Celebrations

25 Jul 2012 8 Comments

Jayden’s Barnyard Birthday Bash

The months leading up to Jayden’s first birthday had my head swimming with ideas on how to make it special for him, his brother and all our guests. As you all know from my previous party planning posts,  the theme I decided to go with was Festive Barnyard.

I know some people are thinking, that Jayden won’t even remember this and why put so much effort into a first birthday party?  Because I enjoy and love party planning specially if it’s for the people I love and care about. I can’t help myself but to go all out!  Jayden may not remember but we will have great photos to show him someday.

Invitations
I already blogged about it so you already know that I went way overboard! I hand made all 80 of them and it took forever even with Michael’s help. I had fun making them though and everyone loved them so it’s all worth it.

Birthday Book
Just like what I did for Big J, I created a photo book for Little J, summarizing his first year of life (from the day we found out I was pregnant up to his first birthday) and ordered it through Shutterfly. I left a few blank pages on the back of the book for people to sign. But instead of spelling ’Happy Birthday Jayden’ out of the wooden alphabet blocks blocks, I had custom made barnyard wood blocks on the welcome table.

Fabric Banner
Rather than spending $60 to get a custom made fabric banner on etsy, I spent about $10 and sewed it myself. And I still have plenty of fabrics left to make another banner!

Stick Horse
I love the look of vintage stick horses and I thought it would make a good photo prop for a barnyard party but I was determined not to spend $40 for one so I tried making it myself! I used a very inexpensive fabric (99 cents!), wooden dowel, spare buttons, yarn and grosgrain ribbon. The first fabric I cut was a failure. The 2nd try, I got to the part where I sewed it but it didn’t look like a horse. Third time was charm! My 2.5 year old actually had so much fun helping me stuff the horse.

Favors

1. Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies: I purchased a bunch of muslin cloth with drawstrings online and hand stamped them with barnyard animals and used them to package the cookies.

2. Apple Juice: I designed and printed the labels for them.

3. Honey: I purchased 3 oz. honey bear bottles online and custom labels and filled them with pure honey.

4. Cow and Pig Kiddie Bags: I made them using construction paper and I put a piggy bank and a couple play doughs inside for the kids.

Chalkboard Signs
I was surprised how expensive chalkboard signs are so I decided to make my own! I purchased frames from the dollar store and painted them with chalkboard paint.

I also made little signs out of cheap wood and clothespin.

Lemonade Stand and Wooden Crates
As soon as I decided to have a barnyard birthday, I started looking for wooden crates but they are very pricey especially the vintage ones. I was elated when Michael’s cousin told me he has a lot of scrap wood at his house. We spent one weekend wood working and I had so much fun using the power tools. I was a little scared at first but once I started, I was hooked!

Mason Jars
Real mason jars are pricey so I cheated and used Starbucks’ frapuccino bottles! We bought them at Costco early this year so no, we didn’t drink them everyday for the last month! Haha.

First we peeled off the label and cleaned the excess sticky residue with Goo-Gone, washed them and of course, we used the dishwasher to sanitize them twice.

Cakes & Cupcakes
A party is nothing without cake of course! I made cupcakes and cake with fondant toppers.

This is my third time making them and I’m getting more used to it!

Water Bottle Labels
I designed and printed them using waterproof labels that purchased online.


Decors & Photo Props
I made the mustache using cardstock and wooden sticks and I got the rest from my old trusted Amazon.com!

I’m so happy that everything came together, and that the birthday boy and all of our guests had a good time. We were truly lucky to have so many friends and family come share his special day with us.

by Joy in Birthdays, Celebrations, DIY, Party Planning

23 Jul 2012 No Comments

Jayden’s 1 Year

One year ago, I gave birth to my little Jayden and he has filled my heart with more love than I thought imaginable.

I love the little person he has become and how much he has grown and changed in the last year. However,  I am also going through the most surreal feeling that I just can’t believe my little baby is now my little toddler. He went from needing me for everything to now a little mister independent.

Jayden has truly filled our lives with light. It’s been pure joy to watch him grow and catch up to his big brother and I know that the best is yet to come…

To celebrate this huge milestone, we planned an intimate family dinner on his actual birthday with a Polka Dots theme just like what we did for his older brother.

And just like his older brother, he didn’t want anything to do with the cake smashing so we just opened gifts instead.

The weekend of his birthday, we had a Barnyard Birthday Bash for him and I’m glad to say that after much planning, it was a fun filled day for all of us! We hired a photographer for the event but she unfortunately cancelled at the last minute. Thankfully, Michael was still able to take some good photos while entertaining our guests at the same time!


A bunch of family are still in town for the rest of the week so I will write a separate post about the party later this week when we’re not as busy anymore.

by Joy in Birthdays, Celebrations

17 Jul 2012 2 Comments

It Really Has Been A Year!

