Some bunny is turning 1!

Hello Crushers!

When we were little, my mom was the Queen of Themed Birthday Parties. This was before you could search Pinterest for cutesy ideas for your child's birthday party. This was back when creativity did not need the Internet. I had a cowgirl birthday, a fashion show birthday (still my favorite to this day), a Minnie Mouse birthday, and lots of others. My brother had a dinosaur birthday and Ghostbusters birthday (We shot water at bed sheet ghosts in our trees). My sister had a Little Mermaid birthday (we played "Skuttle Says").

This woman set a high bar.

Yes, I know that Ellie is only 1, and she won't remember this birthday so I shouldn't go nuts. I didn't go nuts, but at the same time I wanted it to be special because I will remember this birthday. Steve will remember this birthday. It's not just her birthday; it's also a celebration of the day when we were blessed to become parents to an amazing little girl that made our family bigger and brighter. That is worth celebrating!

Some bunny is turning 1 in photos:

Bunny bean bag toss (idea from Pinterest)

Carrot-shaped bean bags (idea from Pinterest)

Carrot cake bunny cupcakes (idea started with Pinterest, but I added to it)

Ellie LOVES carrot cake we found out!

The bouquet of bunny Peeps was more for mommy/looks than for Ellie. Yum!

We also played Bunny Hopscotch, and the bigger cousins wore bunny ear hats. We tried to get Ellie to wear one, but she just kept taking it off and trying to eat it. Since we have a big group when you just include the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins (28 people), we had a potluck lunch and a few games for the kids ages 4 months to 7 years. They had a blast!

The few things we did to make it a themed party were fun and totally for the bigger kids and adults, but it was worth it. I didn't do it to impress anyone or start any mommy wars. I did it because I like theme parties. My mom did them for me, and now I get to do them for Ellie. It's a tradition that I hope she'll carry on for her kids. Every family is different, but I'm happy that we got to celebrate our family this way.

Thanks for "hopping by" today!

Birthday Dinner

Good morning, Crushers!

Today is my birthday. I don't know about you, but I love birthdays. I love everything about them. I love the warm wishes. I love the cake and ice cream. I love trying to remember how old you are now. I love presents. I also love getting a special meal and sharing it with people I love and enjoy.

Growing up, my mom would throw us amazing birthday parties. That woman knows how to stick to a theme! We would always get to eat fun food and have friends over. One of my favorite birthdays of all time was on my golden birthday when a bunch of my friends came over for a sleepover. This was a big deal in elementary school. We all got to dress up in fun dress-up clothes and have a pretend fashion show. My mom narrated it describing our outfits (many of which were her old bridesmaid dresses and other costumes), and my dad video taped us so that we could watch it later. We felt like celebrities!

Lately, my friends and family would either go to a hockey game and eat Chinese food and have pie for dessert or just have the same dinner at home. I love pie, especially birthday pie! Sometimes we'd be stuck at home because there would be a blizzard.

Last year, I didn't have any big plans, but Steve decided to let my inner celebrity chef run wild. He took me to this amazing Italian deli/grocery in Milwaukee and let me pick out whatever foods I wanted for dinner that night. After being momentarily stunned, I formulated a game plan, ahem, I mean menu, and got to work. We got fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for a capri salad, spicy Italian sausage and marinara sauce, portabella mushroom ravioli, wine and then a very decadent slice of cake. My stomach is happy just thinking of it. It was delicious.

Today, I'm going to go out to dinner with my husband (so neither of us has to do the dishes), enjoy an unusually warm day for January and maybe even walk to lunch with my friends. Sounds pretty great, huh?

Whatever way you enjoy (safely and legally) celebrating, I hope you do it with gusto! I fully intend on enjoying this whole day!