Butterfly Party

Last year Keziah and I agreed on a fun rainbow theme for her birthday party which was a big hit and a lot of fun to put together.  This year I was inspired by some simple-looking cupcakes that I found on Pinterest and convinced Keziah to do a butterfly-themed party.

First I found a butterfly template online, cut it out and traced it onto folded cardstock to create the invitations. 

I had some supplies laying around from my old scrapbooking days, so I printed the cover words onto white card stock, punched them with a flower-shaped punch and then attached them with the brads.  Not fancy card-making genius by any means - but cute (and simple!)

Then I printed the party details on more white card stock and adhered them inside the invitations.

The morning of Keziah's birthday I wanted her to have a celebratory wake-up.  It worked out great since the boys usually get up around 6 am (they all share a room in case you've forgotten) but Keziah sleeps until 7:30.  I had plenty of time to make this balloon garland.  She was a little sleepy-eyed and groggy when she discovered it but I think it served it's purpose of welcoming her to an exciting day...

After she took a few minutes to wake up she promptly gathered some of her favourite-ist treasures and created a birthday shrine for herself on the kitchen table.

(This is soo very Keziah-ish...)

After she went off to school I replaced it with some butterfly decor in anticipation of her party (which was still a couple of days away).   I found the foliage around the farm and added some dollar store butterflies.

I found lilac branches that were already budding for the butterflies to perch on.  And - wouldn't you know it - we still have flowers in November!  (Erik's mom thinks these little purple flowers are alyssum).

I also used the same invitation template to create some butterfly garland to hang above the table.  

Then, Saturday came and it was party day.  I couldn't help but get Keziah a new dress for the occasion when I saw this one at Superstore...

When the guests arrived we gave them each a pair of "butterfly wings" to wear ($1.25 each from Dollarama).  Then I had 2 crafts planned to keep 6 little girls and 3 little boys busy.  The first was a simple craft of tissue paper and pipe cleaners.

For the second craft I gave the kids each a clothes-pin to decorate and told them that we were making caterpillars, but that by the end of the party they would turn into butterflies.  Later, while the kids were in the other room I clipped on the candy bags as the butterfly wings.  

I planned a couple of party games - our favourites are hot potato dress-up (take an item from the dress-up bin when it's your turn until everyone is dressed up all crazy) and the present unwrapping game (layers of wrapping paper with a gift inside that can be shared by all {more candy, of course!})

Then it was time for cupcakes... 

The cupcakes were my main inspiration for the party - an idea that I found here.  The Martha Stewart version is much more pretty in pastel, but I let Keziah choose the icing colours from this very fun and helpful chart so we ended up with more vibrant butterflies.  The wings are made from yogurt-covered pretzels, some dots of pink icing for the body, a smartie head and licorice antennae (sidenote: it's not easy to find shoe string licorice - let alone black or dark purple to match the picture - so I ended up using a red pull-and-peel twizzler).

The cupcakes were thoroughly enjoyed by all...

I commented to Erik that this group of girls was sooo much louder than they were last year.  I nearly lost my voice by the end of the 2 hours.  I ended up shipping them outside near the end of the party because there was a whole lotta noise and energy going on in our tiny house.

I breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over.  And I think we had one happy little party girl.

One birthday down, one more to go!

Birthday Girl

Yesterday my sweet little girl turned 6 years old.  I had hoped to post something here on the actual day, but it didn't happen... (hey, I'm embracing imperfection, remember?)  Besides, since her party isn't until tomorrow, her 'birthday' isn't technically over yet, right? :)

The other day I was reminiscing with Keziah about the day she was born and how excited and blessed I felt to discover that I had a daughter.  

As time progresses I see more and more how Keziah is almost the exact clone of me when I was her age.  Of course there's the blonde hair and blue eyes that make the obvious connection, but like me, she is also shy, quiet, imaginative, creative, a little clumsy and ditzy (sorry Keziah, but I am talking about both of us here...)  She's also tender-hearted, thoughtful and generous.

I also bump heads with Keziah more than I do with the boys - maybe because we're so similar?  She can be a teaser and an instigator unfortunately and some days I feel like I am on her case ALL day.  But one evening last week I found this note beside my bed:

{"I love you even when I tease."}

And it melted my heart.

Her note gave me an idea - and since she is bursting with all of her Grade One knowledge these days (and reading and spelling every word in sight), I thought it was time to start a mother-daughter journal.  Right now our letters are very simple and lovey-dovey and appropriate for a barely 6-year-old, but I hope that someday it can be a place where Keziah will feel comfortable sharing more with me - especially since I know she will find it difficult to talk openly if she's anything like me.

She totally loves the idea and I admit it's pretty fun to read letters like this at the end of the day:

{"I love you more than ever.  I will like to give you a picture with me and you."}

As the kids are growing older, I feel a strong sense of urgency to pray for them.  However I get easily overwhelmed at all the things that I should be praying for.  But I recently felt inspired to pray a repeated, simple prayer for each child every day: "Lord, I pray that Keziah would grow up to love you with all of her heart, soul, mind and strength.  And I pray that she would love other people."

Because that is really at the heart of what I want for each of my children...

Happy birthday sweet girl...

