Bedtime Rituals

It is with great certainty that I confess that I am terrible about bedtime routines, rituals, and practice. I regret that I did not take a picture of Hope asleep in her high chair last night, but a few weeks ago she fell asleep on the stairs while I was putting the twins to sleep. I heard her hollering out, but she refused to go with Grandma and insisted she didn't want to lay down with the twins...but she finally gave out on the stairs. Documented.

New Skills for the Twins

I'm normally not a fan of bare bum shots, but it's been happening with more frequency in our home lately, so I could hardly not mention it. I believe it started with Grace gaining the agility to remove her clothing, and then Joy followed closely behind. A few weeks ago, Grace decided to have breakfast in the buff, here she is casually eating her yogurt with no regard that she has not a stitch of clothing on. Then last week, they both removed their clothing after getting dressed for the day. I grabbed the camera and this was the most posed shot I've ever gotten, they must have been so proud. Grace even went down on one knee for her pose. Grandma Dori, felt their behinds were too adorable to miss, so we had to open the fridge as a distraction for them to turn away from the camera.

Puppy Party

Happy 4th Birthday to Hope! Over the past year, Hope has had a certain obsession with puppies. We brought several with us on our trip to Michigan this summer and she tormented her cousins with Hide-and-Seek puppies. I think she has at least ten, all with their own names. So, our puppy theme was perfect. We started with adorable invites for an Adopt-a-Puppy party. Special credit goes to Designing and Motherhood blog for posting this cute idea that I used.

We got puppies from Oriental Trading and each child picked their own puppy to adopt. We even made little puppy carriers for each one.

When each child arrived, they filled out a certificate with their new puppy's name, fur color, eye color, etc, and swore before a witness that they would love and take care of their puppy as its new owner (adapted from a Cabbage Patch Doll certificate).

We had a vet check station, where puppies could receive their shots and make sure they were healthy.

We had a "Make a Collar" station where each child made a jeweled collar and groomed their doggy.

We had a snack station, where guests could enjoy "Kibbles and Bits" with their puppies. We used small cat food bowls for them to serve their snacks in.

A family friend helped make these absolutely adorable puppy cupcakes. She gets extra credit for making such a great variety of different puppies.

We had a station where guests could pose for a photo op with their puppy.

In addition to taking their puppy home, we had favors for each guest including candy dog bones, a puppy ball, puppy puzzle, and a mini flashlight for walking your doggy.

I had such a fun time planning this party, and Hope had a great time too.