Giveaway: Custom Petti Tutu set from Strawberrie Rose (valued at $100) : Anders Ruff Custom Designs :

Anders Ruff is one of my favorite Party Sites for inspiration and eye candy!  I love their style.  They are having a giveaway that you wont want to miss that I wanted to share with you all.

In my humble opinion, I believe that Tutu's are about the cutest items that little girls wear!
Take a minute and enter this giveaway for a cute Tutu Set from Strawberrie Rose.

Giveaway: Custom Petti Tutu set from Strawberrie Rose (valued at $100) : Anders Ruff Custom Designs :

An Ice Cream Social Birthday

 Every year I try to focus on something that Little Bird is particularly fond of when I start planning for her birthday in November.  We celebrated her first birthday with a cute monkey theme.  For her second birthday, the fairies united and we celebrated with a woodland fairy motif.  All landlubbers and scallywags were present for the girly pirate party we had to celebrate her third birthday and this past year, turning four, would be no exception! 

Ice cream seems to be its own food group in our home....go ahead and judge :)

That said, even though her birthday is in November, I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of having an  ice cream social for her 4th birthday party.  My in-laws are gracious and kind enough to let us have these parties at their home and attendance is in the 65 - 75 range!

 

I always begin with designing the invitation (one of my favorite parts) to set the theme in motion.  This year, I used an actual ice cream cup with lid to cargo the message that we were getting ready to celebrate - wooden spoon included!  I tied a bow around each one and bought padded envelopes to package for mailing.  With a laundry basket full of invitations, Little Bird and I headed off to the Post Office.  Keep in mind when designing an invitation how much postage will cost to send an invite, it may make you think differently about what you are sending out.  This last tidbit of information...well, I chose to ignore my own advice and I think it cost close to $2 each to send these out.

Next, I start thinking about activities and party favors! I found these adodrable lollipops at Beau-Coup Favors on the web.  Then, I made a logo-like sticker "Ashlee's Sweet Creamery" and attached them to each party bag. Each bag was filled with ice cream-inspired favors: bubbles in the shape of an ice cream cone, lip gloss in a tub that looked like a mini pint of ice cream, notepads and color crayons, etc.  Topped each bag with some tissue and a bow.  Using craft-brown paper bags, gave to an ice cream sack that you might use when taking ice cream home from the creamery.

 

 

 

 

Cupcakes with sprinkles make parties complete!

 

 

Having ice cream be the main focus of the party, other food and snacks were fairly simply to provide.  The children's menu included:  mini corn dogs, Chicago style popcorn, chicken nuggets and chips.  Small canned sodas and water were on-hand to quench thirst.  The adult menu was a roasted turkey, potato rolls and condiments, pasta salad and a meat & cheese spread with adult beverages served as refreshments.

 
 
Building sundaes was the MAJOR activity, however we had a few other things lined up to keep things lively!

 

A candy necklace making table was on hand for kids to have -insta-snack around their neck!  Thank you Pizzazzerie for your amazing book that is focused on candy-making with kids!  By the way, Happy Birthday to Pizzazzerie's owner who celebrates her birthday the same day as Little Bird.

 

 

We are lucky enough to have a wonderful friend who is extremely talented at making balloon characters and came to help Little Bird celebrate her birthday.  Thank you so much Misty!  

 

I especially loved watching how interested Little Bird was in learning how to make the balloon characters and how sweet of Misty to be so patient and give her a few lessons.

 

 

 

  

 To add to the excitement, a clown arrived with her face paint in tow and went straight to work!  Doing a wonderful job I might add :)  All Around Clown can be found at the Oregon State Fair every year.  She also brings a balloon bouquet and a certificate for the birthday girl!



And did I mention that we had a piñata this year?  Oh yeah, we did!  The kiddos went crazy!!!  It was so much fun to watch them going for it to bust that candy-filled box open!

Birthday girl is ready to rock it!!!



This is my nephew jumping with excitement!

Gathering of the loot

 This was all before the cake and ice cream!  Daddy built an ice cream stand (unfortunately, I don't have a very good picture of it :( ) and each person came to the stand to get their scoop of ice cream so that the sundae-building could begin!  Afterwards, we sang happy birthday to the Birthday Girl, ate cake and everyone was happy, happy, happy!

