Benjamin's Birthday Party

Sign in table

Food table


owl cake made by Aliona


poor owl, yummy cake

Ben LOVED the cake

aftermath

He needed a bath

Present time

All the gifts he received

Wow! We had a blast. So many family and friends came to celebrate with us. We had such a great time! All of our guests showed up at the same time (almost) and we all visited and ate good food. The cake was AMAZING. My sister-in-law made an owl and it was adorable. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen and I didn't want to cut into it. It tasted really good too. Ben had such a great time walking around the house with everyone talking and then when it was cake time he really loved the cupcake. We got it on video and I will post it later. He received so many wonderful gifts. Thank you to everyone who came and brought gifts. Ben loves them all! The only thing I did not get photos so were the kids running around playing with the games I made for the,. They LOVED the bean bag toss and after presents the big boys took it outside and played with it. I will take a photo and post it next week. well I hope you all enjoy the photos.

Build-A-Bear

A while ago Daniel and I were walking around the Branson Landing and decided to go into Build-A-Bear. Neither of us had been in there before and we wanted to see what it was all about. It is the most magical place ever! I fell in love with it. We decided to bring Ben back for his birthday and get him something for his birthday. Saturday we did this. OK so you start out by looking at all their stuffed animals (Not just bears). They are all with out the stuffing inside, just the hallow animal. Then you can choose a cool button that talks for inside the bear, we didn't like any of the ones they had, and then you stand in line for the fluffer machine. Someone who works there helps us fluff the animal. OK so we chose an owl for Ben, because his party theme is owls and we like that animal. So we picked out the hollow owl and went to the stuffing machine. Ben stepped on this peddle that pushed the fluff into the owl. Then you choose a heart to put into it. There were many options, but we gave the choice to Ben. He chose the one that you push and it makes a heart beat in it. Very cool. Then she put this tag inside so that if it is ever lost they can mail it back to us, also very cool! Then you take the animal over to this little bath tub and give it an air bath and brush away all the extra fluff. Then if you want to you can pick out an outfit and accessories. We chose army fatigues. Then you go to a computer and pick out a name and enter all this information in and they print you a birth certificate. I said the first name I saw and Ben said yes so we named him clover, because of his green outfit. It was super cool and Ben can't do anything with out his owl now. Oh and the owls head can turn all the way around, because owls heads really do that. Yesterday we took him to church, but I dressed him appropriately for church in one of Ben's ties. so cute! We have decided to continue this tradition every birthday!

Big Boy Bash part 2

I have been so busy making things for Bens b-day and here are a few more things I have finished:More things checked off my list

Front of invitation


Back of invitation

Owl bean bag for bean bag toss

They spell out Benjamin

felt owl for decorations

Shorts I made for his birthday outfit

Cooking with powdered milk

I went to a cooking class where they taught us how to cook with powdered milk. THey had samples of everything and I can't believe it but everything tasted so good! My favorite recipe was the sweetened condensed milk. I wanted to just drink it because it was so yummy!

Here is the recipe:

Sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup powdered milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pour boiling water, butter and powdered milk into a blender. Mix well. gradually add sugar and vanilla. mixing well. Store in refrigerator. Mix will thicken slightly while it stands. Equals on ecan of sweented condensed milk.

There were a ton of more recipes. If you want a copy let me know and I will sen you one!

Big Boy Bash Part 1

I LOVE to plan and throw parties so the closer I get to Bens first birthday the more excited I get. I started to plan his party about the beginning of August and I would love to share them with you. I will post photos of the finished products at the party.

I first start by making lots of lists. I am such a list person. There is something about crossing things off a list that makes me feel like I am getting somewhere. I also have to make my notes a piece of art. I am a big fan of letters and working with their form so I first have to pick an appropriate font that I will use through all my planning and then I practice the layout and forms I want and then I make a final project that is actually my plans. I usually include diagrams and pictures which I also practice before the final product.

Ok I could spill the beans on the next post, because I am so excited, but I will s..t..o.p.