Winnie the Pooh Party ... Sean Turns 4!

The big Winnie the Pooh party! Ever since Halloween Sean talked about several different party themes. The front runners were Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Star Wars and Winnie the Pooh. I thought for sure he would settle on Star Wars, but nope... the classic won! Needless to say I was thrilled. What momma doesn't want her 4 year old boy not to grow up?

 

We went cheap on the invites, and sent them via email. I found some cool graphics on Google Images that were posters for the Winnie the Pooh movie (2011), and dropped in the wording in the middle. Love it.

 

And what was so cool about this party is we have SO MUCH Winnie the Pooh stuff in our house. Sean's nursery was Pooh themed, and he has honestly loved Pooh & his friends his whole short life. He now owns all of the Pooh characters in plush (thank you Grandma Shelly for Kanga! She was the last one we were missing). And he's collected all of the Pooh pez. And I didn't even capture all of the little plastic Pooh characters we had thrown about the house.

Our bathroom was transformed into Pooh's "Thotful Spot". The framed photos are in our bathroom, and normally feature black & white photos from Ireland. Instead, I downloaded scenes from the Winnie the Pooh movie from Google Images, printed them out and placed them in the frames. I love them so much I think they are going to stay for a while.

The front door featured a faux wooden sign pointing in the direction of the "100 Aker Wood", and I transformed our family room into the Hundred Acre Wood. The trees were quickly created from a big roll of painter's craft paper, and a couple sheets of green poster board. We did have to put one staple into each tree to keep it from falling. Painters tape just wouldn't do the trick. The banner was homemade, and I love how it fit perfectly between the trees just like the banners do on Winnie the Pooh (honestly did not measure! God was kind to me). The pictures on the wall above the banner are normally snapshots I've taken, but again I downloaded movie posters and added some of my favorite Winnie the Pooh quotes. I also printed photos of Sean with Winnie the Pooh & friends down at Walt Disney World. He has met them in person on several occasions, so it was only fitting.

 

The week before his party I worked a little bit every day getting everything prepared and cleaned. It really went so smoothly, and everything literally fell into place. That is until the night before the party and I settled in to make these cake pops. I was originally going to make these Pooh ones, and glad I didn't because I would have certainly hurt someone in the process. I decided on these bee cake pops I found through Pinterest. Yes, they are super cute. And yes, they were super yummy (I ate at least half of them myself). But honestly, just like his dinosaur cake last year -- they were a pain in the neck! At least half of them were ruined because they fell off the stick as I was coating them in the candy. I made Jeff promise to stop me from trying to make these again. Never. Again.

 

The treat bags were a cinch. Brown craft gift bags, and I printed out another movie poster and added each kid's name. My Godson Luke is modeling the Pooh ears I picked up from Party City. And the kids loved playing pin the tail on Eyeore. This was a download from the Family Fun website.

The plush birthday Winnie the Pooh is actually Luke & Mackenzie's. Grammy/Grampy & Jeff and I bought this for them for their first birthday down in Walt Disney World. The perfect centerpiece to the food table.

I got a number of appetizer ideas off Pinterest, including Piglets in a blanket, Veggies from Rabbit's Garden, and Tigger's Tail Mix. They were a huge hit! Sean's cake is hard to see in this photo, but it is uber adorable. No, I didn't make it (remember, I promised I never would again!). It's from the Jewel, and I can't get over how perfect it was!

The best part of the day? All our family & friends. This is me and my mom & sibs... from left to right: John, me, Mom, Mike & Kari.



Hannah didn't disappoint on the cute factor!



Sean wasn't too thrilled about taking photos with everyone. He is a horrible model right now.
Starting at the top, going left to right: Uncle Mikey...Aunt Sue & Uncle Frank...Aunt Kari & Hannah (Kevin is missing!), Second Row: Grammy & Grammy...Grandma Shelly...Uncle Todd & Aunt Kim
Third Row: Christopher... Drake (Sean's friend), Reed & Christine... Uncle Johnny, Marisa & Corey.



