party highlights {Kids co- op}

I cannot be happier with how the parties tuned out. All the kids seemed to have a great time especially the birthday boy. It doesn't get any better than that. 

Sail Away Birthday Decorations

The treat boxes had crayons, watercolors and a kazoo

sand buckets were filled with Swedish fish, Goldfish, and Clementines

balloon pit and newspaper hats

dollar section target boxes and stickers to customize

watercolor station 

Day 2 party the table was set a little different 

W high chair day 2 ready for some cake 

handmade banner made with burlap and hand painted 

So as I was going through all the images of this weekend. Trust me there are a ton! I couldn't pick just a few of  the entire event for just one post without completely bombarding you with pictures. I decided to break it up into two post. One of the decorations and the party plan and the second post about the actual parties.
First off I decided to split the party into two days. The first was 100% kid focused with only two little guests invited for a total of four kids(and parents of course). It was only scheduled an hour long and early in the day before the kids afternoon nap. As I have mentioned before I like to keep the guest list small for young parties as I like to be able to do a little extra and have a little more focused play time.
The original plan was to have a water play party since it was nautical themed but the morning ended up being a bit chilly so I decided to do a balloon pool pit instead. I also got the idea from my MIL to set up a watercolor station. I served a light snack of goldfish crackers, sliced apples and peanut butter and clementines. It was a total success as all the kids loved both activities and  also enjoyed running around in the backyard chasing each other.
The second party was the family party. Although we had the same activities set up for the little ones this party was more focused on all  the adults getting together and passing W around and swooning over him (both set of grandparents were here, there was a LOT of swooning) we BBQ'd and actually cut a cake and sang happy birthday at this one.  W was so thrilled to have so much attention and as a parent I think there is little that can make you happier then seeing how much your little ones are loved by so many. Such a blessing to see so many people travel so far to celebrate with us.

I am sharing this on : Two in Diapers Mommy Brain Mixer , True Aim Mom's Library Link Up and Crayonfreckles Tip Toe thru Tuesday 

Birthday Planning inspiration

Well it is official. We are having a nautical themed party for this little Wolf. Above is the invitations I made (sans the address and info). We have both sets of grandparents coming up for the occasion, and we cannot be more thrilled about it. They are coming a few days ahead to help out with last minute touches as well as some much needed catch up time so the blog might be a little slow this week. 

I have most of the decorations purchased and made but that still hasn't stopped me from hunting down some last minute inspiration on Pinterest. Here are a few of my favorites. I am not sure if I will be able to capture something this put together but I really only have to impress a one year old right? 

 

1. Source     2. Source    3. Source

Bear's Birthday Part 2 : 1,2,3 to the zoo

The Plan: Being that a straight train  ride was out of the question this birthday we settled for the next best thing. The train ride at the zoo. It's about a 30 minute ride which I though would fulfill this boys need for a train ride. When we decided to go to the zoo my first idea was 1,2,3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle. Animals and trains combined in one perfect package. I Spoke to my MIL  and she mentioned doing a toddler friendly scavenger hunt where they identify a few animals and get treats along the way. BRILLIANT! Here is my interpretation of that.  

1. I looked up the type of animals that were at the Oregon zoo that matched the animals in the book. I printed pictures of these animal (polar bear, lorikeet, asian elephant) and lastly the picture of the train that we would we riding at the end. **confession** I forgot these at home but I bought postcard at the zoo gift shop that worked just as good. These would be the 1,2,3, animals that we were on the look out for. 

2. The gift bags: Each time we would find the animal I planned to give them a goodie bag. I wanted easy things and since it was just B and one friend my budget was a bit more than  if a had a party of 5+ kids. (also a MIL tip I like, only invite the amount of kids of the age your child is turning it makes things a bit easier *ex. if they are turning 4 I would have no more than 4 kids including the birthday boy at the party.) 

The gift bags were no more than sandwich bags with sticker of trains amd animals that I combined to look like the animals were riding the train. 

The first bag had a few snacks. We went to the zoo right after nap I knew that if we didn't feed them this would not be a happy trip (not pictured a water bottle) .

The second bag was a Little People elephant. 

The third bag had a few stickers and a Thomas whistle (not pictures a train conductor hat for our friend) B has one that is a staple in his wardrobe :)

 There were two baby sibling along for the ride and I wanted to give them something too. An organic baby food pouch, a baggie  of puffs and a stroller book was their treat 

 Lastly when we got on the train they were given a larger gift bag to put their loot in as well as a copy of 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo
 for our guest and Thomas and the Hide and Seek Animals (Thomas & Friends)
 for B.


3. How it played out. It could not have been a better day. We didn't make it to see the elephants so we combined one of the bags but other than that the kids were so thrilled each time they "found" the bags (husband would walk ahead of us and conveniently place them in front of where we were heading.

B finding his first prize in front of the polar bear tank

Looking at the monkeys where our second prize was hidden ( a switch up from the lorikeets since I didn't find a postcard of them)

Lastly the train ride was the highlight of the event for our birthday boy! He even sat in a seat in front of us all by himself most of the trip. He sure is growing up fast! He imitated the noises and laughed every time the whistle would blow. I could not be more happy with the results and judging by that big smile I think he was too.