TBT: Our Fairy Princess Tea Party

Dear Em,
Today we're throwing it way back to a little over a month ago. Ha! You've been obsessed with Princesses for a long time now, but Fairy Princesses are now all the rage too. You've made tiny houses for them. You're constantly trying to find food (nuts) & blankets (perfectly shaped & sized leaves) for them to leave where you think they might find them. You even write about them.

"Toads eat fairies. 

Fairies eat flowers :) 

and leaves :|

Fairies take baths in

dirt!!!!

But Yuck :( But Cool!!!! :o

Fairies live everywhere."

You also asked me if you could have lots of play dates with your gal pals during the summer. We had a couple with your best friend, but between your ankle injury & our already busy summer, you didn't end up having much time to spend with your girlfriends. What we lacked in quantity, I decided to make up for in quality. I asked all of your little, best friends over for a Fairy Princess Tea Party.

I didn't tell you that our home would be filled with seven other adorable fairy princesses until the day before. You were so excited as we set up for the party. I purchased fairy wings & flower headpieces for super cheap. We hung them on the chairs around our dining table for your guests to find once they arrived.

Then we set the table with pink flowers & the fancy china. It was a tea party after all.

Daddy made peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, & I cut them into fun shapes (not wanting to waste good food, Daddy & I ate peanut butter & jelly crusts for the next two days). We also set the table with fruit & yogurt, pretzels & crackers. I set up a platter of fancy cookies for dessert.

You got dressed in a fairy princess dress & put on your flower headpiece & wings. Then you waited for your little guests to arrive. The anticipation was killing you (it's a good thing I waited to tell you about the party until the day before).

As the girls arrived, they picked out their headpieces & wings. Then everyone went out into the backyard to play. I had picked up wooden "fairy houses," "fairy masks," & frames for everyone to paint. I think you girls probably would have rather played around the yard, but you all had fun painting too. Meanwhile, all of the moms chatted & cooed over how cute you all were together.

We headed inside & out of the hot sun for the tea party. First we washed all of the backyard dirt off our proper, little fairies. Then you all sat down to eat. With all of the moms helping, it was so seamless. Soon you all had heaping plates of food, & full cups of pink lemonade. I only had a few heart attacks about the china, but mostly you girls were perfect, little fairy princesses. Cheers!

We put on the Tinker Bell movie in the living room for the fairy princesses to watch while the others were finishing their tea. The movie was mostly short lived. You girls wanted to play.

The mamarazzi snapped a couple group photos before letting you go to run around. Charlie wanted to be a fairy princess too.

The fairy princesses played outside & in, on the trampoline & swing set & hammock & in your bedroom. There were a few fairy princess arguments & a few tears, but mostly everyone had a blast.

When the time came for the party to end, you tearfully hugged your besties goodbye. It had been such a fun & adorable afternoon, & it was a little hard for everyone that it had come to an end. I was so glad that everyone enjoyed the tea party, & that you were able to share your day with such sweet friends. We will have to invite the fairy princesses over for another day of fun sometime soon!

I love you so,

Mommy

Throwback Thursday: Pink Bunny Chair

Dear Em,
When you were a baby, your aunt Jennie & uncle Nick gifted you a sweet, little, pink bunny chair. It's had a place in either the family room or your bedroom ever since. You used to sweetly sit on it to read a book or snuggle into its softness to watch TV.

You've gotten big, & I realized the cute, pink bunny chair hasn't been used in a while. My first thought was that we could pass it on to another little girl who could love it as much as you once did. Unfortunately, there are stains all over the chair. The chair is too big to fit in the washing machine. So, I'm not sure how I would go about cleaning it.

I sadly shook my head, realizing the best course of action would probably be to throw out the chair. I brought it downstairs & placed it next to our back door (90% of the time there is a pile of things in front of the back doors that we are planing to throw out). That is when Daddy noticed that the bunny chair that had gone unused for so long, was being used again...by our cats Joey & Charlie.

Maybe it's because the placement of the chair provides prime view of our backyard. Maybe it's because the chair is so soft & cozy. Maybe it's because Joey & Charlie don't care about stains. Maybe they truly love the color pink as much as you do. Your bunny chair has become their most coveted spot.

So, we've decided to keep the pink bunny chair...as a bed for the cats. I'm not sure who lives a more charmed life, you or them.

I love you so,
Mommy

a little bit of color & a little bit of sparkle

Dear Em,
While there are positive aspects of every season, winter is for sure my least favorite. I think that's because we spend so much of it cooped up inside. It's so grey & cold, & it gets dark before 5pm. I need fresh air. I need sunshine. I need color.