It has become our tradition to stay up late the night before Jordan’s birthday. Once the clock strike at midnight, we’d kiss our sleeping little guy so gently and carefully, with such warmth in our chest and a tearful eye. We’d lay right next to him as we reminisce the past year. This time, I look forward to staying up late and do the same for my little Jayden tonight. I know that Michael and I will look back & talk about the day he was born.

Just like what we did for his big brother, we planned an intimate birthday celebration at home tomorrow – just us and his grandparents.

His brother wouldn’t really want anything to do with his cake so I wonder how Jayden would take to the cake smashing/eating?

by Joy in Birthdays, Celebrations, Reflections

07 Feb 2012 3 Comments

Planning the Small Fry #2′s 1st Birthday Party

I can’t believe that Jayden is already 6 months old. In just another six short months, we’ll be celebrating his first birthday so you guessed it, I’m already in birthday party planning mode! I know some people think it’s way too early, but time just flies by. Besides, I’m trying to get a lot of my planning out of the way so I’d have more time to enjoy spring and summer.

Right after Jayden’s Baptism in November, I’ve decided to have his first birthday party at the same clubhouse where we held his Baptism party at, simply because they’re so easy to deal with. It was also the same clubhouse where we had Jordan’s 1st birthday party. To my disappointment, they’re not accepting reservations for the entire summer!  Since November, I was looking for a place where we could have the party and it literally took me 3 months of research, and calling places to find one. Michael and I checked it out & put a deposit right away since July is a busy month for events & weddings. Whew!

I think our theme this time will be Barnyard because I considered that with Jordan’s party and I already have lots of ideas in mind with that theme. I’m thinking “festive” barnyarnd theme. I’m plan on combining the classic barnyard stuff with some bright, summer colors.

The inspiration board is pretty empty since I’ve been putting everything on Pinterest. I’ve also designed the invitations already which I will be making using my new Cricut machine! I have a bunch of DIY projects which my husband is a little excited about so we’ll see how everything goes.

If you’re planning a barnyard party and didn’t want to bother with DIY projects, here’s a great first birthday barnyard decorations: http://www.1stbirthdayparty.com/barnyard-bash.html

by Joy in Birthdays, Celebrations, Party Planning

30 Dec 2011 No Comments

Our Family Christmas 2011

The Christmas season is a wonderful time of family traditions, togetherness and goodwill, and I know that the spirit of Christmas often gets lost in the rush to buy gifts and go to parties so Michael and I make sure to teach our children about the true meaning of the holiday.

We let them enjoy Santa while they are little and innocent but we also teach them about the birth of Jesus Christ and that he is the true reason for the season.

In our household on Christmas Eve, we made gingerbread house, baked cookies and cooked a lot of holiday food.

Then at night, before the kids went to bed, a plate of cookies and a glass of milk was left for Santa.

These cookies were made by the loving little hands that belong to our cherished 2-year old.

My heart was filled with absolute and pure happiness as I watched my toddler’s eyes sparkle on Christmas morning when he found out that Santa ate the cookies, drank the milk and left a bunch of gifts!

Big J was so excited to find a bunch of trains in his stocking & he even helped little J in checking out what Santa left in his stocking.

After opening all our presents, I made some french toasts made out of cinnamon raisin bread with apple streusel which was a perfect Christmas morning breakfast!

 

by Joy in Celebrations, Holidays, Life in Photos

09 Nov 2011 4 Comments

Jayden’s Baptism

Last Sunday was a glorious day, so much excitement at the church for our family because Jayden was getting baptized. The baptism started just after normal nap time and little J was so tired but he did so wonderfully.

The priest blessed him with more oil than you can imagine. His thick hair was greasy for 2 days and the smell of the oil still lingers to this day!  His daddy says he smells like church!

After the baptism, we headed to the clubhouse that we rented for a little celebration. Unlike with Jordan’s Baptism party, we didn’t have it catered so it was a little bit more stressful preparing but it all turned out great! I finally got to perfect the spiral lollipop cookie (yes, it’s a sparkly cookie!) that I’ve been practicing to make for a few weekends before Jayden’s Baptism party.

I also made a 6-inch bow cake that is similar to what we had for Jordan’s Baptism party.

It really feels good knowing that we have laid the religious foundation for our boys. I know that we all have free will and I don t know where their lives will take them or the decisions that they will make but I will know they will live a good life due to that one binding truth that God will lead their lives.

 

by Joy in Celebrations

10 Oct 2011 15 Comments

Jordan’s 2nd Birthday: Thomas the Tank Engine Party

I can’t believe our Jordan is TWO! I know everyone says this but really, where has the time gone?! He turned our world upside down two years ago and continues to do so with his love.

