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. :)

Party Time for Little Mister

So, yeah, this little shindig happened oh like two weeks ago!

I guess that's what happens in the summer...less time in front of the computer and more time outside.  

Anders has become a HUGE Toy Story fan; Buzz Lightyear being one of his faves. I found the cupcake toppers here. I glued them to tongue depressors, they were a bit large but that's what I had and I mean really, Anders could care less. :)

The rest of the Toy Story gang on top of green and purple cupcakes.



Can we say, "Goofy?" Yep, that's Anders for 'ya!!

Some of his presents.

Kate had to be placed in "jail" during part of the party. Such is the life of the baby of the family!  

Madelin and some of the party guests racing boats in the pond (in our backyard).





Our Goofy Grouch Turns Three!

This little boy is either making me laugh or making me want to pull my hair out!!

He is extremely goofy and at times, very grouchy...definitely a "Mason" trait.

Why he is like his daddy...he is content to be by himself and resembles him!

Why he is like his mommy...he is intense and cautious!

He tries to make Madelin happy when she is sad by being goofy and Madelin "pushes his buttons" like no one else can (which brings out the beast)!

He adores "Kater," "Kater Booger," "Kater Bugger" and finds her to be quite entertaining!

Some of his LIKES include watching t.v. especially Super Readers and Wild Kratts, Buzz Lightyear, "Wightming" McQueen, fruit, raisins, pulling his pants off when they get wet (any kind of liquid ;)) and playing outside.

Me with my birthday boy!!

His first bike!

New light "saver" and he was happy to get it! :)

Ice cream made by momma.

Blowing out his candles!

Cruisin on his new ride, with help from daddy!

His comment was, "Help me daddy, I might fall off!" Hmmm...sounds just like something I might say.

I can't wait to see what the future holds for this little man!!! :) 

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. 

Lord, Help Us, We Have a TWO-Year-Old Boy on Our Hands!!!

Within a year, Anders went from a sweet and loving little boy to well...a BOY! Wow, what a difference a year makes...now I really do know what people mean when they say boys are sooooo different from girls!!! He is still loving (likes to give "huggies") but he can be not-so-loving, too. He hits his sister (50% of the time it's well-deserved), is quite grumpy ("El Groucho"), is often heard saying "No way, go away, no Madeya (Madelin)..." Despite these changes, we are thrilled to have a TWO-year-old boy running around this house! :) "Happy Birthday, Anders" bunting. Birthday bunting close-up; like the masking tape? I still haven't found a good way to attach the bunting to the wall. Oh, well Anders doesn't know or care! Our little man eating his birthday dinner; with ketchup covering most of his chin and upper lip. I'm not quite sure who opened more presents..Anders or "Little Mother." "Cars" were a very popular gift this year! :)

Anders and his two favorite girls singing "Happy Birthday" to him! Notice Little Mother keeping Anders' hand from the flames.

Monkey themed birthday invitation created on Photoshop. Anders (if you weren't sure) in his Halloween costume from last year.

I found the "mod monkey" image on Bing (I think, or Google), copied it to Photoshop and created the "Happy Birthday, Anders" around it. I found the plates at a Party store.

I'm curious to see what the next year will hold with this little monkey!