Celebrate!

I love throwing a good party.  Here are photos from some of our fun celebrations over the years.  I hope you will find some inspiration and if you have any questions on sources or would like any help planning your next party feel free to contact me.

Kenzie & Lexi's 5th Birthday Art Party:

Calling all Princesses & Superheroes!  A pink & gold 4th Birthday Party:

Clowning Around!  A Circus Themed 3rd Birthday Party:

Giddy Up!  A very happy 2nd birthday party, cowgirl style!

I love throwing a party … and nothing is better than planning a fun party for my two favorite girls!

I really do enjoy the preparation – the invitation designing, banner sewing, glue-gunning, sign-painting part of planning my girls' parties is fun for me. It lets me use my creative side that I don’t always get to use in my day job :) But the best part is when everything comes together - and friends start arriving and music is playing - and I get to watch my girls take it all in. I love watching their reactions and how they interact with their friends. I love celebrating them!



This year they were both really shy at first and wanted to be carried. But they warmed up after a bit. Lexi’s face lit up when her Daddy came outside in full Sheriff gear. Kenzie was way into the piñata and collecting candy (she was partial to the smarties) in her goody bag. Lexi loved the red velvet cupcakes (especially the cream cheese frosting), while Kenzie preferred the vanilla/chocolate cake and ice cream. They both had a blast galloping around with the big kids on their stick ponies. They loved opening their presents … and it was difficult for me to keep up with them :)



We had a pony corral ...




Fun western photo-booth props ...



Kenzie & Lexi's country store ...




We ate some good grub ...








Made some fun crafts at the Craftin' Corral ...


Pinned the tail on the horse ...


And no party is complete without a little pinata fun!


It was a rootin tootin good time!






Lexi is still trying to perfect showing 2 fingers to match her age ... "TWO!"


So happy that both Omi & Granny could be there for the fun! 

Thanks to all of those - big and small - that joined us for the celebration!  Our house was filled to the brim ... and it felt so nice to have everyone there celebrating our girls!


Party Details:

I created the Invitations, cupcake toppers, birthday banner, favor tags, goodie bag labels, food labels, etc. in PhotoShop using some great free Western fonts from dafont.com.

I made the fabric pennant banners, cake topper pennant banner, pin-the-tail-on-the-horse game, and burlap table runner myself using my new sewing machine.

The photo-booth props were printed from online templates and self mounted on foam board.

Cowgirl boot piñata came from Pinata.com.

Paper goods came from Target & Party Source.

Mini Hay Bales, Apple Crate Baskets, etc. come from Michaels.

Party Favors: Hats, bandanas, sheriff badges and western foam picture frame craft kits came from Oriental Trading. They have a ton of western stuff to choose from. Stick ponies came from Horse.com (they make galloping noises and neigh) and were a big hit. I was looking for the Dollar store version of these but apparently they don’t stock them until late spring/summer so splurged a bit on the nicer ones.

Saddle: lent to us by our neighbors. Thanks Dick, Debbie & Rachel! I really wanted to have live pony rides at the party but given the uncertainty with the weather … esp. since they were forecasting 40 mile per hour winds opted not to have them.

Food: I had planned to make more of the food myself, but when Kenzie was so sick leading up the party decided that I would outsource all of this :)
    - Cake & Cupcakes: Servati bakery
    - Barbeque & sides: City Barbeque
    - Cutout cookies: Diane's Cake Candy & Cookie Supply
    - Cowgirl Caviar: made by my mother & mother in law

Thanks to Sara (our fabulous Nanny) for taking all of the great pictures during the party – thanks to her I was able to actually relax and enjoy the party!

Kenzie & Lexi - Last Saturday we celebrated YOU! We kept the party fairly small ... Omi K, Granny & Papa Gene, Becky & Mac, Sara and our closest friends in Cincinnati - our friends from Geneva and their children ... but for me it was still a big deal. I love throwing parties, especially to celebrate my two precious little loves! It was a special day that I will always remember.


























I loved watching you both during the party. I loved how you reacted so differently but both seemed to enjoy yourselves. Lexi - you were once again a social butterfly. You held your own with the other kids at the party (even though they were all older than you) and played with them for over an hour; cooking in your kitchen & having a tea party. You were so confident and blabbed the whole time assured that everyone could understand you. You weren't a huge fan of your birthday cake but you enjoyed sitting at the table with everyone. Kenzie - you were a bit overwhelmed at first by the number of people in our house. You weren't upset but you were happiest when you were in the arms of an adult - although you were happy to be passed around and to visit with new people. When you weren't being held you would walk all around and let out random yells. You LOVED your birthday cake and really enjoyed sitting at the table with everyone - I think you thought we were in a restaurant. After eating you warmed up and stated interacting with the other kids.

Looking back at your first year of life, I realize that there are definitely periods that are very hazy ... like those first few weeks of sleeplessness, those weeks when you were going through the witching hour. I remember these days but are somewhat of blur ... they seem like they are memories from much longer ago. On the contrary, I also have some memories from the past year that are so clear, that they are etched in my mind and will always stick with me. The first night in the hospital when I was nursing both of you and you started suckling in sync. The moment a few weeks later when the two of you grasped hands and locked eyes as you were feeding. The moment that Lexi sat on her own for the first time and the look of pride beaming from her face. The first time Kenzie belly laughed as I was changing her. They aren't necessarily big moments or milestones, but they are the moments that have made this year so special, the moments that have bonded us as mother & daughters and as a family. I will forever treasure these memories from your first year and am so excited to see what your second year will hold. I love you both to the sky & back, forever!

Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us! You have been such a special part of Kenzie & Lexi's first year! A special thank you to Omi K, Granny & Papa Gene and Becky & Mac for making the trip to Cincinnati for the celebration - it wouldn't have been the same without you. An extra special thanks to Sara (the girls' wonderful Nanny) for not only taking such great care of the girls over the past 6 months but for also taking all of the wonderful pictures of the party :)