He is crazy about trains of all kinds, and like what I said on my previous post, he is madly in love with Thomas the Tank Engine. Obviously, Thomas the Train was the natural choice for this 2-year old’s party.  Everyone knows I am not big on character themed parties but with Jordan’s obsession with Thomas, I just had to give in. He had an absolute blast at his birthday party – Thomas the train all over the house, what more could a little boy ask for?

With Jayden’s Baptism and party coming up next month, I wanted Jordan’s birthday party to come together with minimal stress. I know that non-stress has to do with me deciding I was not going to make all these D-I-Y stuff so I just designed a simple train ticket for the invites. It was as simple as cutting and mailing them. I also started shopping for Thomas the Train balloons, banner, cups and plates on Amazon.

I baked his birthday cake myself. It was supposed to be just  a simple cake but while I was looking at his Thomas the Train toy and books for some design inspiration, I just knew it was going to get complicated. I just found myself at my local baking store buying some fondant and a new cookie cutter!

Needless to say, planning my 2 year old’s birthday party had literally taken up all my free time for the past two weeks. By free time, I mostly mean the few hours I can bear to stay awake after we finally put the boys to bed.

Friday loomed with the weather forecast not looking too good so Michael laid out the train tracks on the walk way leading to our front door the night before the party in case it rained a lot in the morning.

It was our luck that the weather would break, but we didn’t expect it to break quite so spectacularly though. Saturday turned out to be bright, sunny and unusually warm!

Everything turned out great and Jordan just love, love his cake & the Thomas cookies that I made.

I also made cake pops train and food train. I covered boxes with wrapping paper and filled them with styrofoam bricks and then placed the cake pops in each box. 

I borrowed a Thomas the Train toy from Big J’s toy box and placed it in front of the line. 

I bought Thomas the Train plastic cups and filled them some goodies as favors for the kids.

For the food train, I added wheels on the boxes and Jordan just loved it. It was hard setting up the table because he kept grabbing the trains and playing with them!

To welcome the guests, I created a Hequibal Station & Rail Road Crossing signs and put it on the door and on top of the stairs.

A few weeks before the party, we practiced blowing out  birthday candles but Jordan just wouldn’t do it. He would ask me or his dad to blow out the candle for him. He would blow his food if it’s hot but he just would not do it with a candle. To my surprise, he was super excited when everyone started singing Happy Birthday and he knew exactly what to do! He patiently stood in front of his cake, smiling and blew out his candles as soon as we were done singing!

He was so happy that he asked me if he could do it again!

All the kids but most especially the birthday boy had so much fun opening the gifts. He got so many Thomas the Train toys to add to his train table!

If there was something that I regret not doing, it was to take a video of him blowing his candles! Honestly, we were so busy that we just totally forgot. As usual, Michael took some great photos, but we should have had someone there to take a video.

To all our friends and family who came, we loved getting to spend time with you. I know Jordan had a blast. And for the ones who weren’t able to come, we sure missed you and hope to see you soon at Jayden’s Baptism!

 

by Joy in Birthdays, Celebrations, Party Planning

02 Aug 2011 6 Comments

The Small Fry #2 is Here!

I’m happy to say that my 5+ week long hospital bed rest has finally come to an end and I’m truly thankful to God for blessing us with another healthy baby boy!

The night before my c-section, I couldn’t sleep from excitement. Michael was thrilled at the idea of getting to hold our little baby the next day, and I was thrilled at the idea of my hospital bed rest ending. I swear, I barely slept. I just kept tossing and turning in bed, looking at the clock. And it was finally time! They let me walk to the operating room and when we got there, they started the spinal block. My legs got heavy quickly and I felt numb almost instantly. Michael was right by my side, holding my hand. I was nervous. I was excited. I was finally going to see my little Jelly B! More

by Joy in Celebrations, Newborn, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

10 Jul 2011 5 Comments

37 Weeks and Full Term

A month of being stuck in a hospital on bed rest could sometimes feel like eternity – and while being upset seems like the most natural reaction, sometimes, you just have to let it go, accept it for what it is, do the best you can and find all the good within the circumstance. Needless to say, despite of my situation, I feel blessed by this pregnancy, especially having experienced bleeding from placenta previa. More

by Joy in Celebrations, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

04 Jul 2011 3 Comments

The Little Things in Life That Make All the Difference

With the sun gloriously shining today, Michael took me out in a wheelchair. We went around the hospital compound, talking about trivial things and just simply enjoying each other’s company and connecting.

I know that being in the hospital for more than three weeks, it could be too easy to get caught up in the trials of life and neglect quality time with family. However, I feel so blessed and thankful to God that I have a committed husband who balance everything between work, errands, bills, and making sure I have everything I need while in the hospital. He stays with me in the hospital every single night from the day I was admitted. I am also very thankful to my parents who takes good care of Jordan and for bringing him here every day so I could spend time with him. More

by Joy in Celebrations, Marriage, Placenta Previa, Pregnancy

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