Show & Tell Tuesday: Birthdays

So, I'm super excited to be linking up with Momfessionals today for Show & Tell Tuesday! Today, we're talking birthdays! And, I have about 9 years worth of parties to share today! 

Here's something you may not know about me.... I'm kind of obsessed with birthday parties for my kids. When the girls were younger, I would pick out their theme months (and sometimes a year) in advance. And, I'd spin hours upon hours pinning birthday party themes and ideas for the girls. 

And, I may have even dreamed about being a party planner. I'm just obsessed. 

Let's just jump right in, shall we?

Gretchen's first birthday party was pink, pink, and more pink. I found her dress when she was just a few months old, and planned everything around her dress, and a cake stand I had picked up. We had feather boas, cake, and lots of pink candy to celebrate!

Gretchen turned 2, and we celebrated with a ladybug party! I planned her party around an outfit that I found from Castles & Crowns. Since the guests were younger, we had ladybug coloring pages, with ladybug shaped crayons, a pin the spots on the ladybug, and a bucket filled with little party favors. 

Meeska Mooska, Gretchen Turns 3! Gretchen loved Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so we went with a classic red/black Minnie Mouse, and then I added zebra print as an accent. She had the cutest cake, and guests feasted on Mickey cheese, and chocolate dipped oreo Mickey's. I also made her a Minnie banner, and made her shirt and hair bow for the party. 

And then, Gretchen turned 4! We had a pirate party at her house, and I got all sorts of crafty! I made her party invitations  and a treasure map game,  We also had a photo booth, a treasure chest, chocolate dipped cannon balls, deep sea creatures. This party was so much fun to plan! 

When Megan turned 1, we went all out with an Ice Cream Sundae party! This is definitely one of my top favorite parties! Our guests had the cutest chicken salad for lunch, and instead of cake, we served ice cream with every topping imaginable! Our guests went home with their own ice cream sundae cup, sprinkles, and we had the cutest fabric banner (that I still use when we decorate for Valentine's day!) Megan's outfit came from Mud Pie. ( I have a thing with finding an outfit and then choosing a theme because of that outfit! 

When Gretchen turned 5, we started having her parties out of our house. She painted her way through her 5th birthday at a local art studio. We went overboard with the candy, and rainbow theme, and we had the cutest rainbow cupcakes. We sent guests home with their own paint set and rice krispy paintbrushes. 

Megan celebrated her 2nd birthday with a Lemonade picnic in our backyard. My mom made her cake, and we feasted on chicken crescents, lemon pasta salad, fruit salad, and we had pink and yellow cookies. We went with a pink and yellow lemonade theme and sent guests home with yellow buckets filled with a lemonade mix, ice cubes, a notebook, and a few little cups.  This is another one of those parties that tops my favorite list!

 Gretchen turned 6 and we celebrated at Bounce U with a Princess-Super Hero party! She wanted a Princess Sofia theme, and she asked that the boys from her class be invited. This party cracks me up, because we specifically went with purple and red, because she wanted to invite Connor (her little boyfriend) and knew that he liked Spiderman. This was probably the easiest party to plan! We sent out invitations that I purchased on Shutterfly... I didn't overdo the decorations, and we ordered cupcakes and called it a day! All of the kids went home with coloring books! 

Megan's baby doll birthday, is one of my most-pinned party themes. (There's something about Megan's parties that just makes my heart pitter patter!) Megan was obsessed with baby dolls (and still is) and this party was fun to plan! And, a ton of the decorations came from the Dollar Tree! I purchased blank doll size t-shirts and fabric markers, and all of the children, were able to make a shirt for their baby doll. They also went home with rattles for their doll, and I printed off "birth certificates" online for each child to take home. I also had a little "nursery" set up for the kids to play and a table set up for coloring. We set up a picnic outside, and all of the kids had heart shaped sandwiches, teddy grahams, and a fruit cup. The adults had chicken salad, and I made pink dipped marshmallows. 

The same year, Adalyn turned one, and we celebrated with an All-American BBQ at the lake. We grilled hot dogs, drank coke out of glass bottles, had moon pies, and cupcakes. The kids were entertained with side walk chalk, glow bracelets, tattoos, and sparklers! 

When Megan turned 4 we had a small party at home. She was obsessed with Doc McStuffins, which seemed like a very appropriate theme.... Doc McMegan. We ordered pizza, had chilly juice, Doc vitamins, applesauce (to keep the doctor away), and chilly noses (carrots). The kids each made their own "The Doc is In" sign, and then we had Boo-Boo Cupcakes! 

Gretchen brought in year 8, with an ice-skating party! We rented a room at the ice rink, and went with a winter theme! The cupcakes were everyone's favorite, and the kids went home with a snowflake cookie and a pair of gloves! We decorated in pink and purple and set the table with a few snowflake decorations! 

Megan tumbled her way in to 5 with a gymnastics party! We had the party mid-afternoon, so there was no need for food. We ordered cupcakes and the guests went home with the cutest cookies from Sweet T's Cookiehouse! 

We Flamingled our way in to Adalyn's 3rd birthday! We went a little crazy with water toys in the backyard. DJ grilled, and we had the cutest cookies from Sweet T's, and we feasted on the pinkest cake I've ever seen! I was able to find a ton of decorations at the Dollar Tree, and I'm glad that flamingos were every where to be found last summer! 

And this year, we were all emoji-crazed, when Gretchen turned 9! She celebrated at school, and had a sleepover at the house with a pizza party and emoji-pancakes! 

And, I had to include DJ's 30th surprise par-tee! Even though it's been a few years! We had a backyard cookout, and decorated with little golf flags, and gave the guests personalized golf-tees, and had a few of DJ's favorite candies, including peanuts and red vines!

Whew, so that's a round of our parties! 9 years of them..... 

If you ever need a party planner, i'm your girl- ha! 

To find lots of my party pins, head to my pinterest: