Happy 6th Birthday, Megan Elaine!

She's done it - our girl has gone and turned S.I.X. years old!  For some reason, that just seems so much bigger than five.  It probably doesn't help matters that she aspires to be 22, but I digress.  Her birthday fell on a Sunday this year, and we partied Lalaloopsy style all weekend long.

Her friends joined us on Saturday for her crafts & candy party (see previous post re: Mommy's crafting insanity).

Flowers lead the way to Lalaloopsy land

Ready to party!

 

This is her signature pose

No surprise here, but she was a big fan of the candy bar

Best buddy Norah was the first to arrive

Making their own Lalaloopsy dolls

Lydia works on sewing her own pet while Hannah gets a jumpstart on the cupcakes (yup, she's definitely mine)

Two seamstresses hard at work

Pinata time

Haley & Mikayla got to join us this year, too!

We had the grandparents, Uncle Kent, and Megan's friend Brianna (who couldn't join us on Saturday) over on Sunday to celebrate.

Birthday morning gifts from Mom & Dad

She and Marie-Grace got matching PJs

Out of all of the options I gave her for a birthday breakfast, she chose a hot dog bun with ketchup.  Six year olds are weird...

Birthday lunch

Happy to be partying with Bri!

Reading Bri's card

Present time!!

 

This was the first year she could read all of her cards on her own

And she's also old enough to understand the virtues of a Target gift card - she's a smart lady

Custom birthday girl cupcake arrangement

Cake time!

Suffering through the birthday song

Lucky to have some candle-blowing assistants

After a fun-filled weekend, we ended her birthday with dinner at the place of her choice (Kitchen 67) followed by ice cream at Spoonlickers.  It was a wonderful birthday for a pretty wonderful girl.  Happy six years, Megan Elaine!

Girlfriend loves her Spoonlickers

She had free reign over the topping bar on her birthday

Our birthday girl

She and Marie-Grace are off to bed in their matching PJs

Birthday present

Megan received one of those hairstyle dolls from Grandma Dee for her big SIXTH birthday.  She was thrilled to get to work on practicing pony tails and braids - her two primary areas of focus.

Hard at work, practicing her stylist skills

Looking good, lady.  Looking good!

And, of course, the VERY. MINUTE. big sister walked out of the room, guess who was all over this new prize?

With the doll's two billion pieces and parts, and Hannah's tendency to hoard and/or hide everything she sees, her interest in the new doll does not bode well for our birthday girl!

Lalaloopsy Party Planning (alternate title: Mommy goes craft crazy)

Megan elected to have a Barbie-themed party for her sixth birthday.  I was well into my Pinterest planning when she abruptly changed her mind and decided to go with Lalaloopsy instead.  I was way too excited about the change to be upset, however.  Lalaloopsy is all about sewing and buttons and crafts, and I knew right away this would be a fun party to go totally overboard with plan.  I decided to do a party with lots of craft stations for the kids, as well as a candy bar (which I have been wanting to do since forever).  Here is a glimpse of the details behind my Megan's Crafts & Candy party.

Buttons, buttons everywhere - even the cutlery couldn't escape

While all these Lalaloopsy heads in a jar may appear creepy at first glance, these are pencil erasers which I added small eyehooks to.  The kids got to add these to bead necklaces they made at one of the craft stations.

Make-your-own Lalaloopsy pets

I punches holes in the felt so the kids could sew them together themselves (using plastic needles, of course - I wasn't trying to create an elementary school militia)

Fun fact: this is the first time I've gotten the iron out in 2013 (my husband can vouch for that)

The girls each made their own Lalaloopsy doll using buttons for eyes, yarn for hair and fabric for their clothes

Having completely lost my mind, I hand-cut and hand-sewed this custom party sign out of felt.  I am still not sure what motivated this, but I was happy with the end result.

I cut the "6" out of foam board and glued buttons all over it.  Combined with the crazy felt sign, it made for cute front door decor.

Fabric garland and glitter foam letters

These yarn balls...

 

...made for cute ice cream cone party garland

I still need some practice with the Cricut, but I put it to good use for the "Candy Bar" sign

Lalaloopsy cookies

Button cupcakes

Completed candy bar - YUM!

I repeat:  Yum. 

 

The birthday girl - this was actually taken BEFORE I let her touch the candy bar.

She had an awesome time celebrating her birthday, and the party was a big hit, but just reviewing the details makes me tired.  This Momma solemmly swears to take it down a notch during the 2014 birthday season...maybe.

Momma Day - Millenium Park

Mom had a birthday party to execute the next day, BUT it was a beautiful Friday, and we all share a love for sand and sunshine, so we grabbed Grandma Dee and visited Millenium Park.

They can entertain themselves with a single bucket at the beach all day

...and mud.  Mud is also fun.

Getting Grandma involved

Checking out the water

 

You would think with all the water around we would be able to keep her somewhat clean...

This squirt gun is fun...

But this one is AWESOME!

It's been a great day at the beach, but it's time to get home to our birthday party chores.

Father's Day

We've got the greatest Daddy in the world, so we wanted to treat him right on Father's Day.  After letting him sleep in and serving him breakfast in bed, he chose to go to the Zoo and out to lunch for his special day.  We used the opportunity to explore the new clubhouse and playground for the first time.

Custom pancakes for breakfast

When did she get so much length to those legs?

Enjoying a game of piggyback tag - I told you he was the best Daddy ever.

Hannah's favorite thing is to cover his eyes while riding on his shoulders.  She is attracted to danger like a moth to a flame.

In addition to the clubhouse, there is a cute camp-out themed area to play in too.

Out to lunch at Bagger Dave's

Daddy and his monkeys