At least there are fun winter holidays to bring pops of color & a little bit of sparkle back into our lives. We mostly decorated for Valentine's Day a few weeks ago. I think it was the week after we took down the Christmas decorations & I couldn't take the dreariness anymore. This weekend, we added a few more things to our Valentine's Day decor. I love reusing what we have & adding a little something new each year.

First, we created a new door hang. I didn't start making them for the holidays until St. Patrick's Day last year. So, we didn't have one for Valentine's Day. Since you are four, this is your fifth Valentine's Day. We used five photos- one for each year that you've celebrated the holiday. To add a little bit of extra sparkle, I picked up some sparkly scrapbook paper & ribbon for the heart backgrounds.

I made three door hangs- one for Nonnie & Papi, one for Grandma & Papa, & one for us. Your Daddy's eyes lit up when I showed him the finished product. It's so fun to look at how you've grown & developed through the years in such a festive (& sparkly way).

Of course, we had to hold a mini photo shoot (it perhaps wasn't as mini as you would have liked) in order to have pictures from this year to choose from for our new door hanger (and let's just face it, I use any holiday as an excuse to stage a photo shoot). For that I borrowed a wicked fun idea from Hank & Hunt & made a floating heart backdrop for our Valentine's Day photo shoot. It was free for me to make, because I used leftover material from other crafts. I used a heart punch, paper (sparkly gold, sparkly pink, & red), clear fishing line, tape, & scissors.

It was time consuming. First you helped me punch out hearts. We punched out 120. Once you went to bed, I taped 20 pieces of 7 foot fishing line in straight lines across our dining room table. Then I taped six hearts, spaced evenly, to each piece of fishing line.

In the end, I kinda felt like it took forever to make, & those lines very easily get massively tangled (as I learned by carrying them upstairs to where we were taking the photos). But after taping them up, I loved the effect.

Plus, once we were done with our photo shoot, I cut each line in half & hung them up over your bed & our dining room table to add a little fun & whimsy to our existing decor.

In fact, the dining area looks so Fancy Nancy fancy, you decided to hold a tea party for your American Girl dolls, princesses, & baby dolls.

There were candles & real china plates for ambiance. There were cookies & cake to eat & pretend "pink chocolate milk" to drink. You even made sure that each girl had a magazine to read. You were the perfect tea party host. It was ridiculously adorable.

Mid-way through the tea party, you decided you needed a list of your guests with checkmarks to signify that they were there. You plopped yourself on the floor with a pen & paper & began sounding out their names & writing them down on your own. The first name on the left is Rapunzel (I think you confused your z's with your v's). I love how you sounded out Eral (Ariel). It took you a few tries to write your best friend Savanna's name, & you were so proud of yourself once you did. I was over the moon proud of you too. We've been doing a lot of rainbow writing, but other than you writing your name on your own, we haven't done much independent sounding out & writing.

I can't believe how much you're growing & learning & developing. You amaze me every day. We may have hung up decorations for Valentine's day, but I think it's truly you who brings a little bit of color & a little bit of sparkle to our home each & every day.

I love you so,

Mommy

love letters

Dear Em,

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you."

We didn't purchase a whole lot of artwork for your new room. We had so much from your nursery that we were able to blend into your garden room nicely. Of the new artwork, the prints hanging above your bed are my favorite. I found Paper Ramma on Etsy & fell in love with their work. Everything they do is customizable. They actually offered to match the colors of the prints exactly with your new bedding. How cool is that?! All of their work is so sweet. I also wicked love this one & this one.

We chose these prints because, well, you are our sunshine. At the age of two & a half (& one & a half months), you are sunshiney & you are love. Your favorite color is pink, but I think of you anytime I see yellow. You truly shine with giggles & smiles & love. I can't help but feel sunny when we're together. You put your cute little arms around us & give us the sweetest kisses.

You're a passionate little girl. You either distinctly like something or emphatically dislike it. There's not a whole lot of in between with you.

In the past six months, you've hit so many milestones. You said goodbye to your high hair & now eat at the the table with us. "So, how was your day, Daddy," is how you often start the dinnertime conversation. The list of foods that you'll eat has grown over the past six months, as has your willingness to try new foods. The promise of dessert is a strong force when it comes to encouraging you to eat the different foods on your plate. Your daddy & I struggle not to laugh as we watch you with your hands over your mouth, forcing yourself to swallow whatever food you don't particularly care for so you can have your dessert after.

You went from diapers to undies in the last six months. We were worried if you were ready when we started potty-training, but you proved your daddy & I wrong once again. Accidents are few & far between. You excitedly announce you have to go potty, quickly go into the bathroom, and firmly tell us you need your privacy. You still wear pull-ups for naps & bedtime, but you wake up dry more often than not.

