A Punzel Party

I think the kids are catching on to my love of birthdays. Back in December I asked Makayla what kind of a birthday party she wanted and she said a "Punzel party" (Rapunzel). I was planning on doing just a princess themed party, but when she was that specific, I had to agree to her terms! So Tyler and I started planning her Rapunzel themed 3rd birthday. We found some great ideas on the internet and were so excited for her party!

The day of Makayla's party finally arrived! She got all dressed up in her Rapunzel outfit. 

 Do you want the story on this cake? It probably isn't that interesting, but I do want to remember it because I was so irritated at the time. I ordered Makayla's cake a few days before her birthday and the lady asked me how big I wanted it. I asked her how much it feeds and she told me that a 1/4 sheet cake can feed up to 24. I was thinking that would work, because although we had over 30 people coming, a lot of them were kids and some of my family don't like cake. So I ordered a 1/4 sheet and went about my business. Fast forward to the morning of her party... 2:30 am to be exact. For some reason I woke up in a panic thinking, what am I thinking? A 1/4 of a sheet won't feed 24! I need to order twice that much! So I tossed and turned, until I finally woke up Tyler. He thought I was crazy of course, and told me to call them. So at 3:30 in the morning I called Walmart. They didn't have anyone in the bakery yet, so I begged the lady to go back and check to see if the order sheet was still there and if she could change the size. I was on hold for over 30 minutes and she never came back on the line. I decided at 5 am (after calling back again multiple times and not being able to get anyone to answer) that I would go to the store. I found a lady working in the bakery and she went back to check only to find out that the cake had already been made. I panicked even more, until the lady told me that she could make cupcakes to go with it. After figuring all that out, I finally went home and decided it was too late to get any sleep. I decided that I would just make it through the day on 3 hours of sleep total... but don't worry... at least we would have enough cake!!!

So after that long story, here is her Rapunzel cake (and cupcakes):

Even though the whole cake fiasco was stressful, I was very happy with how the cake turned out. Makayla was too. She kept asking us if she could eat one. It was really hard for her to understand that she had to wait all day before she could. 

 We decorated the basement in pink and purple and had a lot of Rapunzel things around. I made princess jeweled Chex mix and had pink and purple candy.

 I found this cute princess wall hang at the store, then we found a great idea on the internet to make this Rapunzel braid. Tyler was the clever one and thought to make the hair extend from Rapunzel in the picture.

 Of course we had to have balloons!

 I made this sign that said, "Best day ever". If you haven't seen the movie, it is probably one of Makayla's favorite lines from it. She walks around the house saying it... cutest thing ever!

 We had Flynn Rider wanted posters hanging up. Makayla was very specific about where she wanted them around the basement.

 We also had some Rapunzel pictures and lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I was very happy with the way all the decorations turned out, and I think Kay-bugs was too. She kept disappearing during the day and we would find her in the basement, just looking at all the stuff for her party.

Then it was time for the party to begin. Here is our special guest of honor, Princess Makayla: 

We have the best family and so many people came to celebrate Makayla's special day.

We had French dip for dinner, then moved right into our game of "Musical Rapunzel"

I warned my brothers that if they made any of the kids cry they would be in big trouble. Luckily they complied, and the kids had fun. Preston won the big prize, but all the other kids got a Rapnzel bag with a purple drink, pink Airhead, purple Pop Rocks, princess fruit snacks, a princess sucker, and a Rapunzel toy.

Then it was time to open presents. Makayla was pretty excited. 

She got spoiled with a Baby Alive from Grandma and Grandpa Thomas; a Belle doll, Minnie Mouse doll, and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Evans; Princess jammies from Tammy and Bruce; A Rapunzle doll from the Thomas cousins; a princess beauty kit from Ryan; a Cinderella dress up magnet set from Karly, Rico, and Kenzee; and Minnie Mouse books from Emily.

Then we sang Happy Birthday and Makayla got to blow out her candle on her cake.

She loved her cake and asked for seconds and thirds!

Thanks to everyone who made Makayla's 3rd birthday party so special!

Tuesday was Makayla's actual birthday. She got to go to Brooke's that day and take some cupcakes. When I picked her up she told me that they had "punzel cupcakes wif pink and purple frosting, and two flowers were yellow and orange!"

Makayla got to pick where we went to dinner that night and of course she picked "da enchilada" (aka El Rancho Grande). It was kind of sad because the Draper location is closing at the end of the month. We have become such regulars there that they know exactly what we are ordering and what kind of drinks we want.

Caden especially loves the enchiladas. I'm pretty sure some of it ended up in his mouth.

After dinner we came home and Makayla got to open her presents from us.

