Kinsey's 6th Birthday- My Little Pony Party!

This party was waaaaay back in October 2014. 

But I'm still going to share it here, and lucky you- 

I have some FREE printables to go with it!

Seeing as Kinsey will be 7 in just under a week (!!!) I need to get all caught up on birthday recaps, and after this I plan to share a quick post about her 5th birthday- which was a Lalaloopsy theme.

Better late than never, right?

Invites available here

Rainbow streamers taped to the curtain rod + homemade cupcakes on cake stands = dessert table

For parties lately I've been trying to simplify. Maybe I've wised up to the fact that more time + more money doesn't always = more fun for the birthday kiddo? Maybe I've given up trying to throw perfect parties when all the girls want is fun with their friends? Maybe it just has everything to do with the fact that the last few parties have been planned with a little baby in the house?

Doesn't really matter, as long as I keep my sanity!

Star tip piping + MLP rings (found at walmart party aisle)

Toppers available in my Etsy shop

I made up signs and activites to go with each of the most popular ponies.

 I've attached 3 signs for FREE here!

"Pinkie Pie's Party Favors" 

Download here

Download here

Download here

 I failed to take any pictures of the book mark activity!

 But basically I cut some colored cardstock into bookmark sizes, set out stencils, markers, stickers and washi tape and let the kids make fun bookmarks.

"Pinkie Pie's Party favors" set up in a basket 
Treat Bag Topper available in my Etsy Shop!

"Rarity's Hoof Painting & Cutie Marks" Nail polish (peel off kind) nail tattoos
and MLP Temporary Tattoos for 'cutie marks'

This was the first activity the girls did- and the two boys got TMNT tattoos ;)

Simple rainbow decorations +MLP party supplies
The girls wore their MLP shirts, too.

 We played - pin the tail on the pony. 

I purchased the game, but used ribbons and tape to make it easier and so all the kids could play 
(the game only came with 8 tails)

Bonus- the girls were able to pin up this poster to decorate their room afterwards since it wasn't full of tail stickers!

Time to sing "Happy Birthday"

 It was a fun time celebrating Kinsey turning 6! I'm in the middle of planning her 7th birthday party right now- alhtough we are keeping it suuuuper simple this year ( at her request!) Any guesses on her theme of choice? Or how long it will take me to blog about it?

Friday Faves- Schools Out Edition!

They say childhood passes in the blink of an eye.....

If the rest of her schooling is anything like this year,  then I truly believe it!

I cannot believe it's summer break around here already

 and my first little baby girl is now going to be a first grader!

First Day

Last Day

Today's Favorite #1 is this big girl and all her Kindy accomplishments:

Kinsey did phenomenal during Kindergarten. No bad behavior days, no trouble being at school all day, she made lots and lots of friends, and she mostly ate her lunch :/

She's now reading at the 18-20 level (which Scholastic's website says is second grade!) and currently obsessed with the 'Magic Tree House' series of chapter books. She's come a long way- barely knowing but a handful of sight words at the beginning fo the school year!

Her penmanship is great- she even practices cursive at home because she 'wants to write pretty like mommy does'. I think the area she most needs to work on is spelling and sounding out words when writing. That's one area I plan to focus on withe her during summer homework.

We sent her off this morning fro her last half day of the year! She wanted to wear the same dress as her first day...which makes for good comparison pictures, too. (mama-razzi approves!)

Favorite #2 was part of her teacher gifts:

She took some necklaces for her teachers, along with a handwritten card including drawings of their favorite things by Kinsey.

I know plenty of kids still have a few weeks of school- so I'm attaching a link to this cute little notecard I designed for her teachers. It's FREE and prints two to a page.

click here for MediaFire Free Download

Favorite #3 is this FREE printable Summer Schedule from my last post!

Favorite #4 is one simple word: SUMMER

We will be making our summer bucket list soon- the girls and I are ready for days spent in swimsuits, barefoot and eating popsicles on the porch!

Linking up:

A Little Bit of Everything Blog

Grace and Love Blog

Momfessionals

As always- please leave a comment or pin my blog image if you download the FREE printables! Thanks!

Life Lately- Spring Edition

Life this Spring has been pretty busy. But isn't it always? 

We've all had countless colds (thanks Kindergarten germs!) 

plenty of sleepless nights (thanks teething!) 

hours of yardwork to tackle

and lots of trips to the park when the wind isn't trying to blow everything away.

Here's a peek at the hightlights 

(I'll spare you all the details of the 2 costco sized

 kleenex packs we've gone through in the last month!)

Savannah's first taste of Krispy Kreme on a Sunday Morning in our jammies-

 she loved the little bit of blueberry cake doughnut she go to try!

After doughnut snuggles- these sweet sisterly moments are the best! 

Baby doesn't want to take her nap....then lets take some selfies! #whynot #shessovain

Someone has been SUPER helpful with chores lately.

(Note: I was loading the wet clothes IN the dryer at the time)

We celebrated the awesome guys big 3-5!

 It seems like yesterday I was just throwing his 30th birthday bash....

I sure am grateful for this man!

I attempted making classic tiramisu for the first time (his favorite), and it was delicious!