One of the biggest transitions has been saying goodbye to your crib & sweet nursery & moving into your big-girl bed & big-girl room. I was worried you would miss your nursery or crib, but you said goodbye with an excited smile. You love your new room. The other day I found you sitting on your bed with one leg crossed over the other. You were surrounded by piles of books with your nose buried in the Boogie Monster.

Your nonnie gave you your first baby doll before you were one, and baby dolls have been your favorite  ever since. Now you have tons & you're such a sweet mommy to your babies (when you're not putting them in timeout). It's so fun to watch you rock them & feed them. Your very favorite is still your lamby though. You sleep with her every night & wake up crying if you can't find her in the middle of the night. You sing to her & dance with her & fix her hair while I fix your hair each day.

You're sooooo stubborn. I may have been told a few hundred times how much your stubbornness reminds my family of another stubborn little girl...me. You have an opinion on most things, & you want your opinion to be heard. Every day I see glimpses of the strong, independent woman I know that you'll grow to be.

Right now you're a bright learning sponge. You tackle learning new things with excitement & squeal with delight when you're able to do something new. You've been working on writing your name. Letters are fascinating to you. You're constantly reading off letters & then asking, "Mom, what does that spell?" You like when I trace letters on your back, & you correctly guess when I've spelled Emma, Mommy, Daddy, & Nonnie.

You remind me often that you are my "little love bug," & what a little love you are. You have such a sweet & empathetic heart. You can't be happy unless those around you are. If the child sitting next to you is crying, you are also crying until the child is soothed.

Grace & gentility is not a strong suit for you. You kind of boom into everything you do, & you're constantly booming into walls & doors & onto the floor. You know to be "kind & gentle" to others, but we're not sure you understand what being gentle means. Your kindness is very hands on & sometimes a little rough. You've almost broken our noses a few times with your excited hugs & kisses.

Your laugh is infectious & adorable. You are such a happy, little girl. You make us smile everyday & bring such joy to our hearts.

Tomorrow morning you're leaving to stay with Nonnie & Papi for three whole weeks (two without us, we'll be joining you the last week). I'm so excited for you to have that time to spend with my family, but it's also the longest time you've ever been away from your daddy & I. My heart already aches thinking about how much I will be missing you, our little sunshine. There will be lots & lots of skyping to help us get through it. Plus, we know you'll be having a blast. Then Daddy & I will join you in North Carolina for some last summer beach days Labor Day week.

I'm so excited about all the adventures your going to have down south. I can't wait to talk to you about all of them, but I'll miss tucking you in to your big-girl bed in your big-girl room for the next three weeks.

I love you so,
Mommy

* This is part of a five post room reveal. For more peaks into the room, see also Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: The Bed, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Dressing Up, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Your Book Nook, & Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Star Gazing. *

Big-Girl Garden Room Reveal: Star Gazing

Dear Em,

* This is part of a five post room reveal. For more peaks into the room, see also Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: The Bed, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Dressing Up, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Your Book Nook, & love letters. *

No matter what camera I used (& I tried three) I just couldn't get a shot of the starry sky you can see from your bed. Nope, your room doesn't have a retractable roof. While that would be kinda cool, our house is nowhere near that technologically advanced.

I've always loved stargazing. Growing up, I had glow in the dark star stickers hanging all over my ceiling. I loved drifting off to sleep while gazing at my very own starry sky. The daytime was another story. The star stickers were a little of an eye sore during the light of day.

I wanted you to have your own starry sky without the daytime eyesore. When I was six months pregnant with you, I bought some glow in the dark paint & star stencils from the craft store. Is the image of me six months pregnant, standing on a stool, painting the ceiling a little ridiculous? The glow in the dark paint is barely visible during the day (it shows as a really pale yellow) but glows bright after you turn off the lights at night.

I loved tucking you in your nursery each night. Right before I switched off the lights, I would ask you if you were ready for your stars.

I wanted you to still have that for your big-girl room. I wanted you to have stars to make wishes on & coax you into sweet dreams. So, the last thing I did was stencil some stars on your ceiling. And I mean it was THE VERY LAST THING. You were actually laying in your bed (because it was bedtime) while I stood on your bed & quickly stenciled.

Now as I tell you "I love you so" one last time after I tuck you in, I know you'll be stargazing once I switch off the lights & shut your bedroom door.

Sigh, maybe I'll do a little stenciling in my room too.

I love you so,
Mommy

Big-Girl Garden Room Reveal: Your Book Nook

Dear Em,

* This is part of a five post room reveal. For more peaks into the room, see also Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: The Bed, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Dressing Up, Big Girl Garden Room Reveal: Star Gazing, & love letters. *

When I was a little girl, I longed for a book nook. One of my rooms had a window in an alcove, & I dreamed of a sweet little window seat in it. I would have read so many books in my quaint little book nook. Your papi worked on my room for months, & I forced a smile on my face when there was no window seat or book nook in my room reveal. I also never got the large weeping willow I wanted so badly so I could sit under it & read away my summer breaks. I was forced to go swimming in our pool instead. I know, it was a difficult childhood I lead.

