Emma Turns 2 Under the Big Top

My little Emma turned 2 on October 5th! Whew! Time is flying! I really do not want to accept the fact that my youngest babe is growing up, so I decided to mask my pain with a party. Parties always make me feel better. Except, I always go overboard, and then I am just a stressed-out mess, but it is all good in the end. I was especially excited for this party. This would be the first party at our new home in Tooele. So this party was a win-win for all because we were able to celebrate Emma's birthday and also have a little house warming party all in one. Parking and space were always big issues for my guests at our previous house, so now that we have both of those issues resolved with the new house, it is safe to say I was thrilled! This is the start of many more parties at the Prescott household.

I had so much fun preparing for this party. I blame PINTEREST for my attention to detail and for going a little overboard. The party was a Carnival theme. The food, games, treats, and decor all had to do with the Carnival. We held the first half of the party at a park behind my house. The kids were able to run around and play on the playground while we got the food ready. We ate lunch and then played carnival games. The kids had so much fun playing the games and earning tickets.













"Catch a Duck". The kids fished for a duck with a number on the bottom. That number determined how many tickets they got. This game got a little out of control because a) my "pond" was not full enough, b) the ducks kept falling over exposing their number, and c) the kids did not play by the rules very well. Lets just say that a lot of tickets were earned playing this game. A LOT.



Ticket bum.



"Cup Crash" and "Ring Toss". In "Cup Crash", the kids were given three balls and three chances to knock down all of the cups. If all of the cups were down after three tries, they would get 5 tickets. The older the kid, the farther away they had to stand from the cups. In "Ring Toss", the kids would toss rings and try to get them around water bottles. This game failed. Miserably. No one was able to get a ring around a bottle. I don't know if it had to do with the rings we were using, but this game totally bombed. The kids also went bowling on the sidewalk. That worked out a lot better. However, my cute Dad was in charge of placing the pins in place after they would get knocked down. He did not stick to the rules of bowling either. He kept giving the kids more chances to knock down all of the pins. He must have forgotten that in the game of bowling you have two chances to knock down all of the pins. Not 3. Or 6. The kids had fun though and that is all that matters. It is safe to say that each kid won 10 tickets on this game.



Emma helping herself to tickets.



The prize table. The kids cashed in their tickets for prizes after they had played all of the games. I think there were too many tickets dispersed! The kids went home with a lot of sugar. Sorry parents!



Party bags. I had a marker handy to write each kid's name on the bag as they were picking out their treats. This worked out better than having the bags pre-labeled because there were a few kids that didn't come to the party and there were a couple of kids I had not planned on. Now I have a few un-marked bags left over that I can use next time!







After some cleanup at the park, we headed back to our house to open presents. Emma got spoiled rotten! She was a little overwhelmed, but loved each and everything she was given. Thank you to everyone!











Last, but certainly not least, we ate cake. And cupcakes. Strawberry cupcakes with homemade butter cream frosting to be exact.



Emma's cake.







Happy Birthday to my angel. You bring so much light and laughter to our lives. Your family loves you!

P.S. Thank you again to all who helped make this party a success. I couldn't have done it without you! Thanks to all who came and celebrated with us! We love you!

Four Years Old - A Princess Party

I became a Mother at 2:03 pm on March 29, 2009. As Haylee entered the world and was placed in my arms, I was overwhelmed with love. It was overbearing and powerful. Haylee had given me the ultimate gift - the gift of motherhood. I had dreamed of that moment since I was a little girl caring for my dolls and treating them as if they were real. I didn't need to pretend anymore, I now had a perfect angel to call my own.



And now she is four. The last four years have been full of learning, growing, and love. Haylee keeps us smiling and laughing with her fun personality. She reminds me of myself when I was little. She is the ultimate girly-girl which means we celebrated girly-girl style.





We took Haylee to dinner on her actual birthday as a family. The next day we held her birthday party at Jungle Gym's Playland. We invited some close friends and family. The kids had a blast! There were rides, games, food, and a whole lot of fun. Her party started at 3:30 in the afternoon and before we knew it, it was 7:00! Time flies when your are having fun!

I still cannot believe Rich took Emma on this ride. It is the fastest ride at Jungle Gym's and goes around and around in a circle. She did ok, but her face showed complete terror. When the ride stopped to start going backwards, Emma tried to climb out of the car and Rich had to hold her in until the ride stopped for good. We had a hard time getting her to ride more rides after that, but she got over it. Or just forgot about it.



Haylee's favorite ride had to be the bumper cars. She wanted to ride them over and over again. She thought it was so cool that she was driving all by herself. She mostly just spun around in a circle. She loved riding with her cousin Sienna because Sienna would push the gas pedal and Haylee would steer. Well, let's be honest. They both steered!





The cupcakes weren't so bad either!








Emma clearly enjoyed them!

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated this special day with us. It means a lot to have family and friends who support one another and are there to make Haylee's day perfect.



Four years older and wiser too! Happy Birthday to my Haylee Boo!