La La La La, La La La La.....

La La La La, La La La La, Elmo's Maggie's World!

Since the blog is now up to date, with this entry I give you Maggie Kate's 2nd birthday party! I desperately tried to talk Maggie Kate into a fabulous hot pink Minnie Mouse party! I'm talking mouse ears for everyone! But all she could talk about was, "I have Elmo cake, ok?"! Fortunately for my brother Bruce (he was Elmo, and I dare say he wouldn't have let me dress him up as Minnie Mouse), an Elmo themed 2nd birthday party it was!

Maggie Kate's 2nd Birthday!

As usual, details and links of my fav party items will be below some of the pictures!

I absolutely loved the invitations! They managed to be pretty while still having Elmo on them! I took a risk and looked on Etsy, because that was the only place I could find a custom Elmo invitation. I found them at www.asapinvites.etsy.com, and the scanned in version I've posted does not do it justice! They looked awesome! For a small fee I could have bought the digital file and printed them myself, but I opted to have the seller print them for me and the price was very reasonable!

The Birthday Girl....in her new car! She spotted it as soon as she walked in the door!

The best picture I could get ALL DAY of her Elmo birthday outfit! I also found it on Etsy, from a sweet lady in Georgia. Here is a link to her shop....http://www.etsy.com/shop/gigibabies.

This picture cracks me up! I promise, she was in no pain, and she was actually having a blast! There will be another picture after this one, to prove it! LOL!

See! All smiles!

Sweet Ayda Lynn

Sweet LilaMae

Maggie Kate sliding with Ella!

Sweet little Walter!

Little Besties! Tegan and Maggie Kate!

Sweet Tegan

Noah (or as Maggie Kate calls him "the boys")

Thomas (the other half of "the boys", and she loves them both so much!)

Dawson sliding!

Elmo came to the party! I'm pretty sure he's her "Brad Pitt"! Lol!

Ps...a BIG thanks to my brother Bruce, for being the best Elmo EVER!

Elmo sliding with Ayda Lynn!

(again...Bruce was the best Elmo EVER!!!)

This one makes me laugh too!

(Thomas, Crystal, Ayda, Noah....Again I promise no one was in pain! Bahahahaha!)

I am in love with this Elmo cake! It turned out great! A big thanks to Heather at Gretchen's ABS Cakes, for dreaming this up! I literally handed her the invitation, and said please make it pretty! LOL! And they did! Here is a link to their website, http://abscakes.com/.

Ps....Gretchen holds a special place in my heart, because not only have she and my mother been friends for years, but she also made our wedding cake! We love Gretchen and Heather and all the beautiful cakes they create!!!

http://abscakes.com/

http://abscakes.com/

Loved our matching smash cake too!

http://abscakes.com/

The party was at Pump It Up! All kinds of jumpies and slides and a party room!

Here is a link to their website, http://www.pumpitupparty.com/sc/greenville/home-p1q106.htm, and they also offer play days during the week for everyone to come jump!

The Elmo party supplies all came from Party City on Woodruff Road! Festive, I know! LOL!

Maggie Kate's party hat! I loved this, and I wish she had too! But she would not leave it on for more than 30 seconds! I found this on Etsy as well! Yes, I'm beginning to love Etsy! All things Elmo, can be found on Etsy! Here is a link to the Etsy shop where I purchased our birthday hat, http://www.etsy.com/shop/bloomnbows?ref=seller_info.

Favor Buckets! I got the idea from Pinterest, and I loved how these turned out!

I personalized the favor buckets with these stickers! I bought the round blank stickers from Staples, and then bought a digital file from a shop on Etsy for $5. The shop owner then emailed my personalized sheet of images that I printed off at home! Here is where I found them,  http://www.etsy.com/shop/PJsPrintables.

Eating pizza with her favorite person Ella!

Our sweet friend Jake!

Time to blow out the candles!

Digging in!

Eating cake with the girls!

Maggie Kate is one loved little person! A big thanks to everyone who came and made her day so very special!

Til' Next Time.....

That's it for now! I didn't post any Maggie Kate 2 year stats.....because we haven't got there yet! We got a nasty cold and ear infection a couple of days after our 2nd birthday party! Worst. Birthday. Present. EVER!!! So we will go in a week or so for a check up on our ears and do our 2 year well check then. Let's just hope we are actually "well"! So til' next time my friends.....may the kiddie germs be few, and the hand sanitizer be plenty!!! ;-)

"You're My Brown Eyed Girl"

"Do you remember when"....I used to have time to sing....... "Sha la la, la la la la, la la la la, ti da.....La - ti - da"!

A whole year has gone by since my last post! Terrible, I know! But I've been busy living life, and using my hand held Dyson vacuum to suck obliterated goldfish crackers and other nonsense off the floor! This will be a lengthy post filled with my fav pictures and fav things and all my rants and raves, to catch you up on a year in the life of Margaret Kate, my sweet brown eyed girl! What a difference a year makes! I've watched my little squisheee baby grow into a walking, talking, singing (mostly Taylor Swift, with an occasional "Call Me Maybe") toddler!

So, brace yourselves.....


Maggie Kate's Very Pink 1st Birthday Blowout!

There is nothing I love more than throwing a great party! And I have some favorite places to get my supplies, so below some of the pics will be details and a link!

The invites! Loved these! I got them from Tiny Prints, which is where I get my Christmas cards as well.

www.tinyprints.com

My sweet 1 year old Margaret Kate!