Designing your big-girl room was my chance to finally give your room what I thought every little girl should have: a book nook.

Creating this book nook wasn't all sunshine & butterflies. I had a very specific plan for the shelves, & what you see is not what the plan entailed. Remember how I had bought these organizing cubes from Home Decorators Collection for a crazy amazing price? Well, I soon learned that they were a crazy amazing price because they were pieces of crap. I was in the middle of putting them together when I realized that not all of the right pieces needed to put the shelves together were even in the box. Then one piece completely fell apart & broke. No wonder they didn't even ask me to return them to the store. They just sent me a gift card for what I had paid (since I had bought them when they went on sale 5 months earlier). Luckily I can use the gift card at Home Depot, because I wasn't planning on buying anything else from their company.

That left me with no shelves, & have you noticed how expensive shelves are? Crazy expensive. I searched online for a replacement, but with the extra we spent on your bed I knew we couldn't afford to also splurge on shelving. That was it for me. Between the changes we had with your bedding & the disaster of the shelves, I'd had it. 

That's when I started to cry...over a bedroom design. I know. I'm not exactly proud, but that's what happened. In the middle of my tears & feeling bad for myself, I started an Etsy search. Etsy saved your room (& saved us a lot of money).

I found someone who was selling white-washed wooden crates that had been made into shelves. She didn't have as many as I wanted, but it gave me an idea. I ordered 12 unfinished, wooden crates from a wholesaler. They were more expensive than my original plan for shelves, but much cheaper than anything else I found. They also give the garden room the rustic vibe I was going for.

The crates were delivered disasembled. 12 crates= 60 sides. Your nonnie, cousin Michaela & I stained all 60 sides. I picked out a pink stain at Home Depot (well, I thought it was pink, it came out more purple) & a whitewash stain. It took what felt like forever to put two coats of stain on all 60 of the sides. Your nonnie & cousin Michaela will probably tell you I tortured them by making them stain in the garage in 100 degree heat. I just tried to smile, lie & say we were almost done, & bribe them with Dels Lemonaid. I'm sorry not to have pictures of us staining the 60 sides, but I'm pretty sure Nonnie & Michaela would have murdered me if I took out my camera.

Once the sides were stained, it was really easy for your daddy & I to put the crates together (they had pre-drilled holes). I was incredibly nervous about making the individual crates into shelves & anchoring them to the walls (like I said previously, I don't don't have a lot of confidence in our craftmanship), but that was actually pretty easy too.

I love the result, & it makes me smile to think we made this. We also finally have a spot to store a lot of your knick knacks, baby dolls, stuffed animals, & the library of books you've accumulated. 

We topped each shelf with purple flower prints that I found at Home Goods for a great deal. Michaela & I painted the frames pink to bring a little more of your two favorite colors, pink & purple, into the room.

While I was perusing Etsy for shelving ideas, I also came across bench ideas for the window seat. I found benches that were inexpensive, colorful, & rustic: just what I needed. I ordered your bench from Square Nail Furniture. I highly recommend this Etsy shop. They were so responsive. "Um, what if we made a bench this size by this size?" "No problem." "What if it was this size by this size." "No problem, but we'll charge you less." They let me customize the size (I needed it shorter & deeper) & the color (sunflower). I love the sturdiness of it. I love the rustic look of it. I love that there is an area for storage bins. I love that the shop refunded some of my money when they realized delivery would cost slightly less than what they had originally projected.

We added some throw pillows from Home Goods & Walmart (can you believe that Walmart had a better online selection of throw pillows than anyone else?), & we had created the window seat I always wanted.

We kept your yellow curtains from your old room & added some white sheers. I think they add a sunniness & match your bench so well.

To add a little more seating, we brought in your yellow rocking chair & your pink bunny chair from your nursery. Since "and they lived happily ever after," is one of your favorite lines from the books you read, the frame that we were given as a wedding present fits perfectly just above your bunny chair. I just added a happy picture of the three of us.

We also bought you a big, pink beanbag chair, personalized with your name on it. It was on-sale at Pottery Barn Kids. We figured it would be another comfy spot for you to read until your heart's content. 

And when the lights go out, the string lights we got from Target, give your room a little night-time magic.

There's one extra finishing touch that I put on your room to make your nights a little magical, & I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

Until then, you might find me sitting on your window seat, lost in a book & the beauty of what sits just outside your window.

I love you so,

Mommy