Keaton Turns 2

Keaton turned 2 in November and we had a small farm yard themed party for him. Here are few pictures from his party.

This adorable invitation is available at Birthday Couture.
Just click on it and it will take you right there! :)

I had other plans for the 2 and K, but just ran out of time.

My sweet two-year-old!

Aidan's Batman Birthday Party

I've been meaning to post pictures of my kid's birthday parties. It's only taken me a few months to do this! :) We have pretty low-key parties that primarily consist of just family. I'm sure this next year though Aidan will want to invite friends to his birthday.

Aidan turned 4 in August and wanted a Batman birthday party. He loves the old 1960's Batman movie so I included touches of vintage Batman and Robin!

Birthday Boy!

Totally cook vintage 1960's Batman Birthday Hat with little embellishment by me! Love it! But he wouldn't wear it. Oh well....

The Birthday Boy in the shirt I made him from repurposed vintage Batman sheets.

Keaton's Batman Shirt



Maddox's Future Superhero Onesie (It was too cute!)



Cupcakes with Batman Standing Tall



Aidan's Best Batman Pose



The birthday boy again


And in case you're considering it...never and I mean never get black icing!

Maddox is here!

On June 23rd at 7:34 a.m. Maddox arrived weighing 8lbs 8 oz! He was 21 inches long.

Here we are when I first got to see and hold him! I was scared to death I was going to drop him because the nurse just set him up there and walked off!


His big brothers were very excited to meet him! Well, Aidan was... Keaton really didn't seem to care one way or the other! Check out the cute shirts I made them to wear!

The biggest brother - Aidan

The big brother - Keaton

Photos while opening presents tip!

When I look back at birthday party pictures from when I was little, it seems like there is picture after picture of me holding up each gift I received. I have absolutely no idea who the gift was from or who was even at my party half the time!

Thus the greatest idea ever...(I have to give my sister-in-law credit for this one because I never would have thought of it on my own). As the birthday child opens each present, have the gift giver come and take a picture with the birthday child and the gift! Now you have a great memory of not only the gift (because really who cares about that years later anyways), but also the gift giver - which is more important anyway! Plus it helps you write those thank-you notes later!

We did this with both of my boys birthday and it's wonderful! The pictures are so much more meaningful!

Hope this is an idea that you can use too!

Enter Our Photo Contest and Win $25 Gift Certificate!

I almost forgot to mention this tonight....

We're looking for adorable birthday photos of posh tots! Enter our photo contest today then beginning May 16, 2009 send everyone you know to vote for your photo. The photo that receives the most votes will win a $25 gift certificate to either Birthday Couture or 2 Silly Monkeys Boutique. Your choice! All photos must be submitted by May 15, 2009 to be eligible for contest. Contest ends May 31, 2009. And best of all....this contest is absolutely free!!! (Child in photo must be age 8 or younger in the photo).

Extra Bonus for our customers: If you submit a photo of your little one wearing something you purchased from Birthday Couture or 2 Silly Monkeys Boutique - you will receive a bonus of 100 votes at the end of the contest!

Click here to submit your photo now!

Planning a perfect first birthday party!

Your baby's first year will fly by! At least it seems to with both of my boys! Planning that first birthday party is so much fun! It can become stressful, but personally I think it's best to keep things simple -- so you can enjoy the party as much as everyone else!

With both of my boys, we kept the first birthday party small - just close friends and family. I think to many people can be overwhelming to a one-year-old who has no idea what's going on anyway! Stick to people they already know and are comfortable with. Worry about inviting same-age friends when he/she is a little older and realizes what's going on. (Another benefit of keeping it small - is there is less expense and food to prepare!)

After deciding on your guest list - you get to choose a theme. This is the funnest part to me! And for the first birthday it's all up to you because your child really has no clue! Later on, you'll be stuck with Cars, Wiggles, Blue's Clues, etc when your child is making the decisions! Choose a theme you like or just stick with a color theme. For my second child's (Keaton) first birthday I choose a sock monkey theme! It turned out adorable and made for some really cute pictures.

Carefully picking the time of the party is also very important. At one years old - most children are still taking naps twice a day. You definitely want to plan the party for a time when your child is usually up. In addition, I recommend keeping the party short. An hour worked fine for us. It was enough time for a couple activities, presents, and cake and lots of photos! I think anything longer than an hour and half and your going to have a very grouchy baby on your hands!

Finally....the cake! Get a smaller cake for your baby to dig into and enjoy and a larger cake for the guests. Nothings cuter than the pictures you will get of your little one enjoying cake for the first time.

Have fun planning your baby's first birthday! I'm already thinking about ideas for my next child's first birthday and he's not even here yet! :)