Rainbow Puppy Party

A big party took place at our home over Labor Day weekend. Someone let our baby turn 1 (rude) and our firstborn turned 4. Time, you cruel beast.

We decided to have a combined party for various boring reasons. (Their birthdays are 3 weeks apart. Most of our family lives out of town, yadda, yadda.)

My biggest first-world-Pinterest-Mom concern was combing a birthday party theme. Luckily my darling angels made it easy on me this year.

Puppies!!!

Clark wanted a “blue dog from Paw Patrol cake”. That’s it. Oh wait, and rainbow colors. Just that. Nothing else. Oh, and balloons. In rainbow colors. (Side note: Clark doesn’t watch Paw Patrol. He doesn’t know the dog’s name but this was his wish. Kids are adorably strange. And clearly victims of marketing.)

Margo LOVES dogs. She hyperventilates and flaps her arms like a crazy person whenever she sees a dog. We used to think she was getting excited to see us but quickly caught on that it was Ike. “DOG” was also her first word.

Rainbow puppy party it is!

I try to curb my crazy with kid birthday parties but they’re only young once, right? (I mean, I didn’t iron the tablecloth so that means I’m totally not neurotic, right? Or I ran out of time. Whatever.)

I love to use food in my party decorating. You need to feed people. They eat the food. You don’t have extra junk in your house after the party is over. Winning all around. There was no shortage of puppy cake or cupcakes. Puppy chow and “pup-peroni” pizza rounded out the party. (I used this video as a guide for the cake and cupcakes!)

My mother-in-law graciously babysat me while I was decorating the cakes. Margo’s smash cake turned out slightly more Star Wars character than dog. She did scream DOG DOG DOGGGG whenever we’d show her the cake. I considered that good enough.

I made my first balloon arch for the party. It shockingly wasn’t that painful. It took me about 20 minutes to blow up the balloons with a balloon pump and an almost 4 year old (one was more helpful than the other). I’ll link all of the supplies at the end of the post but balloon arch tape is a must. I assembled the arch in about an hour. Hanging was the hardest part of the process. I left that lovely task to Nate and my brother. There will be no words of advice on the hanging subject because I don’t want to know how they ended up doing it.

It was a beautiful day in Iowa so we took the cake smashing outside. This sweet girl ended up with frosting in her belly button. I could eat her up.

Clark has sang himself “Happy Birthday” since age 2. It makes me so happy and brings a tear to my eye every time.

This will also be known as the birthday where Mom matched the tablecloth. You win some, you lose some.

Party Sources:

Floral and Blush Nursery

Now that introductions are out of the way, I can share Margo’s nursery with you!

Way back in May I shared my plans for converting my former craft room into the nursery. This was the first time that I fully planned out a room before starting. This is also my favorite room in the house. I’m sure there is some lesson there but I’ve never been great at that kind of thing.

What am I great at? Baby snuggling.

photo credit: Molly Timmerman Photography

The showstopper of this room is the ivy wallpaper from B Darling Decor. I’m crazy obsessed with it. Like I want to wallpaper ALL THE KINDS OF THINGS (a famous Clark quote around here). I need to do a separate post about installation. Quick summary: our marriage survived. It was touch-and-go that first hour but we were back to soulmate status the second hour. The issues were no fault of the wallpaper, just our crooked house. I still can’t stop staring at the wallpaper. Margo too. I’m assuming it’s excellent taste and not that whole “babies love black and white” thing.

photo credit: Molly Timmerman Photography

Most importantly the wallpaper makes for a great backdrop for photos of my favorite people. I hadn’t even considered that before.

Now for more nursery photos. (I’ll link all sources at the end. Let me know if I forget anything.)

We went with an IKEA Hemnes 8 drawer dresser over an heirloom piece. Kids are hard on things. Styles change. It just felt like the right decision for us currently. Assembly was as easy as IKEA assembly gets. Nate and I are both a little shocked at the quality (pleasantly shocked). Clark likes to run that pink ottoman into it daily to help with diaper changes. It’s handling that beating like a champ!

The chair is amazing. I’ve logged many hours in it over the past 12 weeks. It’s super comfortable. The perfect size. Rave reviews from everyone, including Ike. We’ve since added this small side table. Nate was going to build one and never got around to it. I needed a place for my water bottle, Haakaa (breastfeeding Mamas, you NEED this!), and pump. Amazon Prime for the win. (How did newborn Moms survive before?) We like it so much we’ve since ordered a second for by the crib to hold the AngelCare Monitor.

