Mini-Me is 3!

Our princess Reese is 3 years old! I know it sounds cliche, but it seems like yesterday we were just bringing her home from the hospital. She is blossoming into such a sweet, loving little girl. She could still kill you with her dirty looks and she'd punch you in the face if you look at her the wrong way, but now she's hugging and kissing and telling us that she loves us (about 100 times a day). She likes to dance around in tutus and loves shoes and purses. I don't get tired of people telling me she is a mini-me.

Her birthday party turned out perfect (well, almost perfect, it was about 200 degrees outside). So many of our friends and family braved the heat to celebrate her Garden Party themed birthday party.

Table decor - watering cans filled with flowers, grass placemats.

Sunflowers and pinwheels up the front walkway.

Reese's outfit. My friend Evie made the t-shirt and I made the flower bow.

The party favor - bubbles, soil and seeds. The tag reads, "Reese Darcie Gourley, growing wild since July 19, 2007."

The yummy treats.

Painting project. We painted flower pots.

Cousins Elijah and Tristian

My friend Amy reminded everyone that the first rule of painting is "do not mix the paints."

Carson.

Lila, who ironically was the only other girl at Reese's very girlie Garden Party.

Time for presents!

 Jameson and Reese.

Birthday girl enjoys a slice of birthday cake on the special Birthday plate.It was a great party and a great day with our friends! She was so excited about her party and she had so much fun!

Incredible Hulk Birthday

Aidan, Reese and I drove up to Chicago for my nephew Elijah's birthday party.

The Incredible Hulk theme. My sister, Emily made cupcakes in ice cream cones.

Elijah giving Reese a push on the swing.

Enjoying the cupcakes

Uncle Jeff blowing bubbles for Reese.

The finale of the party... the pinata.

The 3 Year Old Registry

Reese's birthday is only a few weeks away, so I thought I'd take her to a few stores to find out what she wants for her birthday and do a "registry list" similar to the one I did for Aidan a few months ago.

We spent some time in Target and she picked out a few items including the pink Mega Blocks set above.  Here are a few more:

The Princess and The Frog Tea Set. Requested: 1 Not Yet Fulfilled.

Princess Shoes. Requested: 1
Will Receive from her Aunt Emily.
Fulfilled.

What my friend Evie wishes she could get for Reese.

Reese's favorite book, but for some reason we don't have it yet!
Requested: 1
Still Needs: 1
Not Fulfilled

Reese like her mama loves weddings and would like to dress up like a bride and even have the rag doll dressed like a bride.

Reese is always taking good care of her stuffed animals and our real dogs Tyson and Haley. She puts fake bandaids on them whenever they "get hurt," as any good doctor knows, a bandaid can cure anything.
Critter Clinic
Requested: 1
Still Needs: 1
Not Fulfilled

After Target, we went to Toys R Us. We continued to snap photos and talk about what Reese wants for her birthday. During our visit I continuously reminded Aidan that this visit was about Reese, and if he wants anything, he'll have to talk to Santa. I got a few dirty looks from other moms, maybe they think I'm too direct, maybe they don't want their kids to know that Christmas is only 6 months away. Oh well.

A store clerk stopped me in Toys R Us and asked me what I was doing and if I knew about their "Wish List." Ummm, no! Sign me up! Store Clerk brought us to the customer service desk, I filled out a form and we got our scanning gun. Uh, oh, this could be dangerous! We started all over again at the front of the store and started scanning. We had so much fun. If you haven't done this, it was really easy and such a smart idea.

Here's her registry: Reese's Registry

Or you can go to www.toysrus.com and search for REESE GOURLEY as the gift recipient. Don't use the city or state, just search by her name.

I hope she gets a few of the items that she wants. I think I may have started a new tradition with my kids with the registry. I love it, and I know they love it too.

Na na na na na na na na BIRTHDAY!

Aidan's 4th birthday party was this past Saturday. For 363 days, Aidan has been asking for a Batman Birthday party. Aidan's obsession with Batman has been growing along with his admiration for my uncle Jeff, who has also been obsessed with Batman since he was Aidan's age.

I've had a while to prepare for this party and I wanted it to be cool and fun. I spent several months searching for vintage Batman decor and then it hit me... my uncle Jeff has been collecting this stuff for years (I won't reveal his age, mostly because he is stuck at age 26 in my mind). I called my uncle and asked him if he would let me borrow a few posters and figurines. He heard "please bring a Rubbermaid tub full of Batman stuff and tons of posters." I was so glad because I loved all of the vintage Batman stuff and the movie release posters helped set the scene.

Capes for each of Aidan's guests (the kids only, of course).

Reese and Carson.

I sewed sequins onto Reese's Batman shirt to make it "girlie."

We finally convinced Finni to wear her cape.

Uncle Jeff offered to wear his costume to the party, which he did not rent, he owns this costume.

 All the other kids were terrified by "Batman." Aidan knew it was Uncle Jeff, but I'm pretty sure he thinks that Uncle Jeff is the real Batman.

I really wanted to take a photo of all the kids in their capes standing next to "Batman," but none of the other kids would get anywhere near him. Including Mateo, who is hiding under the sand table.

Cupcakes with Batman Logo toppers.

Some of the Super Hero Treats. The M&Ms are actually pretzel M&Ms, if you haven't tried these yet, you must! They are FANTASTIC. What a perfect combo, why haven't they done this before?

Catwoman Cheese Balls. Aidan specifically requested Cheese Balls, I didn't know these were still on the market.

 Time for presents! Notice all of the Batman stuff on the fireplace mantle.

Making our Super Hero Masks.

Abe's mask. His mom told me that he and his brother wore their capes and mask for hours after Aidan's party was over! Abe said this was the best party EVER, and he is one tough critic.