Mamas Like Me

A Very Mickey First Birthday

2013-06-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, my youngest turned one year old! Infancy seems to pass so much quicker with each baby and I'm sad to see this first year go. As I write this, I still haven't come to terms with the fact that my baby isn't really a baby anymore. He is a full-fledged toddler, climbing and getting into everything in sight.

Since his birthday fell right before our first family trip to Disney, we decided to do a Mickey Mouse party for our little one-year-old. His 2-year-old brother is obsessed with Mickey and we figured it would be a good way to get everyone in the mood for our vacation.

To start with, I made these DIY invitations using PicMonkey and had them printed at our local Walmart. I spent just under $2 for our invitations AND Walmart included envelopes for free. If they don't for you, just ask for them and let them know that they're invitations. Seriously, personalized invitations cheaper than the generic store-bought ones! How can you pass that up?

For our decorations, we focused on the classic Mickey color scheme using red, yellow, and black. Guests were greeted at the door with a Mickey wreath, a welcome sign on a chalkboard, and one of our stuffed Mickeys.

On the inside of the front door, I made a photo collage as a number one. Be sure that you use extra photos for this or photos that you print just for this project. I glued mine onto poster board and wasn't really able to salvage any of them.

Instead of using helium balloons, I tied balloons to our chandelier and used streamers to decorate the ceiling and china cabinet.

I made a Mickey Mouse Happy Birthday banner...

and a matching "I am 1" banner for Baby C's high chair.

We made a kids table on the back deck and used their easel to leave a Happy Birthday message.

I used construction paper and black plates to make Mickey Mouse plates for the kids. The bow-ties are napkins folded as fans and secured with construction paper rings.

On the cake table, I featured my simple Mickey Mouse cake and Mickey Mouse cupcakes. My red icing wasn't as red as I had hoped, but I was running out of time at that point.

We also had Mickey Mouse bubbles for each of the kids.

And, I loved this free printable I found from Simply Real Moms.

For the goodie bags, I used red gift bags and added construction paper circles to make them look like Mickey's pants. We personalized them with a 'thank you' from the birthday boy.

Inside the bags, I put a personalized Mickey or Minnie Mouse shirt that I created for each of the kids.

I also included our homemade chocolate-covered Mickey Mouse Rice Krispee Treats (or "Mice Krispee Treats" as Big Brother likes to call them) and the kids got to take home what was left of their bubbles.

Our menu included Mickey Favorites:

Hot Diggity Dogs

Minnie's Macaroni & Cheese

Toodle's Noodles (pasta salad)

Donald's Dip (7-layer dip)

Goofy's Garden (Vegetable tray and Mickey Fruit Bowls)

Daisy's Dip (fruit dip)

Pluto's Punch

So, what did the Birthday Boy think????

Well...

He loved the moon bounce!

He wasn't really sure what to do with the presents...

He thought blowing out candles was hysterical!

And, he wanted NOTHING to do with his cake or cupcakes! Nothing!! He's my only child who didn't even want to smash his cake...

Seriously, check out his brother's First Birthday pics.

Oh well! I'm sure he'll master that part of birthdays by the time he's 2!

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the fact that he still lets me rock him to sleep occasionally. I know it will be gone all too soon!

If you're looking for some more Mickey Birthday ideas, be sure to check out our Mickey Pinterest Board and look-out for this week's tutorials for more details on our Mickey shirts and other Mickey crafts!

Want more ideas for spending time with your kids? Be sure to follow us on our NEW Facebook or Pinterest pages and sign up for emails to keep up with all the latest crafts, activities, and kid-friendly recipes!

Last Minute Father's Day Crafts & The Weekly Kid's Co-op

2013-06-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

Father's Day is just a few days away. This week we've been making some cute crafts and cards for Dad.

We used magazines and construction paper to make a "Gifts for You" tie. The kids created a collage of all the things they'd buy for Dad if they had all the money in the world!

Then, I saw these super cute fingerprint fish from Frogs and Snails & Puppy Dog Tails and we turned them into adorable Father's Day cards.

The kids had a lot of fun painting these!

If you're looking for more last-minute crafts, check out these Father's Day crafts that we highlighted last week.

Want more ideas for spending time with your kids? Be sure to follow us on our NEW Facebook page or Pinterest and sign up for emails to keep up with all the latest crafts, activities, and kid-friendly recipes!

Now it's your turn to link up your ideas and get some new ones with this week's Weekly Kid's Co-op.

Encouraging Pretend Play in the Kitchen

2013-06-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Tons of research has been done on the importance of imaginative play for toddlers and preschoolers. When children play pretend, they are working on developing social skills and practicing their problem-solving skills in a safe and controlled environment.

The other day, the kids helped me bake the cakes for Baby C's first birthday party. Even after the cakes were in the oven, they still wanted to bake, so we set up this baking center to keep them occupied. I was so amazed at how nicely they played all morning long. They really loved using our real kitchen tools with their play kitchen and cooked up some "pretend" yummy treats for us.

In their center, I included:

An empty carton of eggs with plastic Easter eggs.

Rubber cupcake liners

muffin pans

a bundt pan

a handheld mixer

measuring spoons

measuring cups

sprinkles

spice containers

pot holders

an apron

wooden spoons for stirring

mixing bowls

empty ingredient boxes

The kids practiced breaking the plastic eggs and measured ingredients. They mixed everything up and used our play kitchen to bake their creations.

They even interacted with various print by "reading" the directions on a box of cake mix and following recipes in our cookbooks.

The baby even joined in on the fun and enjoyed "helping" in the kitchen and shaking the sprinkles containers.