 

 

 

 
 
 Early on, I learned to hire a photographer to handle capturing the moments that I know I will miss while I am running around playing hostess and mamma to the Little Bird!  I happen to be extremely fortunate to have so many uber-talented friends!  All of these amazing photos were taken by Heidi B Photography - a special thank you my sweet friend!

 

 
I loved these little pearly blue chocolate candies - very yummy and they go nicely with my handmade table cloths :)

THE birthday cake

 

 

 Some of our friends that were on hand to celebrate Little Birds 4th Birthday!  We love and thank you for being a part of our lives.
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 

After all the over-stimulation, candy, cake and ice cream; each guest was allowed to choose their favorite color of tooth brush to take home and brush their teeth before going to bed and having sweet dreams :)

 

 

 

Another birthday party has come to end, this mamma is tired and at the same time just so dang happy to have this Little Bird be my girl and watch all the amazing things she does each and every day! 

 

 

 

It goes without saying...

 

Our sweet Little Bird - Don't ever forget how much your Mom and Dad love you!  You mean the world to us sweet girl and we couldn't be more proud to be your parents.

 

Happy 4th birthday Miss Ashlee Jae!

xoxoxo

 



 

 

Not quite sure what her 5th birthday party will be yet, but rest assured we will be celebrating with happy hearts and lots of confetti!

 

 



Happy New Year 2013

Every year I try to get Little Bird in front of the camera for her yearly capture!  Its often hard for me to fathom that my precious little being is four years old now!

Where did the time go... and more importantly - where did my baby girl go?

I am sure that all mothers have that momemt of sadness when they realize their sweet baby is now a little person, with thoughts, feelings and opinions of their own and wonder... what does that mean and how does it look?

Well, I am no different and have been asking those same questions to myself, looking at her baby pictures and reminiscing so many of those precious moments that new moms have, all the while knowing, I will never see those moments again.

Our household has exchanged diapers and bottles for coloring books and super hero capes.  Instead of feeding schedules, we now have preschool and lesson schedules to abide by. 

The "cheese burger place" now has a name... Mc Donalds and Mickey Mouse is no longer hot dog, but Mickey - so many changes and at the same time I want to be sad - they are refreshing and exilerating reminders of how much we all have grown in these few short years.

One thing I can be thankful for is the all the photos I take, have taken and that continue to be taken - for these will be the keepsakes that I will treasure more than any others in my lifetime.

That said, here is a Shutterfly book that I made of Little Bird to showcase the little bird on her newest journey of being four.

With all of my heart and soul, I love this child more than I could ever imagine. 

Here is the photo album of Little Birds recent photos
 http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0KbMm7hq2ZPSg&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET

Thank you to Shutterfly for these amazing photobooks that our family loves and treasures.

Shutterfly - My GO TO Picture Print Company

Back in the day, taking a a picture on your camera was a special moment to be captured, you probably only took one or two pictures of the occassion as cost for printing those pictures could add up.  There was the phase of the disposable camera... and which you can still buy, although they seem to cost close to a real camera.  All that aside, today most of us own smart phones that have those handy little cameras built in and no need to carry a camera anymore.  But wait... all is not lost, there are those camera totin' folks out there that still want to capture the best of the best with all attributes included - love these folks!
 
My Grandma Teen took pictures in her day as if she had a smart phone - click, click and more clicks - every where she went, she would capture those moments on film.  I believe that is where I got my love of pictures and photography.
 
I am by NO MEANS a photographer, I am a fan of pictures and capturing that "IT" moment, but I am not a photography.  Once in a great while I can take a really great picture and feel proud... it shortly ends there though.
 
One thing is certain, I dont let my pictures stay on my devices, I LOVE TO HOLD A PRINTED PICTURE - kinda like turning a book page... {I dont own a Kindle, Nook or other reading device}.  I love paper and how it feels, picture paper is no different, love it!
 
Shutterfly has been my GO TO source for most of my printing.  Their customer service is amazing and I just love their products.  My picture always come out great and they are really fast at returning your orders.
 
In addition to printing pictures, they have one the best software programs to building photobooks out on the streets, with a ton of backgrounds and designs to choose from.
 
