It's not a Party without...

I want to first and foremost shout out my blog friend and September Sapphire Even Day Blog Challenge creator Kimberly from beingawordsmith.com.
I want to wish her a

The challenge on her special day was to share some of my own favorite party ideas so this is what I pulled out of my goodie bag.

-keep it simple

-stick to a theme

-make the 99cent store your best friend and first place you look

-the cake is the most important piece, then the music, then the food

-parents always do too much, the kids only care about running around and playing

-have fun with your kids, be in the moment. This day will never come again.

Here are a few pics of theme's I've done for my Lil mama over the years. We usually went away or had a day out for her Birth day. She also liked having her day shared in school so those were fun too, but again simple and small.

this was a simple "hippy" Psychedelic theme for her 9th b'day, colorful and easy got the cake at Baskin Robbins & decorations at 99 cents store.

 for her 16th b'day again I kept it small & simple I just set up the table with all the goodies & left apt. alone, had her closest friends & some fam over and done. Her cake was a sheet Carvel Ice-cream cake with 4 pictures of her over the years as the icing. I would have loved to share the actual pics but when my computer crashed a few months back we lost a lot of pictures booooooo. The decorations I picked up at Party City.

Monkey theme!!! my lil mama loves monkeys. I did this theme for her 18th b'day.

My girlfriend did the Monkey cake for us and I got the decorations at Party City & 99 cent store.

Again, kept everything focused on the table and cake.

Always stress free xo

Baby's First Library

I believe there is just something so soothing and connecting about reading. It can transport you to another place and time or it can educate you on other cultures and ways of living. You can get lost for a few days or a few hours. For this reason I wrote this post.

In no particular order these are some books I suggest should be part of a new baby’s library.

I had many of these as I started my daughter’s library before she was born. I’m an avid reader so I couldn’t even imagine not having books as part of my child’s life, let alone her own treasure of books.

Today many children have Tablets and other gadgets that they use as learning tools and entertainment but I feel that an early start for the love of an actual book never hurts.

Here are my suggestions:
-Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
-Hush, Little Baby by Brian Pinkney
-Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
-In the Tall, Tall Grass by Denise Fleming
-Baby Dance (Harper Growing Tree) by Ann Taylor
-Are you My Mother? By P.D. Eastman
-Peek-a-boo! By Roberta Grobel
-Time to get Dressed! By Elivia Savadier
-Wheels on the Bus by Raffi
-Curious George books by Margret Rey & H.A. Rey
-Disney Classics series by Golden Books
-Dr. Suess
-Classic Winnie the Pooh books by A.A. Milne & Ernest H. Shepard
-Disney Baby Einstein 12 book Library series by Editors of Publications International Ltd.
-Golden Books variety of The Three Little Pigs, Red Riding Hood, Goldie Locks etc…

Your selection can vary and will. The additions will be loads of fun once your child can pick for themselves and read on their own. My daughter’s library today ranges from some of her childhood classics to Harry Potter to Hemingway and Dickens.

Reading is fundamental and fun!!!! Start early and enjoy. Build bonds and precious memories.