15 October 2013

CLOWNING AROUND - A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the idea that my little babies, Jett & Delilah, born weighing only 5.2# & 4.3#, respectively, just turned 3 years old on 9-30-13!!  After weeks of planning & numerous trips to Hobby Lobby we threw them a birthday carnival party filled with tons of fun! 
We decorated everything from the front yard, house all the way to the back yard.


  
We served lots of "eats & treats", some with carnival-themed names... Clown noses (cherry sours); Circus peanuts; Lion whips (red licorice); Bouncing balls (red & turquoise bubble gum); Cotton Candy; Cookies (in the shapes of "D", "J" & "3"); Oven roasted peanuts; Fish bowls (cups of blue jell-o with Swedish fish gummy candy); Chips; Dips; Animal Cookies; Cheese Puffs; Sixlets (red & turquoise); Yellow Peppermints; Old fashioned Dots; Laffy Taffy; Giant Lollipops; And, of course... a carnival wouldn't be complete without lots of popcorn.
 
 
The Twins were so thrilled when we all sang the Happy Birthday song to them!  They literally grinned from ear to ear.  Then, them & their friends munched away on the yummy cupcakes.  Our dear friends, Kevin & Angela Walker gave Jett & Delilah their very own, personalized hats to wear for the production!
 
 
In an effort to make Jett & Delilah's cupcakes a bit more special, I made custom, personalized cupcake stands for each of them, adorned with their initial.
There MUST be games at a carnival & this party was no exception.  The kids got to try their hands at "The Ring Toss"; "Knock the Can"; Plinko; Bean bag toss & "The Lucky Duck"... Which Jett & Delilah decided to plop right down in the middle of within the first 15 minutes of the party!  (Which of course, resulted in a wardrobe change:)  In the backyard we also had a Bounce house & play-scape complete with it's own carnival games.
 
 
We wanted to ensure that there were lots & lots of pictures taken of this awesome day.  So, we provided a small "photo booth" complete with various clown-inspired props.  The adults had just as much fun with this as the kiddos did.
 
 
 Like father like Son...
 
 
 
 
 
 A little added fun was the facepainting & tattoos... For adults & children alike!  One little boy, in particular, decided he wanted HIS painting on his tummy!
 
As party favors, we sent each child (& some grown-ups) home with a candy apply plus a treat box filled with items such as oversized sunglasses; Chinese yo-yo's; paddle balls; bouncy balls & more.
  
The next day, the four of us just hung around the house all day, let the Twins unwrap their presents & play with all of the wonderful gifts that our sweet friends gave Jett & Delilah for their birthday.
 
 
The following day was Jett & Delilah's REAL birthday so of course, we HAD to celebrate again.  We started off with birthday pancakes & then a trip to the park.  They also got to open one last gift from Mommy & Daddy... brand new rain gear... since one of their favorite things to do is to play in the rain storms!  Later that evening, Grandy & Pop-pop came over to have dinner.  The kids finished off their big day by playing one last time in the bounce house.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yep, I even joined in the fun!



And, the birthday celebrations didn't stop there... On October 1st we went to Galveston to visit Grandaddy so of course... we just had to sing the "Happy Birthday" song one last time.  I just love to see their little faces light up!

I'd like to thank everyone who made our babies special day so perfect & helped us celebrate:  Kathy, Emily, Amber & Brooke Wefel; Kelly, Meredith & Mazzie Clark; Uncle Clarence, Aunt Milagros & cousin Brisa; Grandy; Michelle & Owen Strottner; Selena, Kayla & Alanah Raymond; Dalarie & Amanda Robertson; Jill, Ryan & Sidney Howard & their Grandma; & Corey, Courtney & Kirstin Wilson.

Now, off to start on Halloween costumes.....
Goodbye, for now,

Marni