Fancy Nancy

If you have not read a Fancy Nancy book, then you need to! Nancy, like's being fancy, and is the fanciest children's book character I know! As she says, "lace trimmed socks do help me play soccer better"!

Gretchen received two Fancy Nancy books, as a baby shower gift, and I have since bought her one more, but one day, I plan to extend her collection of these fabulous books!

I think that a Fancy Nancy themed party would be wonderful for a 4, 5, or 6 year old! If you read, just one of these books, you'll find so many wonderful ideas for a fancy birthday party!

Nancy loves to eat at The King's Crown. You could serve pizza and parfaits at your party!
You could also have all of the guests dress in their fanciest attire, and decorate crowns for everyone to wear!

These items will also get your fancy party off to a fabulous start! Of course, they were all found on Etsy!
These are fabulous invitations, but they could be fancied up with a bit of glitter!

And, I love these fancy marshmallow suckers! You can purchase these from Etsy, or make them yourself! I'm sure the birthday girl would love to help! You can purchase the sucker sticks from Hobby Lobby or from another craft/baking store. Place 3 marshmallows on top, and dip into chocolate, then add the sprinkles!

You can also purchase these candy bar holders, and place in your favorite chocolate bar!

These bookmarks would make a fancy party favor!

Or, you could give a fancy coloring book! This coloring book could be paired with glittered markers, or fun crayons!

And, to make your birthday girl the fanciest of all.......

Fancy up her party hat with a feather boa, and

put her in this adorable fancy outfit!

A Fancy Nancy themed tutu would also be adorable!

If you choose this theme, you're guaranteed to have the fanciest party of all!

*While you're here, go register for this weeks giveaway!!!

Giveaway: Bow holder

Give away 2 for the month of January is this adorable purple and pink polk-a-dot hair bow holder!!!

Bow holders are heat sealed on both ends to prevent fraying, and come on a gold loop, which easily hangs on a decorative hook or nail. I have a towel rack over Gretchen's bathroom door with 3 bow holders, and she's soon to need a 4th!

I sell bow holders for only $3.50. You can choose your ribbon print or color! (On Monday they are on sale for $2.00!)

But, this week, you'll have a chance to WIN this one!

Here's how:

1. Become a follower of the blog (1 entry) and leave a comment telling me that you follow.

2. Grab my button (2 entries).

3. Blog about the birthday extravaganza on your blog with a link to my blog (4 entries).

4. Tell me how many hair bows your little honey has! (1 entry)

5. Post about this giveaway on your blog or on twitter and leave me a link (2 entries).

6. Vote in the poll at the top of the side bar and tell me that you voted (1 entry). If you've already voted, go ahead and let me know!

Please post a comment for each entry. Winner will be chosen by random.org, and will be announced on Friday January 15th!

The Birthday Bow Winner is.....

ABBY!!!!!

Congratulations Abby! Here's how you were chosen:

I forgot to ask that each entry be completed in a seperate comment, so I assigned each entry a # in the order that it was left.
1. Sydney
2-4 Mellie
5-7 Abby
8-10- Melissa K. Land
11- Melissa T

Utilizing Random.org, #6 was chosen, leaving Abby to win the birthday hair bow!!!!

Abby's little girl, won't be able to use this bow for her 2nd birthday this month, but only because it won't match the adorable tutu that I'm making for her!

Congratulations Abby!

Abby Cadabby Birthday

If you're little girl is a friend of Abby Cadabby, then you have a perfect theme for a party! This would be adorable for a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd birthday!

I would use the colors of purple and turqouise with touches of pink. Place balloons everywhere; maybe flanking your fireplace or on the cake table. Purchase purple plates, turquoise napkins, and pink cups.... mix and match these colors as much as possible, so you don't go overboard with the "cartoony" theme.

I have found some wonderful items on Etsy; just search for "Abby Cadabby birthday" and you'll find all of these and so many more! Above: An Abby Cadabby candle! This would be adorable on top of purple and turquoise striped cake!

Or, if you prefer cupcakes, iced in purple, turquoise, and pink, add these cute cupcake toppers!

Purchase or, if you're feeling crafty, make this Abby Cadabby themed birthday banner!

For your "thank you" favors, purchase this Abby Cadabby coloring book and add a small package of crayons!

Abby Cadabby loves to rhyme! If you need a game, write rhyming words, or print out pictures side by side onto long strips of cardstock paper. Cut a zig zag between the words, so they'll fit together as a puzzle piece. Have your party guests match as many rhyming words as they can!

With, all of these adorable items, what little girl wouldn't want an Abby Cadabby themed party? But, what is the birthday girl to wear???

How about a pink shirt, and a purple and turquoise tutu skirt!

Top it off with this birthday hat:

or, with this adorable headband and removable korker bows! (oh, how I wish I made these!)