On The Road Again

It's that time of year again. The van and trailer are loaded up and we will be setting the alarm for somewhere in the 5 o'clok hour for tomorrow morning. In less than 24 hours we hope to be settling in with our friends in High River, AB and then the following night with Erik's grandparents in Saskatchewan. If all goes well, we should be in Boissevain by Saturday evening!

This past week brought last days of school for the kids, including a Vancouver Aquarium field trip for Micah. Unfortunately, he'll miss the last 3 weeks of Kindergarten, and Keziah will miss her preschool graduation next week. She'll also miss her spring ballet recital, but thankfully Erik and I were able to watch her dress rehearsal this past week and snag a video of another adorable little routine - which, of course, I couldn't resist sharing :)

(Unfortunately one or two of the other girls were having a tough time during the performance :P)

Time to hit the hay...

Manitoba - here we come!

Birthday'd Out

With Keziah in preschool and ballet this year (and just generally "growing up") she has become much more well-connected with other little girls her age... Well, at least with girls whose birthdays all seem to fall in the month of May.

So, off we traipsed to 3 separate parties where we played games, caked it up and came home loaded down with candy and other goodies.

Birthday #1 - a Luau-Themed party - this Mama goes all out when it comes to party themes :)

Keziah came dressed in summer wear (including a coconut bra we brought back from Maui).

With her new grass skirt and lei - part of her take-home goodies...

Birthday #2 - Pony Rides at Matqui Stables...

For once it had an absolutely beautiful day here in Abbotsford - a perfect day to ride ponies!

I think Keziah and I got a little too much sun but it was worth it.

"Helping" the birthday girl with her presents.

Purple Pony Pinata (to go with the "pony" theme :)

Birthday #3 - Flower Garden Party

Unfortunately the rain kept us indoors for this one, but the girls had fun painting their flower pots and enjoying this amazing cake...

(Props to the cake decorator: Jaybird Creations)

All in all, good birthday fun had times three.

Now, though, for a bit of a birthday break.

Notorious Napper Strikes Again

For as long as Keziah has been sleeping in a "big girl" bed, I've been posting pictures of her quirky sleeping positions. (See examples here and here)

And she just keeps the photo opps coming.

Case in point: today at 4:00 pm, I found her on the staircase like this.

And in case you haven't already seen this on my facebook page, this priceless photo was taken last week...

Can someone say future wedding slideshow??

Growing Up

I came across this picture the other day...

(spring 2008)

Which I then compared to these pictures...

(last week)

Seriously, where has the time gone??

Mother's Day Tea

Yesterday Keziah's preschool held their Mother's Day Tea and it was so, SO adorable. This was my first opportunity to "sit in" on a preschool morning with Keziah. I'm always very curious to know if she plays with the other kids, whether she's too shy to ask to go to the bathroom, and whether she even talks at all for that matter.

We had a few different stations to rotate through, like bracelet-making, and mother-child interviews (according to Keziah, I am 13 years old and my "job" is washing dishes), but her favourite was definitely the nail polish station.

Keziah was very shy and quiet and I didn't see her chatting with any other little friends, but when it came time to perform their Mother's Day songs, she came alive! She knew all the words and actions, and I could tell she was totally in her element.

And did I mention I got my nails painted too?

I know...

Soooo pretty.

Spring

It's coming.

There are sure signs of it - like these brave little blooms.

(at Mom & Dad Toews')

And black cats.

OK, black cats aren't a sign of spring.

That I know of.

But wearing spring jackets and playing outside on green grass with them seems spring-like. We found this very friendly kitty the other afternoon and Keziah could not keep her hands off of him.

Happy second day of spring!

First Day of School

Yes, it's pretty unusual to talk about the first day of school in February. But, that's exactly what it was... Keziah started preschool today!

Last week - and kind of on a whim - I inquired about a preschool spot for Keziah for this "semester" at Central Heights. To my surprise, they not only had a spot available, but it was for the Mon/Wed/Fri morning class! (*grin*) I'm feeling thankful for the unexpected.

Just as a bit of explanation (for anyone who cares) - Erik and I have had a hard time deciding what to do with Keziah about school. She's old enough to start Kindergarten in the fall, but we were actually planning to hold her back (like we did with Micah) for several reasons, including her late birthday. So, when preschool registration came around this time last year I didn't register her for the 2010-11 year. But now, halfway through this year, I found myself wishing that we had registered her, even if it meant her taking 2 years of preschool instead of 1.

So, when they told me there might be an opening last week, it seemed like it would be the perfect solution. Not only is Keziah ready for something like this, it will also be extremely helpful in either preparing her for Kindergarten or indicating that she's not ready. When I got the phone call that she could have the spot, it was an answer to prayer.

I could tell that emotions were running a bit high this morning as things were making Keziah cry much more than normal. I gave her lots of extra hugs but tried to focus on how exciting and great this day was going to be! I went in with her for a few minutes while she got settled with the other kids during circle time. When I came back later to pick her up, they said she did great!

This feels like a really big change to our regular routine. Imagine how weird it was for me to drop TWO kids off at school and head to Superstore with just Silas in tow??

Piece of cake, folks. Piece of cake ;)

And the aftermath of a first day of school?