This past week I took Little Bird and her cousin Maddie to a local Pumpkin Patch - Willamette Valley Fruit Company to have a little harvest time fun!  They played on the toys, searched for the PERFECT pumpkin and swaggered out with a candy treat from the onsite retail market.  The rain had stopped, the clouds and sunshine appeared in a most beautiful way and I had my camera out clicking away!
 
Last night, while the dear husband was out hunting... yes I am a hunting widow this time of year, I uploaded my pictures to Shutterfly and they conveniently showcased them to me in a photobook - yes you read it right, they created a book for me to review of the photos I had just uploaded -- now that is customer service!  I chose to do a more advanced setting/layout and chose that option, but for those who just wanted the pictures in a book - one step away from a photobook!  Within no time, I had created a photobook that I am proud of and excited to see in print!
 
Check this out:    Happy Harvest 2012 - my adorable photo album I created for our trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

Groupon, Living Social and other deal groups often offer special deals for Shutterfly - so try it out today (I used a Groupon I had purchased for this book)!

Happy Harvest - Count your Blessings,  

The Little Birds Mamma

Doc McStuffins

Little Bird has such a vivid imagination right now, it is a lot of fun to listen to her sing, dance and talk to her toys while she plays - I must admit that I just love this age of little children - being three must be magical with all of its new discoveries!

I dont think we will ever get over loving Pirates in our home, especially Jake and the Neverland Pirates - Little Bird loves watching this show as well as a few others on Disney Junior.

Last year we celebrated Little Bird's third birthday pirate style and even though I am already in the works of planning her 4th birthday party, we almost had to make a change in plans for the newly found favorite in the house... Doc McStuffins.

Doc Mc Stuffins is the cutest little six year old television with the just right amount of sweet and smart to have every little child wanting to be a doctor when they grow up!

Her mission is to help all the toys she encounters that may have a boo boo or two.  In a kind and carrying way, with the help of her stuffed animals aka clinic staff, she can fix almost anything!  Getting and receiving hugs is one of the main prescriptions for well-being.

The show talks about going to the doctor, going to the hospital, eating well, treating your body right and enjoying life - great show!  I catch myself enjoying the episodes as well.

Recently, they combined 5 episodes and made a DVD {Brilliant... in my opinion}!  Here is a link to purchase the DVD on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Doc-McStuffins-Friendship-Medicine-Stickers/dp/B0087NJ7WE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1349283734&sr=8-3&keywords=doc+mcstuffin  I purchased the DVD at a local store, it had a coupon attached for $6 off if you bought another Disney movie, and so it turned out to be Little Bird's lucky day and she got another movie to add to the collection.   I have a sense that old man winter will be treating us to a few snow days, and we will be ready - armed with great movies for those wintery days.

This DVD is Little Bird Approved and Little Bird's Mamma also approves - giving it a double -thumbs up!  Get your copy and check it out today!

For your convenience, I have listed a couple of links that you may enjoy:


Link to Doc McStuffins on the Disney website:  http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/doc-mcstuffins

Link to Jake and the Neverland Pirates on the Disney website:  http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/jake-and-the-never-land-pirates/jake-and-the-never-land-pirates-videos-episodes

Coloring pages:  http://disneycoloringpages.net/jake-and-the-neverland-pirates-coloring-pages/

Doc McStuffins Coloring Pages:  http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/doc-mcstuffins/doc-mcstuffins-coloring-create

Stay Sweet - Little Birds Mamma

This review was conducted by Little Birds Mamma and she didnt receive anything from anyone to do the review :)

Cute Couples Make for the Best Celebrations

Over the summer I had the opportunity to help a couple coordinate their river-view wedding.  Todd and Amanda are the sweetest couple to start and working with them to see that their day was nothing short of amazing was a treat! 

I loved every aspect of the wedding and most important, the vibe that exuded from this couple, it literally spilled over and embraced the guests - the day was perfect!  Take a peak at this adorable wedding and all the special touches, you will be in love - I promise!

Congratulations to Todd and Amanda, best wishes and love always!

Here is a link to the adorable couple's wedding pictures:  http://thegemmersblog.com/amanda-todd-have-a-lovely-wedding-at-the-lake/#comment-112