We gave her a Cabbage Patch doll, some nail polish, a Princess Aurora Precious Moment, the Cinderella movie, and an outfit.

Then we had lots of phone calls of family singing Happy Birthday to Makayla. She was cute and talked to everyone. Tyler had the other phone on mute and would tell her what to say. They turned into some pretty cute conversations.

After all the phone calls we read some books on the rocking chair. Caden was mad at me because I wouldn't let him pile all of his books on me.

It was the perfect end to a great 3rd birthday for our Princess Makayla!

Makayla, we love the sweet and sassy little girl you are turning into. We love how opinionated you are with your clothes, and how bossy you are with Caden. We especially love the funny things and conversations you are starting to have with us. You are such a sweetheart and bring so much joy to our family. We love you so much and love watching you learn and grow. Just remember the song Mommy sings to you and take it to heart, "even though you want to, just try to never grow up."

Our 3 Year Old Princess

It's been three years since our lives changed forever and we welcomed our little Kay-bugs into our family. 

Makayla brings so much joy into our family, and her personality is changing and growing all the time. 

She's sweet and sassy. 

Independent and loving.

 Friendly and cautious. 

 Funny and sensitive. 

A tease and a best friend

And most of all, she's just growing up into a little girl faster than I want her to. 

I want to start a new tradition of asking the kids interview questions on their birthday starting when they turn 3 years old. I think it will be fun to see how their answers to these same questions change over the years. So, at three years old, here's Makayla's answers to her birthday interview: 

1. What is your favorite color? "Umm... maybe red"

2. What is your favorite toy? "Maybe Rapunzel"

3. What is your favorite food? "The enchilada"

4. What is your favorite show? "Da Ariel movie"

5. What do you like to eat for lunch? "Toast and eggs and bacon"

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? "Da Rapunzel dress"

7. What is your favorite game? "Just the snowman game" As a side note, I have no idea what this is! :) 

8. What is your favorite song? "Da Wagon Wheel song"

9. What is your favorite book? "Just the Barbie one that has the castle"

10. Who is your best friend? "Mommy"

11. Where is your favorite place to go? "The enchilada"

12. What do you want to be when you grow up? "I don't want to be growing up"

13. What is your favorite thing about Caden? "I don't know with him... he's just a stinker bug"

14. What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? "Just play"

15. What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? "Just play"

Happy 3rd Birthday Makayla!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

January has been pretty cold, and we have been stuck inside for most of the month. We have been trying to find creative things to do to get us out of the house. Here's some of our fun outings during January. 

The Jones family gave us a sled for Christmas so we took a day went sledding. We bundled up the kids in multiple layers of clothing and we were off. 

We took turns taking the kids down. Both kids were scared at first, but then they loved it. 

 My least favorite part was carrying them back up the hill. We had to do all the work and the kids just got to sit there.

We may have had too much fun sledding because we ended up breaking our brand new sled... either that, or Tyler and I exceed the weight limit for it.... oops!

Another day we took the kids to The Children's Museum. We took the kids here last year and Kayla loved it, but Caden was too little and slept the majority of the time. I thought he would love it this year. 

Caden seriously had a perma smile on his face the entire time. He would scream and run to the different  parts of it to play with all the toys. 

Here they are playing in the construction zone

And the kitchen area. Caden loved tis part and set up all the pretend food.

Kayla had fun taking care of the little babies.

And playing the piano.

She also loved me reading her and her baby books.

The kids loved this part of the museum. They would just run around and climb in and on everything.

They both loved getting on the horse

I think their favorite part was the new helicopter. They just wanted to spend all their time in there even though it was outside and FREEZING!!

We also spent some time pretending to fly an airplane.

I think it's safe to say that the whole family had a blast and we will definitely be going back again in the near future!

Just a Reminder...

Happy New Year!

I thought I would start out this year's blog book with a little reminder: 

Tyler and I have the cutest kids ever. 

Here's why: 

Makayla got ahold of my camera and figured out how to take pictures. There were a lot of random pictures of the floor, but this is by far my favorite. Here is Makayla's very first "selfie"

After that she wanted me to take pictures of her posing.

Then there's this little stud muffin! Caden is getting more personality everyday. He can usually be seen carrying something around the house, usually his bear or "Gus," his puppy he got for Christmas.

 Caden has no attention span for tv or movies, but he could look at books for hours! When we get home, he runs to his room and gets books. He will set them up on the couch and "read" them. Cutest thing ever!

And the two of them combined can just make you want to cry because they are so cute (but only when they are friends. If they are fighting I don't claim them)

 They're even cuter when they give hugs to each other.

 And when they're coloring pictures together.