So, there you have it, an absolutely precious birthday theme for your little girl!

Hair Bow Giveaway!

Friday at noon will be the last day to enter the hair bow giveaway!

Go HERE to enter!

I will announce the winner Friday evening and contact them by email!

Birthday Etiquette

When planning a party, it's always important to keep etiquette guidelines within the back of your mind. I tend to think, that you should do what you feel is best, but there are a few guidelines that you may want to consider and follow.

Invitation Etiquette:

Rule of Thumb: Child's age +1. So if your child is 2 years old, you should invite 3 children. If your child is 8 years old, you should invite 9, and so on.
Remember, this is just a guideline, only you know your limits. You can adjust this equation to more or less kids as needed.

Parties for younger children, usually include family members. But, as your child gets older and enters preschool and elementary school, you probalby want to invite a few of his/her close playmates.

Games:

Avoid tears, by selecting a few games that everyone succeeds. No one wants to go home or be a looser, especially the birthday child! Try to choose a cooperative game: if you are planning a pirate party, then have the guests follow a treasure map for a shared prize, or their goody bags!

RSVP:

This is obviously, an etiquette area that many people are lacking. If someone forgets to RSVP, go ahead and call them! Get the information that you need to know, and leave it at that.

Thank you Notes:

Thank you notes are absolutely necessary. You teach your child a great example of responsibility and politeness, by starting early. The thank you should thank the guests for coming and for their gift. If your child can't write, have them scribble their name or a picture. You can also purchase fill-in thank you notes that match your theme.

Don't forget to register for the give away, and take a moment to answer the poll question on the right side of the page!

Birthday banners

I just love these banners found on Etsy. I'm dying to make one for Gretchen's birthday party! The prices that I've found are from 20-40.00. Any little girl (or boy) would be thrilled to have one of these at their party! If you aren't using a "theme", then just go with simple colors, as shown above!

Or, for multiple uses, just have your child's name on a banner! This can be used at a baby shower, in their nursery, at birthday parties, etc.

Or, go all out and match the parties theme with monkeys and fun bright colors!

You can also layer the banners! Order one that says "Happy Birthday" and order a second with your child's name! Place the name banner under the "happy birthday" banner.

If you are crafty, creative, and have the time, you can follow these instructions at Brown Paper Packages to make your own.

I also think this rag garland is adorable! This would be easy to make, and you could use scrap fabric or fabric in tons of fun colors!

Potty Training: The Hits and The Misses! (prt 4)

Today was Gretchen's 1st day back at daycare, and my 1st day back to work after our 2 week Christmas break. Today was also day 14 of potty training!

I took Gretchen to Mrs. Michelle in her big girl undies this morning, with plenty of undies, some extra clothes, socks, and pullups. I was shocked when I went to pick her up and she was in the exact same clothes!!!!

Gretchen went potty every time today that Mrs. Michelle took her! I was so proud of her!

We headed to the Y, so I could get in a quick work out. I was so excited because the Y in our area of town has finally opened and is only 5 or so minutes from the house. Gretchen wasn't as thrilled, as it was a new place to her and she did not want to be left. I told the child care watch provider, that she was being potty trained and that she was in panties. Which sparked a ton of questions from the provider.... "will she tell me when she has to go, how will I know that she has to go, etc. ?" My answers were "no, she won't tell you, and you'll know that she has to go or has gone because there will be pee on the floor!" Don't worry, I also told her that if Gretchen had an accident to come and get me because I would clean her up and take care of it. Well, 10 minutes later she did have an accident!

I managed to finish my workout, and we headed home. DJ cooked dinner (I love my husband!) while I watched Gretchen and encouraged her to use the potty. She sat 3 times, but did not go once tonight! She did want candy for sitting; which I put away after she went to bed, because I refuse to give her m&m after m&m just for sitting on the potty. And, I did introduce a sticker chart to her..... now if I can just keep her from playing w/ the stickers!

Gretchen's 1st Birthday!

What a better way to start my birthday posts, than with Gretchen's 1st birthday?! I learned a lot from planning her party, and I of course, want to make this year's party better than last year's!...... I can't believe another year has gone by already (tear)!

I started the planning process, by picking out this adorable pink dress from Strasburg. I actually found it when I was pregnant with her, and fell in love with it! Thankfully, my mother found it on sale after Gretchen was born and purchased it for her. She also purchased the bib.

I knew I wanted to keep her "theme" as basic as possible. I am not one for cheesy little kid themes, and these few years will be the only time that I'll really be able to control the theme, so I wanted to keep it timeless. So, my original thought was cupcakes and balloons to match the dress. I picked out the invitations from there. They didn't really match, but they had pink and were adorable!

Plan for your family to arrive early! You'll want to have some help with any last minute details, but you'll also want to get family pictures!

Of course, make sure you sing "Happy Birthday", and it's likely that you'll have to help blow out the candle!