Many things in this room are the result of middle of the night pregnancy insomnia Pinterest scrolling. Like the rabbit print. It speaks to me. Nate hates it. I’m sure Margo will love it. (She has great taste, remember?) I found the “little lady” sign in the Hobby Lobby clearance section for $2! We use Ivy the Goat in Margo’s monthly photos. (As I’m typing this, I’m noticing an Ivy theme. Weird.)

The wire basket has the glamorous role of holding diapers and butt paste. (Not shown because we didn’t end up buying them until like a week before her arrival. We like to live on the edge.)

The bow holder is actually a towel holder. I wanted something that organized the bows but also made them easily accessible. Mission accomplished.

We used a double curtain rod to hang the curtains. They are room darkening but not black out. Layering them while closed helps to darken the room.

The “Sweet Dreams” art above the crib is another one of those insomnia deals. I had trouble deciding on this part of the room. Cheap prints with cheap frames equal cheap large scale art. (Dear Safety Police, they are hung on the walls and also secured with approximately 957,308 velcro command strips. I honestly don’t know if we’ll ever be able to remove them.)

The crib was Clark’s. We (also known as Nate) painted the dark wood toned base black because the room was clearly ruined if it wasn’t black.

I made the quilt this Summer. It was a labor of love. (I used these Robert Kaufman Blushing Bouquet charm packs.) Quilting and planning a nursery are the two things that help me bond with baby during pregnancy. I spend the time during these projects thinking about their arrival, personalities, etc. Sappy hormonal stuff. The quilt gets used during monthly photos.

The last project in this room was switching out the bi-fold closet doors. We plan to do this to the others in the house because it’s a fairly easy upgrade. Also kids and bi-fold doors make me nervous.

Nap time is over! Back to chasing a 3 year old with a baby strapped to me. Boy has time (and this room) changed since I started blogging 10 years ago! It’s messy and beautiful and I can’t see what the next 10 years brings!

photo credit: Molly Timmerman Photography

Sources:

Ivy Wallpaper, IKEA Hemnes 8 Drawer Dresser, Rabbit Print, Sweet Dreams prints, Soho Comfort Glider, Ivy the Goat, Bow Holder, IKEA Ribba Frame, Quilt Charm Pack, Crib, Crib sheets, Curtains, Pink Ottoman (thrift store), Round mirror (similar), Wire basket (exact: Hobby Lobby, similar), Pink clock, “M”, changing pad cover, Wall color (Sherwin Williams Privilege Green)

Life Update

Hey! I’m kind of getting the itch to blog again. Like 2008 blogging. You know, when blogging was fun and interactive. We’ll see how long the itch lasts!

Let’s start with a life update. I was going to share nursery photos but it feels weird to share that without properly introducing our newest family member.

Margo joined us on August 21st. Her labor was pretty uneventful. I ended up getting an epidural. I’m going to rank that up there on one of my best life decisions. I’m super thankful for a healthy pregnancy and equally thankful to no longer be pregnant. It was a tough 9 months but totally worth it. (File that under one of the parenting cliches that are annoyingly all true). Margo’s been a pretty easy baby from the start. (Minus that witching hour and hatred of the car seat. We all have our things.) Everyone describes her as “sweet” and I’d say that’s extremely accurate. Sweet baby Margo.

We’re all adjusting surprisingly well. The transition from one kid to two has been way easier for Nate and I. The lack of free time and constant demands of parenthood were a shock to us with Clark. We thought we were prepared and we most definitely were not. I don’t think parenthood is something you can actually prepare for until it happens. That shock isn’t there this time. Babies are exhausting but other than that, it sort of feels like she’s been here with us for way more than 11 weeks. Our little family feels complete.

Clark is crazy obsessed with his sister. He’s very concerned about where she is at and what she is doing. He LOVES to sing to her and her face lights up every time. I feel like they are going to be team trouble before I know it. Having a baby and a toddler is no joke but it’s exhaustingly fun.

Everyone always asks how poor Ike is handling life. He surprisingly really likes Margo. And she’s started to be very interested in him. They have a cute little relationship developing.

I have some house updates and a few crafty projects that I’d like to share. I do have to return to work in the next few weeks though so hopefully I find the time! Precious, precious time.

All photos: Molly Timmerman Photography