FrannyKate's Creative State: February 2012

Friday, February 17, 2012

Dolly and Me Tea

We have concluded the final piece of birthday celebration with Nora's friend party. She choose a Tea Party with 7 of her friends and their favorite dolls. We went all girl and all pink with this one. I don't think our house has seen this much pink in all 9 years of having girls but it was fun to decorate and be girly for a change. side note: I got some adorable photos of all the girls together with their dolls and their "dance party" but I am not comfortable posting photos online of kids if I don't know their parents are okay with it so I had to select from the other photos instead.

We hosted the tea party up in the playroom loft. The big girls had their table and the dolls had their own. Here is May, Nora's doll, all ready for her friends to arrive. Each doll had her own place setting complete with cake, pie, napkin and lemonade.

And the big girls' table

The guests of honor! The girls made jewelry for their dolls. Maddy helped with a few hair-dos on the dolls along with "hello my name is...." nametags for each doll to wear.

The cake was not my finest of productions but luckily 7 year old girls are fairly easily impressed!

The dolls enjoyed their teaparty time too

Wii Dance Party was a big hit and could have kept them entertained for hours I think! Best party activity ever! None of the girls used controllers we would just put the song on and let them go.

We ended the party with more tea while decorating picture frames with a group photo of the whole gang. Overall this was a very successful and fairly easy party to manage. Treat bags consisted of the girls taking home the place setting for the dolls complete with mini-eraser cakes and pies and the lemonade drink along with a mini i-phone eraser for the dolls and then each girl got to choose one of the primrose centerpieces to take home.

American Girl Outings

Grandma Margie was in town for Nora's birthday so we celebrated on Sunday by taking the girls on a special outing to the American Girl store. That is quite the experience!! It was a bit overwhelming for the girls, especially Nora, to make choices. This was especially true since they were spending their own hard earned money and wanted to make sure they made the best choice possible. Both girls got the dolls' ears pierced and then chose a new outfit for the dolls. Very fitting of the girls - Madison chose a track suit and Nora a pretty party dress.

We also enjoyed a fun birthday lunch in the Bistro. The food was better than what I had anticapted and they certainly make the kids feel special and include the dolls in everything. If you plan to go on the weekend, make sure to get reservations! I saw many very disappointed little girls and parents who expected to come in and get seated with none and were turned away.

Overall it was a fun experience that was good for a special occasion outing. I have to say these dolls are quite the hit in our household. I wasn't too sure when the girls started requesting them but they LOVE them and I really like the fact that they are being so creative and imaginative with them. And must admit that I am a bit hooked myself:-)

Friday, February 10, 2012

12 on 10 Birthday Edition

(Nothing like a birthday to get a person out of a blogging slump. Let's see if it continues past this weekend!!)

Breakfast in bed with homemade cinnamon rolls

A bit of a rush job on the cake-pops this morning

A brief reprieve from the rain allowed for a fun photo shoot

And tree climbing

And scootering

A little quiet time for everyone

Nora said that getting her report card on her birthday was a great gift!!

Nora's dinner choice: steak, homemade rolls and honey butter, tossed salad and melon

Present time

The final gift suprise from daddy! Now we all mountain bikes and Novara brand like any good REI family should. And Nora finally has a bike that isn't a hand-me-down.