Tiramisu on a paper plate #classy

Recipe can be found here 

We had some warm weekend mornings before the wind and thunderstorms rolled in, so we broke out the water table and sprinkler while the girls cousins were visiting.

Savannah LOVED her first water table playtime, 

but that's no surprise since she loves all things with water!

 The kids begged for otter pops, so....another first for Miss Vanni- 

don't worry, she only got a few sips, then mommy took the rest 'away' ;o)

Kinsey had her Kindergarten Musical- it was an Under the Sea theme

(she's in the back row)

Her class was the Jellyfish, and they did a cute little song and dance to the "Jellyfish Jump", and Kinsey even got to say a fact about Jellyfish!

I cannot believe that she will be done with Kindergarten in less than 2 weeks! 

Makayla had her two week Post-Op following her Strabismus Surgery

Her vision is still 20/20, but her Dr recommended she continue to wear her glasses to hopefully correct the last little bit of crossing we are still seeing. 

He's hopeful that in 3-5 years she will outgrow the need for glasses to correct the lingering crossing. Since the RX she wears is very weak there's no real concern for her becoming dependent on the glasses either.

She got to pick some new frames since her last ones were broken and no longer available. She picked these all on her own- so adorable!

We celebrated Mother's Day with a quiet day at home,

 a BBQ lunch and mommy having a cold (boo!)

 But at least I got some pictures with these three beauties that call me mommy. 

I'm forever grateful for the blessings that I have received in these three girls.

 Motherhood is something sorta crazy, but also really beautiful.

On a final, and somber, note.

 My childhood pet, whom I adopted as a kitten in 1995, 

passed away this weekend at my parents home. 

He was just shy of 20!

Cinnamon was a wonderful cat, my first 'baby', and I will forever cherish the memory of him.

 He was so smart, I taught him as a kitten how to open the treat container with his claw

 and get one at a time out.....to his last days he loved his treats!

 Hopefully there's plenty of them to go around in Heaven,

 along with bunnies, birds and lizards to chase all day. 

Top- 1996, bottom L- 2000's, bottom R- 2013

Comparisons: Not always the thief of joy

What do you get when you have three girls, a mama that saved all the baby clothes and loves to take photos? 

Comparisons of three little Herrera girls in the same outfits/ages!

Kinsey- 6 months, Makayla- 7 months, Savannah 8 months
(can you tell I upgraded my camera between Kinsey & Makayla?)



All three girls have hit milestones pretty much at the same pace.
They were all born during my 39th week of pregnancy( K & M 39w1d, S 39w2d)
They all were late rollers- 5ish months
Makayla cut her first teeth at 6 months, but Kinsey and Savannah were both 7 months.
All three started crawling right at 8 months.

Kinsey, Makayla, Savannah- newborns sleeping with daddy


Kinsey walked 6 days before she turned 1, Makayla walked over 2 weeks before her birthday.
Hopefully this last little baby of mine will follow suit.
I don't want to rush a thing this time!
I might also be pushing her down when she tries to stand alone for a while ;)

Kinsey- 6 months, Makayla 6 months, Savannah 7 months


Here's to comparisons bringing joy, not jealousy!
Each of these girls is so unique, both in personality and looks,
I can't wait to see what strong, beautiful and intelligent women they grow up to be!

Do they look alike or totally different? What do you think?

Life Lately

Life lately is a usual, busy. I'm constantly wanting time to slow down and wishing there were more hours in the day to get everything done and while still soaking up this precious time with my babies.

Also, I put them to bed and then promptly fall asleep on the sofa most nights....zzzzzz.

They wear me out and I'm typically up several times a night 

with little Miss Insomniac (aka Savannah)

It's a good thing she's cute.

This is her after bath hair-do. 

Makayla often plays dress up while big sis is at school.

The girls are still giddy and screaming with excitement with every balloon sighting,

 even though they are near weekly occurrences. 

Makayla has started drawing people and animals- this is her and daddy!

Someone is crawling everywhere. Sometimes like this, and other times on her knees.

 Her days are currently spent working hard pulling to stand up on things 

I cut about 4 inches off my hair. 

With post partum hair loss it was looking a bit lackluster being so long.

We've been sick.....a lot. Each time it seems to drag on for weeks, one down....3 days later the next kid catches it, etc. Finally we are better for a week and then the next bug has stricken us! So ready for a healthy household, especially after this sweetie having her first ear infection.

Kinsey has been helping more around the house- her current favorite thing is peeling...potatoes, carrots, etc. She LOVES to help me cook. 

She's also been branching out and more willing to try food she had previously refused, like mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs. Makes life a little easier when your kids are less picky!

Lots of tea parties with this sweetie. 

I'm planning a post about her eyes soon,

 but she's scheduled for a surgery in late April to further correct her strabismus. 

My little fashonista. All decked out for school one day in an outfit she picked. It's getting harder and harder to chose her clothes for her! She's going great in Kindergarten, reading ahead of where she needs to be and catching on to the math concepts they teach quickly. Her current obsession is jellyfish, she loves watching you tube videos about them and then reciting facts she has learned.

So that's a little of our daily life. Between diapers, dishes, school drop of and pickup and running my design business  we plan to have a lot of fun this Spring!