zoe's 6th birthday picnic party

so the reason why zoe's birthday 

was extra extra special this year was because

she had not one but two parties!

yup! that's right....two birthday parties

every year, we hold a pretty large shindig for our little girl

we invite all our aunts, uncles, cousins, friends

neighbors, zoe's friends and classmates 

(hey! we are filipino, we love big parties!)

but my hubs recently changed careers 

and as a result his schedule changed too

with no weekends off and no holiday time (for a short time at least)

so we thought a little intimate party would be best

but when my mom found out, she pleaded with us

to continue the tradition of big parties

and since i didn't want to disappoint zoe and cancel the tea party

i quickly threw together a "second" party

i wanted something casual and fun

zoe has been really into picnics this summer

so i thought a picnic party would be perfect!

the party favors were mini picnic baskets i bought at a local craft store

i covered the top with washi tape

and filled them with goldfish crackers and gummy watermelon slices

i also wanted to do a mini dessert table

 it included mini donut holes

mini cupcakes

mini brownie bites

mini cinnamon buns

and i threw in some oreo cookies for good measure

 i had a vision of some sort of diy lemonade stand

i had some leftover chalkboard paint

so i made a mini chalkboard to write the instructions on

it was a pretty simple concept because i wanted the kids to be able to do it too

the menu consisted of picnic type foods

hot dogs, hamburgers, traditional filipino barbeque on sticks

salad and fresh fruit
(thanks mom for making the barbeque!)

we asked the guests to bring their own picnic blankets or lawn chairs

 and they gathered on the grass to eat

one of the many reasons why i did give in to my mom 

and have another party for zoe

was because there are so many people in zoe's life who love her so much

and who would have been disappointed if they
weren't able to celebrate her special day with her

my baby sister baked zoe's birthday cake

can you believe it was the first time she baked a cake ?! 

(without any help that is)

isn't it gorgeous?! it was also soooo yummy!!!

and then after dinner (and once the sun set a little)

we had a movie under the stars

i have been wanting to do this since zoe was a year old!!

but when 90% of your guests are in bed by 7pm

it wasn't really feasible... but this year i thought it would be!

 we didn't originally include the outdoor movie in our invitation

because we wanted to surprise our guests

but we realized after watching the outdoor movie in portland

that we had to tell them so they could come 

prepared with extra blankets, warm clothes and bug spray!!

i wasn't sure if we could pull it off

(all the equipment was borrowed and we definitely aren't audio visual experts!)

but somehow my hubs did it ! (he is so awesome)

we served fresh popped popcorn and the kids snuggled under blankets and sleeping bags

it was a perfect summer night

even though it was super hectic throwing two parties in one day

it was all worth it because when i tucked zoe into bed that night

she whispered to me

"thanks mommy, i had the best birthday ever..."

zoe's 6th birthday tea party

zoe celebrated her 6th birthday last friday

6 is officially "big girl" status in my book

so to celebrate this momentous occasion

i wanted to do something extra special for my big girl

she woke up extra early because she was too excited to sleep in

the first thing we did was open her gifts

she loves eloise

so she received a new eloise book and a custom made eloise doll

(handmade by a local artist who also happens to be my sis in law!!)

to celebrate such a special birthday

we decided to have a tea party!

zoe is always playing tea party... so i thought it was a perfect way

to celebrate her birthday

instead of hosting the tea party at home

i thought it would be extra special if we took her and a few special friends

to a teahouse

the teahouse had vintage hats that they girls were allowed to wear

pia even wanted to wear gloves!

there was mini tea pots filled with lemonade or milk

  

and real mini tea cups

the girls were served jelly sandwiches in the shape of hearts

the yummiest scones served with homemade jam,
devon cream and lemon curd

and sugar cookies in the shape of tea pots!

of course being the avid tea drinker myself

i ordered myself a pot of cream earl grey (my absolute favorite tea)

my sister ordered one of their homemade scones

 which was served with homemade raspberry jam and devon cream

it was so incredibly delicious!!!

i told zoe she was allowed to invite three people

she chose to invite her cousin and two of her friends from school

(pia had an automatic invite!)

zoe and her friends had so much fun

it was a simple yet perfect way to celebrate

my zoe turning 6

but that wasn't the end of party!!!

make sure you come back later on today for part 2.

a pia-jama party!!!

for my little pia's 3rd birthday we decided to

to have another pia-jama party, just like her 2nd birthday

all out guests showed up in their pj's

the menu consisted entirely of breakfast items

waffles, pancakes, omelets and lots and lots of bacon!

the kiddies brought their blankets and pillows

helped themselves to popcorn, chips and other sweet things

and enjoyed movie time. 

unfortunately, i didn't take as many photos as i hoped to

i was busy running around for most of the party....

but i do hope you enjoy the few that were taken.

the giveaways were "bed time snacks"

homemade cookies (by my baby seester) and hot chocolate

packed up in blue bags 

a home made chocolate cake with blue icing

made by my talented baby seester!

 

and cupcakes too!!!

these lovely little cups were later used to house  

popcorn, gummies and chocolate 
for the kids' movie time snacks

A huge thank you to my talented baby seester who baked

8 (yes 8!!) dozen cookies for the gift bags

a chocolate cake with blue icing

and 24 chocolate cupcakes with blue icing

the party was a huge success...

how do i know?

by the huge smile on my little pia's face at the end of the night!