I can’t believe how quickly this party came and went! I had an entirely different plan for Parker and Jolie’s fifth birthday party- a (girl power) superhero theme to which I was planning out obstacle courses for all the ‘heros’ to climb through in the backyard.. a Pinterest board full of decor ideas and cake inspiration but I’m so glad Jolie insisted on the switch because this party turned out so cute and pulled together just as I had hoped! perfectly girlie and beautiful, just like our big five year old girls!

as always, Sarah of CK Fireboots did not disappoint in creating the perfect invitation for our party.  she has designed every single invitation for our birthday parties and every year they get better.  the invitation ended up being the focal point of the entire party!I had Sarah create a large document of just the ‘face’ of the unicorn so I could sent it off to get printed.  I printed it the cheapest way on regular paper at Office Depot and it cost about $30. Jordan mounted it on a piece of plywood cut to the exact dimensions and I added glitter and a flower I found at hobby lobby- I sprayed it with tacky glue and added even more glitter to match the party colors.

these clouds were the first real DIY I have ever done for a party. planning and designing is my thing.. NOT DIY, and I have no shame- ha! but I came across a tutorial on Pinterest (check it out HERE) and bought the paper lanterns + polyfil + hot glue. the tutorial boasts that it costs over $200.. but we put these together for less than $50. they were REALLY easy and a bit time consuming but totally worth it. I picked up a piece of fur fabric from Michael’s and used it as a table cloth.  this is my favorite piece of decor in the twins’ room.  I LOVE this sign from six eleven co. and the colors worked well with the party so I brought it out to pair with a unicorn head I picked up on a whim the day before the party 🙂 I made the paperclips with glitter + mod podge and hung the pictures from their photoshoot on a frame + chicken wire. THE CAKE.  I sent Jenny of Jenny Layne Bakery a photo for inspiration and she totally outdid herself!  we had a face painter come for all the kiddos and she was AMAZING!  if you are local I highly recommend shimmy giggles entertainment.   

I was SO impressed! these pretty girls loved their face paint! aside from the face painting, the highlight of the party was seeing my brother with his nieces. he came dressed as a unicorn and I about died when he walked through the door!  SO much fun! time for cake! for the last couple years Parker has gotten really emotional when it came time to singing ‘happy birthday‘.  it didn’t even have to be directed towards her- we would be at a friend’s birthday party and she would break down in tears unless I was holding her in my lap.  at first I thought it was about the attention being on someone else and not her.. as a typical toddler/kid would act sometimes, but last weekend at a birthday party I sat on the side feeding Brady and watched as she silently cried in her hands during the singing. she completely broke my heart. I asked her after the party was over what was wrong, as I do every time, and she finally confided that she feels insecure that everyone is laughing at her during singing.  I explained that this was not the case at all and that we sing because we love you!  not because were laughing! we hyped her up all week about cake time and I was tearing up during ‘happy birthday’.. she was smiling and not crying! so proud of that girl.   you can’t tell in this picture but Jolie wrapped her arm around Parker and said ‘great job, Parker!“it was an emotionally exhausting day but we had the very best time celebrating Parker and JoJo with friends and family.

 heres to FIVE YEARS!!