Hannah's Sunshine Party

The idea for a "You Are My Sunshine" birthday party for Hannah Bear came together for several reasons:

1. She asks that the entire family sing "You Are My Sunshine" to her every single night before bed.
2. I'm obsessed with the way she says, "yellow."
3. She literally lights up our world.

It was that easy!  I started searching Pinterest and Etsy for "You Are My Sunshine" parties and all things pink and yellow.  

I received many questions about what, exactly, is a "You Are My Sunshine" party.

This, my friends, is just that.  Enjoy the pictures from our little tot's party!

Lucky for me, I found a wonderful printable pack for the party on Etsy.  And those "You Are My Sunshine" lyrics on the mantle?  I found those here.

More on this love story later:)

Hannah was so excited to pass out the goodie bags with the princess popcorn inside!

Our invitation (in the frame) came from here.

All in all, it was a perfect party.  Everything came together very well, and the birthday girl thoroughly enjoyed herself.  I think she felt really special, and that's all that I was after:)

Showered with Love

A couple of weeks ago, Jessica's matron of honor, Carla, and her mom hosted a bridal shower for the bride-to-be.  It was a lovely shower, and I was proud to be a part of it.  We're getting so excited that the wedding is getting closer and closer, and the shower was really a chance to celebrate that:)  I tried to take some photos (of both people and details!) so that I could share them.  Enjoy!

 The dessert table, complete with a love story, beautiful flowers, and Jess' favorite candy

 Grandma Earlie and Jessica

We asked guests to leave Jessica the key to a happy marriage.

 Carla, the matron of honor, and the bride-to-be

Mason jars with silver and navy paper straws

I made Jess take a picture with this "energy efficient cooking" piece - I like to tease her every now and then:)

Beautiful packages...

Taylor, one of the bridesmaids, and Jess

 Party favors

Me, with the best sister-in-law anyone could ever ask for:)

I bet you can tell which party details I was put in charge of!  

Jessica - I hope your shower was everything you hoped it would be and more.  I can't wait to stand up there with you on your wedding day!

Baby Shower Fun

Nearly two weeks ago, my mom and I hosted a baby shower for my sister here at our house.  While getting ready for the party with two little ones wasn't easy, everyone pulled together (thank you, Aunt Kathy!) and we were able to get everything ready just in the nick of time.

If I do say so myself, the party was a huge success.  The decorations turned out wonderful, the food was yummy, and the company was perfect.

Ryan looked and (more importantly!) felt great, and she did very well being in the spotlight.  She received lots of beautiful, snuggly things for the little guy we're all anxiously waiting for:)  She has since set up his nursery and unpacked all of her goodies - I am just so very happy for her!

Take a peek into our little, baby bash:

 {Cake table}

 {One of our guest activities - we asked everyone to leave wishes for the baby.  So sweet!}

 {By this time, you should know I'm a sucker for party details.}

 {Check out these adorable diaper cakes.  And that sweet, little man in those sonogram pictures?  Yes, that's my nephew!}

 {Paper products}

 {Baby boy banner}

 {Yummy, sugar cookies made especially for our party}

 {Momma was excited to unscramble some baby words}

 {My cousin, Kristin, and her little man, Owen, playing Baby Shower Bingo}

 {So excited for baby bedding from Grammy and Grampy}

 {Momma and Papa John cutting the cake...and our invite in the background}

 {Sibling love: my Uncle Tom, Aunt Joanne, and Dad}

 {These cousins LOVE when they get to play together}

 {Momma and Papa John with his mom and Aunt Michelle}

 {Grampy, Ryan, and Grammy}

 {The girly-girls}

 {Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jack traveled from Cleveland to be here with Rypie - we are so happy they were here for such a special event!}

{Momma's first subway art}

Little One - we are waiting for you!

Party Details

So, if you know me, you know I'm sucker for party planning.  I love get-togethers.  I also love over-the-top, and since I'm not a celebrity, over-the-top does not equate to having a mini-circus in my backyard:)  Most of our get-togethers involve the same 14 people, but I still enjoy going all-out for big events, such as your little baby girl turning one!

I love hosting, even though I'm not that great at it, and I usually rely heavily on others to make things go swimmingly for the rest of my guests.  It's not a secret:)  But I just can't help it - I love party details.  I look for reasons to host parties and use party ideas that I've found in various places, mainly Etsy and Pinterest.

While I realize that it's been a few weeks since Hannah's party, I promised to share party details.  I'm proud of the way it all turned out, and I'm thankful for the creative women who helped my vision come together:)

Hannah's birthday outfit was ordered from here

The lunch food table room - I've decided the way to make party rooms special is to move the furniture around in an unexpected way:)  The Minnie Mouse banner was ordered from here.

 Table details

Hannah's birthday onesie was ordered here

The cake table

 More lunch table details - I was especially happy with my silverware roll-ups.  Also, we framed the invitation we'd previously sent out - I ordered that from here.

 The drink table

 The favor tags came in the set I ordered with the birthday banner.

Balloons and an "I am 1!" banner (also came with the other banner and the favor tags)

 Close-up of the high-chair banner

 Lunch table when it was all said and done

 My love affair with mason jars continues...I won't even tell you how long I searched for those hot pink straws:)

One day, I hope Hannah looks back at these pictures and sees how special this day was for us and knows just how loved she really is.