Monday, March 21, 2011

Puppy Party

Are you a dog lover?  
I am converting.
But it's been a slow process. 
Our girl, though....she was born one.
It's no surprise that she asked for a Puppy Party for her 5th birthday.
And you may know by now, we just need a theme, and we'll run with it.
So she invited 5 of her favorite people and we played Pass the Paw.
Each time the puppy song stopped, the winner earned a Monopoly dollar. 
The girls were so excited about winning a dollar even though they had NO idea what they'd be buying!
And I have to give a special shout out to my boys....they were such great helpers.
I'm sure they'd tell you they are getting too old for this stuff.  But they were right in there with the girls the entire way!
Next they moved to the Adoption center...where they were entertained and informed by Ranger Dad.
He shared with them a ton of cute puppy dog facts and then quizzed them about taking 'care' of their new puppies.  Finally they girls were able to get their hands on their new furry little friend.
Thankfully everyone had a favorite and there weren't any conflicts between the new mommies.
Next the boys lead them on a scavenger hunt.
Growing up my mom would hide our presents and then we'd have to follow a series of clues to find them.
Well I thought I'd bring a little of that into the party. Also, I'll let you in on a little secret....I set every clue  on the opposite floor of the house, so the kids expended some energy running up and down, up and down those stairs.  Sshhhh, that's only for us grownups to know ;)
The hunt ended in the garage where the girls found their chow bowls:
(I feel the need to preface this gift by explaining that Natalia and some of her friends LOVE to 'play' puppies together.  They trade off on being the dog or the Princess who owns the dog.  And eating out of a dog bowl is like a dream come true....since it'd obviously be frowned upon in 'real' life ;)
So Natalia was thrilled that I bedazzled these Dollar Store chow bowls for the girls.
Ah, if only it could stay this easy in her teens!
Next we introduced the girls to our store.
Welcome to PetStart ;)
Here they could use their monopoly money to buy supplies for their puppies.
The Puppy Chow was a hit (who doesn't like Cocoa Puffs?)
There were also leashes, tags, collars, and crates for the girls to purchase.
My boys were more than happy to play store owner.
...SUCH good sports!
We spent some time placing jewels on the felt collars I had cut out....and the girls actually poured their Puppy Chow into their bowls for a snack.
Then Natalia brought out the Vet kit and examined the new adoptees.
Unfortunately, there must have been a bad case of kennel cough going around because ALL of them were given a sad diagnosis!  But nothing a little love wouldn't fix.
Next our family arrived for dinner. 
We served chocolate milk (Talia's favorite) and of course hot DOGS.
I gave myself a break on the cake making and bought ice cream cupcakes from Cold Stone.  
Greatest idea ever... I STRONGLY recommend them!
They have a chocolate cupcake shell, a small piece of cake, a scoop of ice cream and then colored whipped cream on top, YUM!
Whew...are you puppied out yet?
Feel free to take a break, but the rest of this post is dedicated to the gift opening :D
We try to have the gift giver sit next to the birthday person while their gift is being opened.
I love this arrangement because I get to shoot moments like THIS much easier:
I also adore Ms. Abby's face here...pure excitement for Natalia to see the clothes she gave her. Ahem, Barbie AND big girl clothes <3
Brielle gave Natalia a dress that matches a dress she has so they can be twins....
man, girls are something else! So sweet!!
The pictures of the other girls didn't turn out, but she LOVED each of her presents and responded accordingly!
Next,
a moment of silence while I revel in my family.  Oh, my loves:
Ah....thank you.
Now, "On with the show," as Natalia might say!
Her one great wish was for a Barbie this year. 
My sister and I researched and agreed on God's Girlz as a great option.
She didn't mind,
You can see her reaction with her Uncle Ryry here:
All in all, it really was one of the easiest birthday parties we've done.
We started at 3pm and I took the last friend home just after 7:30pm.
And that was only because the girls were having so much fun.
Special thanks to Marmar who sponsored this event  ;)
Without her I'd probably just fashion puppies out of old socks or something, ha.
And who knows if that would ellicit this response:
Our sweet girl is finally 5.....
And I'm not sure how we'll top this one, but for now, it will be one of the most memorable birthday parties for us all!

1 comment:

Gina said...

SO much creativity! This looks like great fun--what a lucky girl!