Big Greninger Family... Kevin is in this picture! And yes, I am wearing a Tigger shirt. Sean wore a Piglet shirt, and Jeff was Pooh!





Big Hipelius Family



The day was magical. Truly. Honestly. Everything came together without an ounce of stress, and Sean loved it all. My little boy is four years old. Hard to believe.

“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.” -- Winnie the Pooh

Photo of the Day... Party!

It was loads of fun. More pics and details and stories to come...

Happy Birthday, Sean!!

I am so darn blessed! My little guy turned 4 today... hard to believe, time sure does fly by. Everyone tells you that but when they are itty bitty you can't quite grasp it.

Today I can.

Feels like yesterday we were racing to the hospital when my water broke, freaking out when the doctor said "emergency C-section", and hearing his sweet cry for the first time. God is awesome because he sent us this amazing little man. He's growing up so so fast.

Happy Birthday, buddy. I love you.

December Daily :: Day 25

I always have a hard time when document Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because there are always SO many pictures and great memories. It's hard to pick just a few. Next year I need to come up with better layouts to capture all of the great moments.

Journaling reads: You woke up this morning at 8 o’clock. I could hear you open your door and few seconds later yell “Mommy! Mommy, let’s go downstairs.” I purposely didn’t respond because I wanted you to come and get me. You walked into our room all stoic... your way of not showing any emotion. I said, “why? What’s downstairs?” Finally a smile broke across your face. “Presents. From Santa!”

This was the present you made for us at school. You were so excited to give it to us that it was the first thing you grabbed when it was time to open presents. We LOVE it. Thank you.

We spent the day playing with all your new toys, and then we got ready to go to Aunt Kari’s for Christmas dinner. Mommy had popsicles and crackers, but everyone loved the ham and potatoes et al. You gave and received lots of great presents like your remote control fire truck, ceramic train music box, and Kanga! We finished the special Christmas celebration by singing happy birthday to Jesus. A blessed day indeed!



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December Daily :: Day 24

I woke up on Christmas Eve sick. I have to admit at first I was a little excited thinking about spending the day alone and quiet... but quickly became very sad. I was determined to make it to my in-laws. I showered and got myself all made up, and I was feeling OK. We were on our way, made it about halfway there and the car ride was making me very, very nauseous. I made Jeff pull over at a gas station so I could get some fresh air. I nearly lost my cookies so to speak, and had to sit on the curb because I started to see stars. Not good. I had Jeff take me home, and I cried the whole way.  I was mad at myself for even thinking I could make it, and now Jeff and Sean were going to be late. I was sad I would miss seeing Sean and his cousins. I was sad that I would surely miss some really cute memories. I spent the night on the couch. Bah humbug.

Journaling reads: Christmas Eve! Twas the night before Christmas, and the parties were starting! We celebrate with the Hipelius side of our family on Christmas eve, and you were ready  to party! Mommy, however, wasn’t. She got your bug stomache, and didn’t make it to Grammy and Grampy’s today. Bummer. She was really sad about it and ended up watching TV the whole night under the glow of the Christmas tree. You, however, had an awesome time playing with your cousins. You told me all about the yummy food you ate like pretzels, crackers, rolls, ham, mashed potatoes. Oh and cake. Your favorite. Then you opened presents and lots of them! You are very loved.

Here are a few more pics my dear husband shot for me that night. So, so cute.















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Merry Christmas

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas.

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December Daily :: Day 23

Pictures like these I wish I had a Nikon and/or a better lens. I used my kit lens instead of my 50mm 1.8 because it was such tight quarters, and I wanted to get the Christmas tree in the frame. So that meant I had to use the tripod as well as bump my ISO as high as it would go. The focus is OK but there is so much noise. I hate noise. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Journaling reads: You’ve been watching one Christmas movie every day this month, but tonight was family movie night. The Polar Express. Your favorite. you watched pretty much the whole movie, but fell asleep right after the first gift of Christmas. Will you always be able to hear the bell’s sweet sound?


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Click here for a list of credits and supplies used in today's layout.