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Tag Archives: messy play

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin

1 / 22 / 191 / 22 / 19

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin | Mama Papa Bubba

Okay, so before you see this awesome muddy monster truck derby sensory bin and think it’s all fun and games over here all day every day, here’s what you need to know…  This morning Sam came along for the school run in undies, a t-shirt, and a sweater.  In minus four degree {celsius} weather.  No pants.  No socks. No boots. And no jacket.  Let alone a toque or mittens.  Thank goodness we do the whole car blanket thing and he at least had that once in, but you guys – this morning was a doooozy.  We got home, I moped a bit, he continued to shout and whine and throw things, and I made a cup of coffee and gulped the whole thing back in bed with the door closed.  Then we hugged it out, agreed to start our morning over, cleaned up, and put this sensory bin full of mud and monster trucks together.

Thank fricken goodness sensory play and calm music have the power to turn a day around.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.{this post contains affiliate links}

Here’s what we used to put this taste-safe, scented, amazing-feeling sensory bin together…

  • one of our go-to Sterilite sensory bins (any shallow bin will work)
  • cornstarch from our play cupboard (when it comes to cooking with it, I always use an organic version)
  • cocoa powder
  • a couple of small toy monster trucks

and later on, these Green Toys cars too.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

If you haven’t guessed yet, our ‘mud’ for our monster truck derby sensory play is CHOCOLATE oobleck!!

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

We didn’t even bother mixing this up in a separate bowl!  Sam just dumped the cornstarch and cocoa powder straight into our bin…

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Then whisked it up…

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

And mixed with a wooden spoon as I gradually added water.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

You can play with the amounts of each ingredient to create thicker or thinner oobleck, but here’s our recipe…

CHOCOLATEY OOBLECK
  • 2 cups of cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup of cocoa
  • 2 cups of water

Whisk the cornstarch and cocoa together well.  Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon {or better yet – your hands!} until the oobleck has a uniform in texture.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I gave the chocolate oobleck one last mix before Sam very enthusiastically popped his monster trucks in.

{It goes without saying that Chloe was in on the fun in approximately 2 minutes flat.  Seriously – this kitty of ours loves sensory play just as much as Grae and Sam do!}

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

It obviously depends on the size of your bin, but our layer of oobleck was thin enough to leave very visible monster truck tracks and Sam noticed right away.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

He also realized how insanely neat oobleck is to touch and hold and squish.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

As for the mess?  With activities like this one, I just remind him to keep his hands in or over the bin.  The truth is that the oobleck mud dries up on surfaces and is a cinch to wipe up, but I still don’t want it all over the kitchen obviously.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Part way through his play Sam asked for something for the monster trucks to drive over, so that’s when I offered him a few little Green Toys cars.  We lined them up just like you’d see at a monster truck show and after getting a thorough drizzling of mud, the monster trucks began driving and jumping over them.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Although this addition was initiated by Sam, starting simple and adding things in here and there during play is one of my go-to methods for extending play activities.

 Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.
Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Also his request?  ‘A tool and a bucket’, plus later on, a ramp which I chopped from an almond milk carton.  This was during a full one-hour play session and though I have a feeling that it would have lasted significantly longer, we had to put it on pause for nap time.  With the promise that he could continue later on in the afternoon, of course.

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Play | Mama Papa Bubba

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3 Comments

Colourful Scented Oobleck

11 / 4 / 1311 / 5 / 13

Colourful Scented Oobleck | Mama Papa Bubba

Oobleck, goop, goo, cornstarch paste… Whatever you call it, we’re huge fans!  The cornstarch and water mixture has been a staple in our play repertoire for a long time now and it never fails to captivate those who dare to dig their hands in.  With Halloween having just come and gone, we’ve played with it a ton lately.  Sometimes paired with creepy crawlies, sometimes with giant googly eyes, and other times all on its own.  It’s been loads of fun for Miss G and her little friends in the courtyard, so today we decided to try something different…  Colourful SCENTED oobleck!

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Ridiculously Fun Colourful Bubble Foam

8 / 14 / 133 / 24 / 14

Colourful Bubble Foam | Mama Papa Bubba

Oh my word… I’m so glad we finally got around to trying this!  I pinned the idea over a year ago and I knew it was going to be fun, but I had no idea just how much Miss G would love it and how much play it would bring about (just wait until we get to those pictures!)  

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A Messy Play Date {& Some Messy Play Date Tips}

6 / 28 / 137 / 2 / 13

Today was the highly anticipated day of our {backyard} messy play date…finally!  Gracen and I got everything ready yesterday afternoon and had it all sitting by the backyard to make our early start time a little easier this morning.  During our prep, Grae was so excited she could barely contain herself.  She gathered sensory bin items and assembled them like it was her job and this morning she was up bright and early eager for her friends to arrive.  

