There's No I in Clare

Landry just turned 2.  Where has the time gone?  My baby is turning in a little girl in the blink of an eye.  She talks (in 2 languages, I might add), she runs, she dances, she has opinions, and over the weekend, she started trying to sing the songs playing on the radio.  Cutest thing ever!

But, I digress.  In honor of her 2nd birthday, we threw a Dora Luau.  You see, Landry LOVES Dora.  And, I didn’t want to throw a full on Dora-themed birthday party – that can get tacky really quickly.  So, after looking through all the Dora story lines, I figured the Hawaiian/Beach Dora was as good as any.  Thus, the theme “Dora Luau” was born.

In addition to Dora, Landry also loves the water, so I hunted down a toddler-sized inflatable water slide to rent for the party.  I went out and measured the backyard to make sure it would fit, placed my order with the inflatable company, and awaited its arrival around 10am on the morning of the party (the party was at 4pm).  They arrived right on time, and, shaking his head, the delivery guy rolled out the inflatable in the backyard….. and it was HUGE.  Approximately 8 feet larger than the measurements posted on the website.  Now, I had built in a little extra room, but an extra 8 feet?  Nope.  Just didn’t have it.  And, in the blink of an eye, the toddler entertainment for the party vanished (yes, I got my money back, since they listed the dimensions wrong on the website).  I cried.  For real.  I’m sure you’re thinking “Seriously?  It’s really not that big of a deal.”  But it was.  To me.  Right then.  I just wanted everything to be perfect, and now it wasn’t.  But, disaster planning mode kicked in quickly, and Ramsey and I devised a Plan B.  That involved a slip ‘n slide, a baby pool, and a baby sprinkle pad that we already owned and a trip to Target for a bigger pool.

I had grand aspirations for this party.  But reality (aka work and a brutal travel schedule) set in, and I didn’t go quite as “grand” for the decor.  And then we had the “water slide incident….”  But, all-in-all, the party turned out just fine and the kids were none-the-wiser.  They loved the slip ‘n slide and seemed to have a great time.  So, without further adieu, I give you the Dora Luau.

I created the invite myself in Photoshop. For not being a graphic designer, I think it turned out pretty cute!

I set the dining table up for everyone to grab a Lei as they walked in the door and a bucket of goodies when they walked out. However, I didn’t realize my grass table skirt had fallen a bit when I took this picture. 😦

Personalized take home goodie buckets for each of the kids and Leis for everyone!

Dessert table with the beautiful cake and cupcakes from Classy Cakes, Cookies by Ruby (my MIL). You can’t see them, but I also make Nutter Butters into flip-flops based upon something I saw on Pinterest – super easy and cute!

The cake was inspired by several I saw on Pinterest. Cupcake toppers match the invitation and rest of the signage. Cookies baked and decorated by my mother-in-law, Ruby. She actually took a cookie decorating class the week before – didn’t she do a beautiful job!

I made the wreath on the front door and hung hibiscus printed lanterns in the back. And, for the parents, we gave away some of the new Tony Chachere’s Sandwich Sauces, since you can’t buy them in Texas yet (but you can order them online – hint! hint!).

All of the kiddos were super cute and really did have a great time playing in the water.  The boys especially loved the slip ‘n slide as you can see from the line they formed to go on it!

And, Landry absolutely LOVED everyone singing Happy Birthday to her!  It was really cute.  She also blew out those 2 candles like a champion (yes, we practiced)!  Here’s a few pics of the Birthday Girl.

So, those are the highlights of the party.  I know I’ve promised to post pics of my Maxi Skirts.  And, I will.  I just bought 2 more beautiful fabrics that I need to transform first!  And, I’m almost finished making Landry’s LSU game day dress.  It’s turning out really cute AND it fits her!  Yea!  I’ll post pics of that, too.  And, I’ll try to post sooner rather than later.  I’ve been a bit remiss in keeping up with my blog.  And, the 5 business trips I already have scheduled in September in October aren’t going to help matters.  But, I WILL make time!