Thursday, September 1, 2011

Happy Birthday Song (Isabella's 5th)

Isabella's 5th Candy Land Birthday Party

Isabella is really into sweets (although they are limited) and so she was super excited to have a Candy Land birthday Party. (She also likes to play the game, too!)

Here is the invite that I made for Isabella. If I had my way, it would have just been the one w/ her picture. But she wanted to have the cartoon one from the game & I couldn't talk her out of it. She didn't even want one with her picture on it. So we compromised & had a 2 sided invite... one side was her pick & the other side was mine. :)


I had a lot of fun with the decorations although it was a little work. ;o) We had a candy bar/buffet with a lot of candy (& we have a lot left over! We'll be in candy for a loooong time to come!). We made large scale lollipops with balloons, wrapping paper tubes, & cellophane. I made the candy land trail with construction paper from the front door to the living room. We made large scale hard candies by wrapping 2 plates in cellophane and we hung these up around the house. And then of course we included Isabella's yearly photos which we hung up above the fireplace with the lollipop labels marking her age in each picture.


We had a couple activities for the kids and one game. The kids made King Kandy Castles out of graham crackers (non-hydrogated oil ones ;o), ice cream cones, frosting, & sprinkles/candy. They were not all very structurally sound but I think we managed eventually to get them to stand up right. The other activity was making necklaces out of Cascadian Farms Fruitful O's cereal (did you know that regular fruit loops has hydrogenated oils in them?!?!). Our game was playing musical candy land- we had the candly land squares in a circle & the kids walked around in a circle to the "Lollipop" song & when the music stopped they had to stand on a square. The one that didn't have a square was out. A little side note on this game... I had talked to Isabella beforehand about this game. She really wanted to play it but I told her that she might not win & if she didn't win we couldn't have any kind of fit or crying or we just wouldn't play it. Well that little warning didn't make any difference because when Isabella was kicked out of the game she burst into tears. Mike took her to her room to calm her down. It was pretty silly (to me, anyway) because she already got a big sucker (which was also the prize for the winner) just for being the birthday girl. But when I reminded her of this she informed me that she was hoping to have 2 suckers!


My Mom did a wonderful job once again at creating a fabulous cake that was also very yummy! Isabella loved it & had been looking forward to eating the frosting filled ice cream cone! I will post her birthday song video soon... Isabella was very sweet in wanting her brother to help her blow out her candles.


Our friends & family that helped Isabella celebrate her special day!

Posing for pictures after the party-



I think the party was a big success and Isabella had a great time (with the one little not winning game exception)! I had a lot of fun planning & preparing but I am glad the parties are done with for this year! I need a break!! :)

Isabella is 5!

I know this is coming a bit late... but at least not a full month late yet!

Isabella turned 5 on Saturday August 6th, 2011! I cannot believe I have a 5 year old! She has grown up so fast. Isabella is sweet, sassy, particular, dramatic, sensitive, silly, creative, inquisitive, & so much more! She loves to dance (especially to the Nutcracker but will make up dances to any music). She loves to watch Scooby Doo & the Nutcracker (how is that for a good mix?!?!). She loves to pretend & she has a few imaginary fairies that live in a small castle in her room. She likes to bring them along to various things, she plays with them, and she wants to make real food to feed to them! Oh & that is another thing... Isabella loves to be creative in the kitchen. She doesn't want to follow a recipe, she wants to make her own recipes. A couple things she has made have been peanut butter mixed with sesame seeds, garlic salt spice mixed with sesame seeds, and BBQ seasoning mixed with sesame seeds (I think she might be on a sesame seed kick!). She has made treats for the dogs which have been things such as treats frozen in water smeared with peanut butter. Right now she is tearing up some leaves from my sweet potato vine (I accidentally broke off a branch) & mixing them up with a dog treat to give to them. So funny!

We have started homeschooling Isabella this month and also have joined a homeschool co-op which we go to every Tuesday from 830-230p. She is in various classes in the co-op including science, pre-reading, health/safety/manners, music, & PE. So far it's going well! Jackson & I are there all day in the 2/3 year old room and we all get to eat lunch together so that is really nice.

Isabella and her brother continue to have a like/dislike relationship. Some times they play & get along really well. They can be so sweet to each other... giving kisses, sharing, & taking care of one another. Other times it is nearly World War 3! Mostly yelling, pushing, & pinching but every once in awhile Jackson will bite Isabella or Isabella will scratch Jackson (bringing about blood). I have decided to read up on some ways to help them get along better more often... so we'll see how that goes!

Isabella is done with dance and swim lessons (I need to post her swim lesson photos/videos from this summer! She made such great progress this year!!) & is now in gymnastics. She requested to go back to gymnastics & is liking it well so far. Jackson goes too at the same time for a parent/child class.

I can't give any stats on weight/height at this point, we are scheduled pretty far out for our well child visit. But I can say that she is growing! This fall I bought her size 6 pants b/c last winter her 5T was a bit short. She is in size 9.5/10 shoe & 5 in tops & dresses. Isabella continues to be our good eater although she does like to complain about this & that... I guess she has realized she has an opinion about things! She LOVES candy (Candy land party pictures coming up next) but we do limit her to small sweet snacks only after lunch & dinner (if she finished her meal). We have relaxed quite a bit on this since she hadn't had any sugary snack until she was nearly 2! But we do still opt for real sugar & no HFCS or hydrogenated oils.
Isabella shortly after birth

 Isabella's picture from the hospital

Isabella posing for her 5th bday party invite

Isabella on her actual birthday, just before her party started

We're so excited to see what this next year holds & to watch her continue to grow in so many ways! We love you, Isabella!!


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