We requested "no gifts" on the invitation. I wanted friends and family to come and celebrate and not feel obligated to bring a gift. After all, Gretchen's birthday is a month after Christmas, so she had plenty of toys! I also knew that she would get toys from us and her grandparents, and that those would be enough. We were very blessed to have some of our guests bring gifts anyway!

And, the cake! One of the most important parts of the birthday celebration! I had the cake desiged around a cake slice candle holder that I found on sale. Plus, the dots, matched the invitations! The cake was chocolate (my favorite, plus they tend to be more moist), with white buttercream icing, and fondant circles. The stars were edible and featured edible glitter!

Below, is the set up of the cake "table". I placed a newborn photo of Gretchen, so we could see how much she had grown! Along with her birthday hat, that I purchased on Etsy. The cake stand had stars dangling off, and we used hot pink plates, napkins, and silverware.

I decorated the mantle with various pictures from Gretchen's first year, two crystal candlesticks with pink candles, a pink feather boa, and 2 pink "1" paper lanterns.

The dining room table was set with another feather boa, the cake slice candle holder that her birthday cake was designed from and 2 party hat candle holders. I alternated pink and purple candles.

Lastly, the candy "bar". It's important to send your guests home with a thank you. I have seen this idea at weddings, and thought it would be adorable for favors at her birthday! I set up various glass bowls with assorted pink candies! Our local bakery even offers candied popcorn (they had pink!), as well as pink gummies, pink wrapped hershey kisses, pink tootsie pops, and pink malt balls! Thank goodness her birthday is also close to Valentine's day, so I could find all the pink!

Looking back, her cake and the candy bar were my absolute favorite! Okay, the dress too! But, the baker was fantastic, and the guests had tons of fun filling treat bags with their candy!

I can't wait to finish planning this years party to see what else I can come up with!

Potty Training: The Hits and The Misses! (prt 3)

Well, we are starting back to work and daycare tomorrow, with a little girl that is still not potty trained!

I think that we are on day 13, as tomorrow will officially be the 2 week mark. Gretchen actually stayed dry through church this morning! She was in a pull up, and I tried to take her before we left, so she wouldn't go on the way home, but she refused to sit. Thankfully, she was dry when we got home, but she also fell asleep on the way home. I figured that I would rush her into the house, sit her on the potty, and then we would eat lunch. However, since she had fallen asleep, she was a bit fussy, that I had to wake her up. And, she wanted to eat! Needless to say, she wouldn't sit on the potty, and ended up going (in her pull up) during lunch. Naptime came and went, as did the afternoon. We had no successes.... I figured that's okay, I wouldn't push it. I gave her a bath after dinner. It seemed like she needed to "go", so I kept reminding her that her pee and poop go in the potty, and not to poop in the tub. After a while, she wanted out of the tub, to sit on the potty, and she went!!! So, that was our one success of the day!

Her daycare sitter actually goes to our chuch, and I ran into her this morning. I spoke with her about the potty training process, and she just told me to bring whatever I wanted, and she would do whatever she could to help! I was so relieved! I packed her bag this afternoon, and she has 7 pull ups (mostly for nap time, and 2 extra), 3 changes of clothes, 4 pairs of socks, and 3 extra outfits. I'm hoping this will suffice for tomorrow, and I'll just pack her a bag every night.

So, here's what I've concluded so far:

1. I may need to change her reinforcer. She's starting to not be so enthused about coloring while she sits on the potty. She was willing to look at books tonight, so I'll continue to keep those in the bathroom. She has a new "laptop" and that has worked well. She also gets m&m's when she actually "goes" in the potty. However, I'm thinking of seeing if stickers will work for a reinforcer, instead of candy.
2. I have to remember that every child is different. Just because there are kids younger than her that are potty trained, or kids her age that didn't take as long, doesn't meant that there isn't any hope for her. I read tonight, that it's very unlikely, she'll still be in diapers when she is 4 years old.
3. Her sitter will work with her and help her. After all, she gets paid to care for children, and that's just part of the job.
4. If she gets frustrated, and we have to take a break, then that's okay!
5. It's going to have to be her idea. She's stubborn, and like any 2 year old, she's testing her limits. It was her idea to get out of the tub tonight to sit on the potty. If I can relax and stop telling her, "tell mommy if you have to go peepee, okay?" then, she'll probably relax too. I do however like reminding her that her peepee and poopoo go in the potty. I started that today, and I think that's a good way of telling her.
6. And, she has made good progress! She is able to hold it for longer periods of time. She now knows what poopoo and peepee are, she knows what to do in the bathroom, and that's all more than what she could do 2 weeks ago when we started.

If you are in this process right now, then I wish you the best of luck! If you haven't started, then I would suggest that you read a lot and follow your child's lead. If you have any advice, please share! I'm all ears!!!