Kate

 I figured Kate might like a taggie blanket after being nearly accosted by her brother for playing with the tag on his coat!!  To be the woman that thought of those blankies...ingenius!

I found the fabric at JoAnn Fabric and had a stash of ribbon in my craft drawer.

It was so incredibly easy to make and cheap, too! And I like cheap; like a total of $3! ;) 

My blue-eyed babe and her lovey.

If only she liked it as much as she likes Anders' taggie! ;)

Wouldn't ya know?

Seven: Her BIRTHday

Somehow this sweet, sassy, loving, happy-go-lucky, nature lover, bug-loving, social butterfly turned SEVEN! And I wonder how am I old enough to have a seven-year-old?  If only we could slow time down...  

Surprise decorations on her door.

Lego Friends...a new favorite!

Cinnamon rolls; Madelin's pick for breakfast.

Gifts from Grammy and Papa.

"The Duo" enjoying an ice cream sundae at Red Robin; Madelin's pick for dinner.

Oreo ice cream cake compliments of yours truly.



She's not crying, just slightly excited about her cake!

Seven: The Party

We celebrated Madelin's seventh birthday with a MAKE YOUR OWN PIZZA & ICE CREAM SUNDAE...NAIL PAINTING...SLEEPOVER birthday party! I must say that this was one of her best (and cheapest) birthday parties. And, yes, this momma did survive!!



Time to party!!

The girls getting ready to make their pizzas. 

 The birthday girl enjoying her pizza. The lovely hot pink/zebra print plates and napkins were Madelin's pick!

 Sundaes and cupcakes

 While flipping through a cupcake cookbook, Madelin came upon this creation.

I made the paint palette out of cardboard and covered it with a paper bag.

I created the "Happy 7th Birthday, Madelin!" on our computer.

The birthday party bunch. :)

Party decor consisted of balloons and streamers (you can kind of see them) to match those lovely plates and napkins. 

Handmade Gifts for Estella

 My niece, Estella, turns 3 next week. We (unfortunately) don't get to see her often, as she lives in Japan. So, with that in mind, I wanted to make her some extra special handmade things. :)

I found this shirt at Old Navy.

and made this skirt to go with it.
You know, the skirt I make quite frequently...it's a no-fail go-to!!

Front

Back

Handmade bag made with craft paint.

Sewn...

Here's a collection of things that I have sewn lately and haven't had time to post separately...

Tooth fairy pillows for Madelin, Anders and Kate.
Thank you, Pinterest!

A tool belt for Anders.

I also made a girly version for Madelin but have yet to take pictures of it.

"B" bag for our niece, Braelynn.

I used felt to create it.

Backside of "B" bag.

Skirts for Braelynn and Kate (2 1/2 months apart); tutorials found here and here.

I used an old maternity shirt to create the pink skirts.