Little Man Baby Shower

Inspired by an invitation I found on Pinterest, I created my own version for Tim/Karen's "Little Man" baby shower.

 When doing a party, my favorite part is the planning and executing of the decor...everything else is just a HAVE TO. Don't get me wrong, I like to eat yummy food, just not make it. :)

So I decorated to my heart's content and delegated the food portion to Karen's generous friends who offered to help. 

 A fresh and healthy menu (with a side of sweet) is a must for a Karen party. :)

(I DID make the chocolate covered pretzel "cigars" though.)

 Cheri made the cute Baby fruit salad (Can you see the Little Man's 'stache?) and a to-die-for bow-tie pasta salad (not pictured). I asked for the pasta salad recipe, for myself and to distribute to party guests after the shower..it was that good!

 Tiffany made delicious strawberry and key lime cupcakes from scratch (which recipe was also requested by party guests). Tiffany calls herself a foodie. :) It's good to know a foodie. 

 Camille and Amanda brought the veggies/pita chips that we put with Tiffany's homemade hummus.

 Camille also brought the mustache-wrapped water bottles and sparkling limeade.

Lexie made the chocolate mustache favors. 

I LOVE the styrofoam mustache holder too!

Amber Munt made the other cute tie onesies displayed on the fireplace mantle. 

 We played games, ate foodie food and then it was time for Karen to open gifts.

 Lots of cute Little Man things.

 Amanda- Karen's friend from work.

  Stacy and Mary Kate- friend's from Karen's ward

 Aunt Jana and Uncle Kevin- always up for a good time

 Cheri, Keri (baby) and Barbara- more friend's from Karen's ward

 Camille and Amanda- work friends 

It was so fun to get to know them. They were the life of the party and quite silly..if you can't tell!

 Tawnya and Amber Munt

 Tiffany- aka: the foodie and Karen

 Cute Little Man profile.

 Amber Croff and Tiffany (cousin)

 Cheryl- Karen's mom visiting from Rigby and my mom. 

Silly kids!

 Lexie and sleepy Geneva

 Abree and Katie (cousin Tiffany's youngest daughter)

 Look at that 'STACHE!

 Funny gift..a baby dumbbell. So appropriately given to Karen by her exercise-class-teaching friends. 

And mustache band-aids..where did they find these?!

 Katie and Abree thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate mustache favors. Between them, I think at least 5 or 6 were consumed..at least. 

The Little Man baby shower was a success. 

Lots of cute stuff, good company and delicious food. 

Ready when you are Little Man. Can't wait to meet you! :)

Party Prep

With a baby boy on the way for Tim and Karen, a party was in order. 

I had seen lots of cute baby boy showers on Pinterest, but the one that caught my eye was a "Little Man" shower...with mustaches and ties galore.

 I had been wanting to make a tie wreath (for Father's Day) for some time. I had purchased the old ties at a thrift store and bought the straw wreath a while back, but hadn't got around to making it. With the theme in mind and the shower approaching, I finally made the tie wreath...and added a little banner for the shower.

I found this subway art and thought it was so cute, I used it as my color inspiration for the party. I made up my own prints with mustaches in the same colors.

I also had been wanting to make a tie onesie for a long time. Probably first thought about it when Treyson was a baby...and then when each nephew came along. I finally made one for the shower along with toddler ties for Tim and Karen's Little Man.

 The toddler tie tutorial was clear and easy. 

I loved how they turned out!

 It was a life-changing (not), hard decision I had to make... mustache cups or mustache straws? I finally decided on mustache straws. :)

 When I first saw this idea on Pinterest ,I knew I HAD to do this for the "Little Man" shower. 

"Name that 'Stache".

 Another life-changing (not) decision was a mustache cake or cupcakes with cute toppers? Cute toppers won.

 Saw this cute frame at Target's "Dollar Spot" and thought I could use it for a game prize.. with a mustache saying, of course.

The mustache chip clips and keychain were imported from LasVegas. When I saw them, I knew they had to come home with me. 

 Another mustache prize from Target's "Dollar Spot"...but it was actually $3!

I mustache you... would you like to win one of these prizes?!

 I can't explain why, but I LOVE to sew on paper. I made these hanging strip decorations doing just that.

 Upholding my "Banner Queen" status, I made these banners for the occasion. 

(After the shower, I gave them to Karen to decorate Little Man's space..a corner in their bedroom.)

This is the photo op spot.

Grab a mustache and give me your best pose.

(Orange double-knit polyester fabric was from Grandma Ison's 'stache.)

Guests were asked to write a funny/cute message to Tim/Karen to entertain them while on diaper-changing duty. Found these 2 signs here.

"I mustache you for a kiss.. or two..or three.

Just how many kisses do you see?"

(Can you believe Amber C guessed the EXACT amount of kisses during the game?!! Amazing. Note: There were more in the jar for the game.)

Tim/Karen are still deciding on a name for Little Man, so we played "Name the Little Man".. a Scattergory-type game.

(I don't know if you'd want Uncle Kevin helping you to name your baby. His names were U-nique! Ha.)

Whipped up this wreath for the front door, at the very last minute.

Now we're ready to PAR-TAY!!!

Teacher Appreciation Week

I appreciate school teachers. 

For "Teacher Appreciation Week" I made this for Abree's 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Palmerton. 

Ok, so there wasn't much to "making" it. I painted the frame, printed the saying and put the saying in the frame. It's the thought that counts, right? 

I had Abree make her a card too. "Mrs. Palmerton I like you because..."

Wonder if it's true? Do teachers feel this way about their students? I think Mrs. Palmerton does. :)

I've recently read a few articles/comments from real teachers about what they REALLY want/like for gifts. The most common wanted item was gift cards. The teachers reassured the readers over and over, that it's not too impersonal and they would take a gift card over an apple ANYTHING..any day. A close second, or maybe a tie for first, was a personal thank-you card from a student or parent.

So I partially followed the advice of the article. :)

Making Progress

We're excited for the progress we see with Rylee's teeth. 

In the near future, the focus will be more on bite correction, rather than straightening. Yay!

Rylee is going to LOVE that I posted these..not.