Eventful Week

Well this last week was definitely a lot of fun.  My family was in town and Sunday was Raeleigh's birthday party.  Then Tuesday was her actual birthday, which included a trip to Branson and Wednesday was her first day at her new daycare!

Raeleigh's party went well.  I actually kept it cheap this year as compared to last year (I wish I knew the actual numbers) but the great thing was I felt like it still looked just as good and went just as well.  Our theme this year was Sunshine.  We call her our "Rae" of Sunshine, because she truly brings so much joy into our lives.  Here are some pictures...

First of the decorations....

Favor bags for the kids.  Inside were sunglasses, candy and a little "grow your own" flowers or strawberries pot.

 

Found these great tablecloths (actually good quality too) at Big Lots.

 

Got some lemons to fill up two different vases.  Also, these pennants  were a last minute decision.  I realized I already had some scrapbook paper, and just needed some string, wah-lah cheap and effective party decor!
 

 Even Roxie got in the party spirit. ;)

  

Simple snacks... chips and salsa and fruit.

I did the popular Pinterest thing and put my watermelon on a stick.  Then went the extra mile to lay them out to look like the sun to go with the theme.

I did pineapple and cantaloupe skewers to look like a ray of sunshine.

 

 Lemonade to drink.

 Simple birthday banner.

The outside...

 

 

 Now here are some pictures of the actual party....

She has had so much fun playing with her presents...

As mentioned, on Tuesday (her birthday) we went to Silver Dollar City and to the Landing for a late lunch/early dinner, then when we got back to Springfield, she went to dance class and then we went out and got shakes and concretes!

 

Wednesday she started her first day at a big girl day care.  She's been "in-home" up to this point.  Here she is on her first day.

I think this place will be really good for her.  There are lesson plans and structure but still they focus on letting them be kids and have fun.  For example, yesterday they learned about the letter M, then they read a book about the moon and learned to "rotate like the moon".  Fun stuff.  And today was water play day!  So we sent her in her swimsuit to have a fun day of playing in the water!  It's at a church so their values and belief systems are great and overall I think I'm going to be SO happy with this place.  We did a lot of research and we know other parents who take their kids there and personal referrals are definitely important when it comes to day care!

So, it's been a big week for us and we've had a blast!