Puppy Party

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Today was Gabriel's puppy party and it was SO much fun! We had a lot of great friends and family come to celebrate it with us...some even chose to stand outside and play (that is dedication to the party because it was chilly). Yesterday was Gabe's actual birthday and we had a nice little celebration. I was really excited about his "birthday cake" aka an ice cream sandwich with a candle stuck in it. Best of both worlds if you ask me! I'll walk you through the weekend...

First of all, the theme was a 'puppy party'. Molly decided this past Christmas that she would like a puppy. We reminded her that Gabe is very much like a puppy and that has seemed to suffice - for now. After all, he does have HUGE paws, cleans the food off the floor after meals and is notorious for carrying items around the house in his mouth (like shoes). Sounds very puppy like to me...and he is cuter than any puppy I know.

Here was the invitation. It was a postcard with a fun little message and the details on the back!



All the kids got to wear puppy ears on their head...well...Granny and I did too. Gabe is such a good sport!

What puppy party is complete without a "puppy bone cake?" (Thanks for the icing Amy and Amy's mom- it was GREAT!)

Unfortunately, Kelly's very lovely and shiny grill has still not been connected to the gas line. He had to revive the 'oldie but goodie'. It got the job done and Kelly still looks rather manly next to his smaller-not-so-shiny-grill...even if he can't see it.

Makenzie and the gang of kids were the perfect puppy guests! I am bummed that I didn't take any pictures of their painted frisbees they made. What a bunch of artists! I did paint puppy faces on the kids that were interested. I think that was only about two of them but oh well it was really fun!

That is until the eye patch gets rubbed by a sleepy Molly and she quickly started to look like orphan Oliver after a day of hanging with a pack of chimney sweeps.

Our little man loved him some party food. Puppy chow, hot dogs, bone cake... what could be better?

It seems at showers, birthdays and kid birthdays alike I have always held down the "hot seat" (the opener of presents in the center of the spotlight). I was very happy to pass that off to this unassuming character... he did handle it well especially when 9 kids stormed the area to "help".

As the party started to wind down I got some snuggle time with my little pup.

It was SUCH a great party to celebrate our little guy! Happy Birthday Gabriel!

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For his birthday Kelly made Gabriel a toy box for his room. This picture totally doesn't do it justice! My mom is going to make a "Nonnie Pillow" on it to transform it into a love seat too which will be perfect for diaper changes after our big boy's baby dresser goes away down the road.

When I was taking pictures of Gabe's toy box I realized that I have never posted pictures of around our house. So...here are a few and there will be more to come! This is Gabe's room. I didn't get a picture of his letters on his wall (they are dark green) but this is the room from the doorway. It is jungle themed. I love it! (we still need to recover the rocker)

Molly's room has also been remodeled. When we moved in it was the "office" -all brown wooden built in shelves and deep maroon walls. Took some time to transform it but it is now a perfect room for our little 'star'.

And finally... our newly decorated living room. This has been the latest project that I have referenced in previous posts! Kelly designed and made the shelves and I antiqued all the furniture. We are still waiting on our slip covers that will be here this next week (hopefully before I host book club! :)

This was originally just a plain brown table form Target ...now it is a fun new table in 'Amalfi red' and yes, I did buy the color because it reminded me of my honeymoon... can you blame me?

SO all in all it has been a great weekend. The best part is that we are only halfway through it. With a super clean house already I know that I am in for a night of relaxing!

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Thanks for all the Gabriel birthday wishes...he appreciated all your kind words (as translated through Gabe speak).

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Happy weekend!