Miss 2's Bird party

Most of you probably already know that I'm a sucker for Children's party's..
I love the decorating, the organising, the fun, the laughter and the food :P

I make fairy bread, not because my kids are all that fond of it...but because I loooove it and it brings fond memories back of my childhood.

Last year for Thalia's birthday we had a ladybug cake but due to her being so young we didn't get too carried away with the theme apart from the cake and loot bags.

This year that she has blossomed in her personality, knows exactly what a birthday and birthday party is... a big smile appeared on my face and the planning begun.

With Thalia's help the theme was picked ...BIRDS


As the planning and decorations progressed, it turned into a theme of blue birds and pink blossoms
- a colour and picture combination that seemed just perfect for our little girl.

In preparation to my munchkins birthday parties in the last 2 years or so, we seem to have developed a bit of a unplanned tradition. A month or weeks prior to the party my munchkins and I dabble in crafty creations based on the party theme to decorate our house.

This both creates art/craft activities for us to do leading to the excitement of a party, saves us on party costs for decorations/loot bags, makes a nice homemade personal touch to the party and adds to the fun.

I love baking the cake and party foods and attempting to make them fit the theme....thank goodness I enjoy baking, as it can often be a challenge to come up with new and exciting cakes/party foods that are allergy friends and suit my children's requirements as well as tasting good for our guests.

below are some photo's from Thalia's bird party- a lovely afternoon/night with many friends


a cute caged birdie to
join in on the celebration!



out the back

handmade my mummy - Thalia's own  paper bunting
laminated for a keepsake or room decoration.

birdie tree tables decoration

birthday girl checking out her new kitchen before most of the guests arrive

a very precious photo of Thalia and her great Grandma

 

party bags and blue bird nest

some of the party food

The Craft table- compete with lots of chunky glitter,
foam stickers, crayons, bird pictures and glue
for lots of crafty fun.

The birthday girl playing with play dough
a must for a little person's party...
pssst and big people like it too

water play

 

Our very full pool on a very hot day

Cake time!! sadly I didn't remember to get a close up photo of the cake
but it's a chocolate nest made from Chocolate Aero bars
and homemade honeycomb covered in chocolate.
Inside the nest are 3 cupcake birds with eyes and beaks,
Thalia's cupcake had a lolly worm in it's mouth :)

3 good friends enjoying cake

pass the parcel

birthday girl wearing her new much loved Dorothy tail.
a very big wiggles fan.

Her new kitchen and homemade birdie wall art

All the wonderful pressies, thanks to all her beautiful friends ox

There will be a later post focused on all our homemade bird art and how we did it. :)

hope you enjoyed looking through our party pics

Our Baby girl turns 2

having afternoon tea cupcakes on her birthday :)

It was just over a week ago on the 4th of Feb. that my baby girl turned the BIG 2.



I still remember the excitment when I took the pregnancy test and saw two fat lines, I remember her first little movements inside me, the moment when the sonographer told us that our baby was healthy and we were having a girl, the time we took to pick the perfect name, the first time I saw her, the first feed .....
we were plunged into a world of pink and I wouldn't go back.



It all seems like it happened just a moment ago, but since that time I have learn't so much, had wonderful moments, watched the milestones and loved every step of the way...

Dearest Thalia

 Mummy loves you so much baby girl.

I feel so blessed to have you as my daughter,

you teach me something new every day.

 I look forward to spending many more  precious moments in time with you.

Happy Birthday!



 "A little girl can be sweeter (and badder) oftener than anyone else in the world.
she can jitter around, and stomp,
and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves
yet just when you open your mouth
she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes.
A girl is Innocence playing in the mud,
Beauty standing on its head,
and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot."

-- Alan Beck

Despite trying to explain to my husband, both when we found out we were having a little girl and when Thalia was born that there is a special "something" between a father and a daugther; he thought having a daughter would be much the same as having a son.....

just with the addition of Bling, hanbags, a possible shoe fettish, piggy tails, frills, angel hair, fairy costumes, dolls and all things girly :P

Although he loves both Declan and Thalia to bits, he now does agree after watching Thalia grow and having their special bond develop that I was quite right....there is a very special something between a daddy and his little girl, so much so that he now passes the message on to soon to be dad's expecting a girl and new daddy's of girls in his group of daddy friends :D



 



Daddy and his little girl taken at Thalia's 1st birthday party <3



"Certain is it that there is no kind of affection

so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter.

In love to our wives there is desire;

to our sons, ambition;

 but to our daughters

there is something which there are no words to express"

-Author Unkown

***

There's something like a line of gold thread

running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter,

and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough

 for you to pick up in your hands

and weave into a cloth

that feels like love itself. ~John Gregory Brown

Mummy and Daddy love you to the moon and back baby girl!!!

talking food with my little man

This was just too cute not to share.
A proud moment where Declan shows that he is becoming more aware about his food allergies and that he does understand.
It's nice to know when they appreciate special home baked treats too :)

Today I handed Declan a homemade honey biscuit topped with chilled chocolate and sprinkles
- a special treat for morning tea.

Declan: "Mummy" (looking at the biscuit)
              "Is this biscuit from a packet?"

Mummy: "No it's not a packet biscuit Declan. Mummy made those special ones just for Declan and   Thalia. They are safe for you."

Declan: "We have to check the packet for the packet ones don't we."

Mummy: "Yes, it's very important to check packets so we can make sure the ones from the shop are safe for you to eat."

Declan: "Yeah, no eggs and nuts. They make me sick!"

Mummy: "Well these ones are very safe, Mummy didn't use eggs or nuts to make them."

Declan: Thank you Mummy, I'm happy it is safe. It's looks yummy!!"

Mummy: "I've very happy that you like the biscuits Declan. You make Mummy very proud when you ask questions about food to check it is safe. When you get older you can help Mummy and Daddy read the packets to check if foods are safe for you to eat.
Your getting very clever!

Declan: Thank you Mummy, I love you (spoken with a mouth full of biscuit and giving mummy cuddles :D)

It's nice to see all the hard work paying off trying to educate him to safely live a allergy life.
Now he has started Sunday school and is attending places with his peers where unsafe food is being eaten, it's very important that Declan knows to always ask about food before touching and eating.

Now that his sister has a Play Kitchen and play foods (safe and unsafe) it's interesting to hear their little conversations and questions when playing about "pretend eggs" and comments like "Thalia, what do we do with eggs and nuts? I think we should put the eggs over here away from the other food so we can keep away".

It makes me happy to see
1. that they are playing nicely together
2. they are enjoying pretend play with the new kitchen and food
3. they both have an understanding of unsafe and safe foods and their allergies
4. they remind each other and others of food issues though both pretend play and real life circumstance's.
5. they are able to learn about allergies through play and enjoy it.

Amen to allergy awareness! :D