Harper's Art Birthday Party

This year Harper chose to have an art-themed birthday party. This year I chose to have a stress-free party day. Both were a huge success! I planned and prepped a lot in advance, and yesterday I had so much fun decorating and setting up. 

One thing that helped a ton was getting a babysitter. She came over to watch the kids at noon so we could go get ready for a party that started at 3:00. Huge help! 

I LOVE the birthday cake. If you know me, you know it's what I spend most of my time on for these parties. Here are some of my past party cakes...

But this year, since it was an art theme, I decided to let Harper decorate her cake. I made a two-layer cake and covered it in fondant. It's the first time I've ever used fondant before. It tastes pretty terrible and I've never known how to use it. As you'll see below, I need more practice, but it worked great for giving Harper a nice, clean, white cake to draw on. 

Then I let Harper loose with these...

They worked so well! They went on really easily, they didn't smudge, and they were perfectly true to color. 

And the finished product: 

Harper decided to draw her family, her name, and a perfect number 5. 

Sticking to the theme, we also had cupcakes for each kid to decorate, an idea I found from Pinterest.

We had different art stations set up around the room: a coloring table, a foam animal puppet table, a modeling foam table, (really great stuff you can check out here), and finger paints next to a canvas so we could capture every kid's handprint as a keepsake for Harper. 

And of course no party is complete without a piñata. It was Harper's one request. 

(Doesn't Chris look cool? The headband he grabbed to use as a blindfold was too difficult for the kids, so I guess he decided to store it on his head!)

We ate pizza, opened presents, sang to the birthday girl, and Chris prayed for Harper, a Holohan birthday tradition. 

It was awesome!

The Things I Love About Her

•she made me a mom

•her caring heart

•she loves to perform

•her sense of humor

•her freckles

•the way she says 'aminals'

•her love of fashion

•the way she smiles

•her crazy bed head in the morning

•how much she loves Eeyore

•she loves to give

•how crazy smart she is

•her love for her family

•and so much more...

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY HARPER GREY!

She's Growing Up, and I'm Unapologetically Emotional About It

My biggest baby is turning 5 in just a few short days. I'm not sure if everyone considers this a milestone, but I sure do. It is the age she will be when she starts kindergarten...when she goes to school 5 days a week...when she has homework. It's half-way to 10! (Ok...I may be getting a bit irrational with that last one) 

I get a little sad with each birthday, knowing the last year is now a part of history. But I get very excited, too, anticipating the new things that are to come. And usually the excitement outweighs the sadness so much, that the sadness is a small speck in the back of my mind, a slight tugging feeling in my heart that I barely feel. 

But this birthday has me emotional! Every day as I check Timehop, I get a little teary eyed seeing how tiny she looked last year, 2 years ago, 3... At night I binge-watch episodes of Parenthood (I'm sadly late to this highly addictive show), and I cry as I watch the struggles the kids go through as their parents do their best to protect them, but sometimes are powerless to do so. And I know that those days are already here. 

Last night Harper started crying in the middle of the night. When I go in to check on her, she tells me through her tears with eyes still closed, that someone told her that her outfit isn't pretty. Once I was able to convince her that it was a dream, she drifted back to sleep. If you know Harper, you know she loves her fashion. And the thought of someone insulting her was enough to be classified as a nightmare. And so it starts...

At the same time I marvel as I watch her learn how to ride her bike that she got for Christmas. As Chris instructs her, I can imagine too clearly the instructions he will give when she learns how to drive a car. How lucky are we to get to do these things with her?! 

I know, I know...she's just turning 5. But it was only 3 days ago when I brought her home from the hospital, all tiny and brand new, right?? 

Five is going to be a great adventure, I just know it. However, for the next 3 days I'll be spending my time reminiscing and reminding myself that's she's still four.