Smash Cake Extravaganza

There were simply too many adorable pictures of GO eating her first birthday cake to narrow it down for her Birthday Party post.  Enjoy this "timeline" of GO discovering the icing and deliciousness.

She had actually moved to crawl to CW, who was on the other side of the cake, and accidently stuck her hand right on the side of the cake!  She was so surprised!

And the crowd starts to go wild, so she must wave to her fans!

The destruction before we took her inside for her bath!

~Lone Butterfly  )i(

The Birthday Party!

Between Disney and the hospital stay - we were finally able to have GO's 1st Birthday Party.

We had it outside in the front yard, with lawn chairs, blankets, toys and a tent for the food.

All her cousins came to play - including one of her cousin-cousins - and Prince and Princess had to come for the fun!

The theme was Fisher-Price Little People.  I had ordered the cake from Publix (along with the smash cake and extra cupcakes for the younger guests).  I just used her new animals to decorate.

We are so blessed with generous friends and family.

For dinner we had chili dogs and chips.  GO loved her hot dogs!

The kids really enjoyed playing outside, most of the grown-ups took a turn throwing a football or Frisbee at some point.

When it was cake time, everyone piled inside to sing happy birthday.

We took her outside for her smash cake experience (which will be documented in another post).

Then it was time for a quick bath to get the cake off of her face and out of her hair!

She did NOT like the hairdryer today (which is odd, because usually she loves it).  I, however, love this photo!

After bathing, GO opened her presents.  It was so cute to watch her try to rip the paper!

Then we hung out until it was time for everyone to go home.

THANK YOU to everyone who celebrated GO's first birthday with us - and those who sent well wishes, but couldn't be there, THANK YOU, too!

~Lone Butterfly  )i(

Virtual House Party!

A few weeks ago I was selected as one of 1,250 people in America to host a Kodak Gallery House Party.  This exciting event will take place tomorrow night, where my guests will enjoy delicious food (THANKS COOKIE!), check out the nifty Kodak Gallery photo stuff that I have and then leave with 40% off coupons of their own.

BUT - lots of people can't join us tomorrow, so I thought I would have a virtual party on my blog.  If you've like what you see, leave me a comment and I'll send you the guest prize (a 40% off coupon code) - good after the "live" version of the party.

First - the Kodak Gallery site.  This is where you upload pictures.  Kodak Gallery holds onto your pictures, though they do have a minimum per year (rolling 12 months) that you have to purchase.  Personally - I have TONS of photos uploaded there and the $19.99 every 12 months is very easy for me to meet.  That is the higher threshold, if you have a smaller number of photos "stored" on the site, it's only $4.99 every 12 months.

I have personally used the Site for many gifts.  I absolutely love the photo books, even if the "new" version of the site took a little getting use to.  In the past, I've made photo books of all our vacations.  B10 and CW still pull out "their" books and read them.

I made an absolutely beautiful photo book of GO's birth.  I love the fact that I was able to use lots of text to tell the story (on special text pages) and lots of photos.  I am not a huge fan of "baby" books, the pastels and such just aren't my thing.  Being able to make a black photos book, with beautiful black and white swirls personalized GO's birth book for me.

I also use the site to print out photos for Christmas Cards and other cards during the year.  I have been trying to send out photos of the Caterpillars at least twice a year (if not more often).  To save money, I buy Christmas Cards in January.  Now, this may seem crazy, but it means that I can already have my Christmas Cards addressed and signed by October.  Then, I just take my family photo in October (the leaves have changed by that time, so it's a pretty Fall photo - and since it doesn't really snow here in Georgia - that works for Christmas).  Hubby and I pick our favorites and upload them to print at less than $0.10 per photo.

Basically, I spend less than $6.00 to send photos to all our friends and family - the grandparents and other relatives LOVE that.  Plus, I get everything in the mail by Thanksgiving and I seem on top of things!  (What a great feeling during the holidays!)

I've also made photo mugs - they've turned out well, BUT you need to use the right photo.  I recommend lighter photos rather than darker ones.  Also, the higher quality photo the higher quality end-product.  Most (while not all) of the complaints I have heard about from the site have been either user-error or poor quality photos to begin with...  Kodak is great, but they aren't magicians!

For my family, who's invested in a very nice camera, this is a great alternative to having professional photos taken.  Being homeschooled, we don't have anyone taking school photos twice a year, so this is a great alternative (and much cheaper!).

Before this "fancy" camera, though, I had two point and shoot basic digital cameras.  And I was still able to get great photos printed with them.  I even have a few black and white photos that are 8x10 hanging in my hallway - when I took B10 to Gatlinburg he took my camera and snapped a few shots.  They turned out to be beautiful nature photos (from The Great Smokey Mountains National Park).  For less than $10 I have 3 framed photos that most people think are professionally done (or at least not done by a 7 year old!).

So, thank you for joining my "party".  Browse the website and feel free to ask me any questions.  If you leave a comment saying you attended - expect the coupon code in your inbox!

Sorry I couldn't also send the chocolate covered strawberries!  :D

~Lone Butterfly  )i(

Disney "A Christmas Carol" Train

Disney is opening their newest movie, "A Christmas Carol" on November 6th. It's a 3-D movie and their marketing campaign is outstanding.

There is an Amtrak train traveling around the country, with interactive exhibits and an 11 minute preview of the movie. Since the Caterpillars are in a version of "A Christmas Carol" at our local community theatre, I thought they would enjoy seeing the train.
We invited their friends, a homeschool family that lives down the street from us.It didn't rain on us, which is good - because the line was LONG. We got there pretty early, and that was a great thing. Any later and we likely wouldn't have been able to do both things. The train was awesome.

I was amazed by the HP screens, they are truly amazing. Plus, getting to see actual writings by Charles Dickens, in his own handwriting, is really cool!

At the end, we got to morph our faces into characters from the movie. I can't wait to see how those turn out when they are emailed to us!

There was a little booth to get temporary tattoos and activity sheets. B10 picked the Scrooge one, while the other kids got snowflakes.
Finally, we watched an 11 minute 3-D preview of the movie. It was beautiful! Absolutely amazing. Our family will be going, perhaps not the first weekend, but before Christmas, I'm sure.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am so glad we were able to do it.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Tummy Time!

GO has been practicing her Tummy Time. She's become very proficent and raising her head and also scooting forward with her legs.

Part of me is excited to see her progress, while the other part of me doesn't want her to grow up too fast! (Something all parents struggle with!)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Circle Around

GO was finally big enough to wear a dress that I wore when I was a baby (way back in the 70's).

Even though it's covered in pink (not my favorite color), I think she looks adorable.

I dare anyone to disagree! ;)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

(as a side note: B10 and CW left for their dad's house and Hubby, GO and I already miss them very much!) :(