Loved this dress by Mulberry Street! It has cupcakes on it and is reversible! I got it from Best Dressed Child out of Atlanta, GA! I love everything they offer, and get a lot of Margaret's clothing from here....you can't beat online shopping! Here is a link to their website....www.bestdressedchild.com

And Melissa Windham of Monkey Doodle Monograms, monogrammed both sides for me! Here is a link to her Facebook site.....https://www.facebook.com/MonkeyDoodleMonograms, but there will be more on my love for her later! :-)

Napkins! I've said it before, but I will say it again! I love customized napkins for parties! I get all mine from  www.foryourparty.com . Everything they offer is amazing!

What's a first birthday party, without an ice sculpture?! Loved this! It helped tie our pink "number 1" party theme altogether! The ice sculpture was created by David Rice with Ice Magic, and here is a link to his website....http://icemagicsc.com/

The cake! I am so proud to say, my mom made it! It turned out beautiful! And if you don't know it, my mom is Laurenda Norris of Laurenda's Family Restaurant and Catering, and I'm pretty proud of her and all the fabulous work she does! Here is a link to her website....http://www.laurendascatering.com/

 PS...the toppers for the cakes (the crystal letters and the crystal number 1) were from www.weddingfactorydirect.com, and they totally made the cake!

The Party Favors! I loved these monogram lollipops as party favors! I found them at www.favorwarehouse.com!

It was a wonderful 1st birthday!

In keeping with my previous posts here are the stats:

I had to pull out my trusty baby book for this information....

At one year, Margaret Kate Merritt
Weighed:  28 pounds
Height:  32 inches
Head:  47 cm

And once again she was in the 99th percentile for her age in all categories!


Getting Caught Up

So to get you caught up on a whole year of all things Margaret Kate, I've decided to give you a picture montage of important holidays and events! Hope you enjoy!

Valentines Day 2012 (Look at my squisheee!)

Again Valentines Day 2012

This dress had a spider applique on it from Halloween 2011, and Melissa Windham of Monkey Doodle Monograms, appliqued this heart over it so we could wear it again! LOVE!!! And love her!! Here is the link to her Facebook site....https://www.facebook.com/MonkeyDoodleMonograms!

Easter Morning 2012 (My happy squisheee!)

Maggie Kate and Ella Easter Sunday 2012

Easter Bunny Pictures 2012

Pictures taken by Gena Murphy Photography! Love her! Check her out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GenaMurphyPhotography

Margaret Kate's 1 Year Portrait made by Mitchell's Photography

Love this! And we love Mitchell! Here is a link to his website....http://mitchellsphotography.com/

4th of July 2012

September 2012

Not a Holiday, but every year we have Ayda Lynn and Maggie Kate's pictures made together. I love this, and I love these two sweet girls! Mandy Mayfield of Mayfield Photography always takes these pictures for me, and this year, they were just as wonderful! Here is a link to Mayfield Photography's Facebook page.....https://www.facebook.com/mayfieldphotographygreer.

The Beach September 2012

Beach pictures were taken near Litchfield Beach by Kara Stovall, and they were great! We will definitely be using her again this year! Here is a link to her website....http://www.karastovallphotography.com/

Halloween 2012 (My sweet Goldfish)

The Goldfish costume came from Pottery Barn Kids....love their selection of costumes, and it was super comfy! Gena Murphy Photography took these photo's of my sweet goldfish!

https://www.facebook.com/GenaMurphyPhotography

Pictures with Santa 2012

By Mitchell's Photography

http://mitchellsphotography.com/

The outfit in this picture was purchased from and monogrammed by Bella Bliss. I love the classic look of their children's clothing. Here is a link to their website.... http://www.bellabliss.com/

With Santa at Thornblade 2012

With Walter and Ella...LOVE! (Even though my baby was frowning!)

Christmas 2012

The Christmas of the Kitchen! The kitchen, we love, and it came from The Elephant's Trunk! Maggie and I love this store, it is filled unique toys and great gift ideas! Here is a link to their website, go check them out! http://www.elephantstrunktoys.com/

First Snow! February 2013

Valentines Day 2013

Pictures taken by Gena Murphy Photography

https://www.facebook.com/GenaMurphyPhotography

March 2013

Ayda Lynn and Maggie Kate

March 2013 "BUNNIEEEESSSSS"

Easter Bunny Pictures 2013

by Mitchell's Photography

http://mitchellsphotography.com/

And the smocked dress Maggie Kate is wearing, came from Patty Cake Boutique on Pelham Road. They have great clothing for little boys and little girls! Here is a link to their website, http://pattycakegreenville.com/, or check them out on Facebook where they often post pictures of their new items!

I love this one!

And now you're up to speed!

Disclaimer:  These pictures were only of the good times in the last year. I have not included, nor do I have any pictures of us during the flu, type A, that we contracted in December, right before Christmas of course, the UTI and high fever that followed said flu incident, the double ear infection in March 2012, or the cold that led to the current ear infection we have, that we undoubtedly caught at our own 2nd birthday party! But that's life my friends! And no one would want to see those pictures anyhow! However, due to all of these illnesses, Margaret and I will be hibernating for the next couple of months, you know, just trying not to catch the "swine flu" and other nonsense!

Til' Next Time....

I promise not to wait so long before posting again! In fact, my very next post will be Maggie Kate's 2nd Birthday! I can't wait to share the details! So until next time, may all our Dyson vacuums be swift, and our Clorox wipes be plentiful! :-) Bahahahaha.....but seriously!!!!