When we do these sorts of play dates, I try to have a variety of different kinds of open-ended activities spread out throughout the backyard.  This means that there is something for everyone and not all of the kids are always crowded in the same area like little sardines.  Today’s sensory activities included our bird bin, an ocean bin filled with water beads, a construction bin filled with pea gravel, a cloud dough bin filled with different moulds and scoops, a gardening station directly in our garden {as we didn’t plant this year due to our upcoming move}, and a sparkly slime tray.  For kiddos looking for a bit more action, we had our inexpensive and easy backyard balance beam, a sandbox filled with dinosaur bones and shovels for digging, a pool filled with cups, scoops, and nets {because it was too cool to actually swim}, and bubble chasing courtesy of a couple of bubble machines.  For our little art lovers, we had out a big moon painting station and a bucket of sidewalk chalk with some water for dipping, and for those looking for a little bit of downtime, we had our 5 minute teepee with some puzzles inside, a beading station, and a tunnel hideout. 

Sounds fun, right?  Strangely enough, after all of the build-up, Miss G was quite clingy and whiny throughout.  I think it was a combination of feeling slightly smothered by a very affectionate friend and just being a little overwhelmed.  Though I think she still had fun, I was a little surprised that it didn’t go over a bit better than it did…  But what can you do?  I’m pretty sure the other kids enjoyed themselves, and after a lot of messy play, we all sat down to a laid-back picnic lunch of sandwiches, fruits and veggies, nuts, crackers, cookie dough boys, and homemade iced tea and lemonade.  After saying goodbye to our friends {and passing out play dough and play putty favours – all Miss G’s idea}, we found ourselves in a backyard that looked like a tornado had run through it…  A true sign of messy play date success, I’d say!

Here are some photos from our morning…

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After hosting a couple of these play dates, here are a few things I’ve learned along the way…

1. Include activities of varying messiness. Not all kiddos love getting filthy.

2. Spread play stations out as much as possible.  Not only does it allow the munchkins lots of space to play and explore, but it also helps keep the play materials separate (though we did end up with slime, sand, and cloud dough in our pool this time around!)

3. Expect your play materials to get trashed.  While water beads, slime, and doughs may last several months when enjoyed by just your child(ren), many children may be experiencing these play materials for the first time.  Water beads will be smushed, dirt will be added to the slime, and buckets of water will be dumped into cloud dough, so be prepared to throw everything out and start fresh.

4.  Slime and concrete don’t mix.  Being used to my very careful, rule-bound little lady, I thought nothing of putting a big tray of slime out on a table on our concrete pad.  Needless to say, by the end of the play date, it was everywhere and Brad and I spent a couple of hours picking, peeling, spraying, scrubbing, and sweeping it all up – pretty rockin’ Friday night, no? All in the name of fun! ☺

5. Include a hand washing station.  Kids are going to want to wash their hands between activities and having a spot to do it outside not only makes it easier for them, but it also minimizes traffic in and out of the house.  We use a drink dispenser filled with warm water with a basin below and some soap and a hand towel nearby and not only does it get the job done, but it’s also a lot of fun.

♥ 

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Pretend Popsicle Play

5 / 22 / 135 / 24 / 13

Pretend Popsicle Play With Gelatine Pops | Mama Papa BubbaKnowing Grae’s love of popsicles, my mom sent her home from the Okanagan with a couple of new popsicle mould sets the other day.  While I knew she’d be excited, what I wasn’t expecting was for two new popsicle moulds to keep her happily playing in her rear-facing car seat for at least 1/2 of our 7 hour drive home.  She was so engaged with them that Brad actually said, “Well I know what we need to bring on the plane to Kuwait.” (If you’re travelling through Germany in August and see a woman with popsicle mould parts clumsily falling out of her purse, that’ll be me.)

IMG 8103When we got home and I started thinking about fun play opportunities for the week, I thought it would be fun to try to set up a popsicle-themed pretend play station.  Of course, the first thing that came to mind was making the pretend pops out of ice, but I wanted something a little different.  Enter gelatine. With a fun texture that can be jiggled, squished, and crumbled, I knew it would be a hit.  

To make the pops quite sturdy, I mixed up 3 packets of Knox unflavoured gelatine with 3/4 of a cup of boiling water, then added 3/4 of a cup of cool water once the gelatine had been dissolved.  I popped a few drops of liquid food colouring into each of my popsicle cups, poured the gelatine mixture in, mixed it up, and put the faux popsicles in the refrigerator over night. 

IMG 8105This morning while we were preparing breakfast together, Miss G immediately noticed the rainbow coloured popsicles in the fridge and asked if they were for playing with.  Let me tell you, this girl doesn’t miss a thing.  She patiently waited until after our morning outing, lunchtime, and her nap, and I had this little set up ready ready for her when she woke up.

IMG 8112She was delighted to see it and immediately asked, “Are these just for playing, Mama? Or are they for eating?”  With the fact that they were for playing with cleared up, she began naming the flavours – my favourite of which was tomato soup (the red one).  Then she began doling out the treats in bowls with spoons, as she often likes her popsicles.

IMG 8113Next up, all of the popsicles went back into their moulds and got put into her pretend freezer.  Then she took them out, one by one (with the help of a spoon and some serious shaking) as though she were filling customer orders.

IMG 8116For the customers who preferred to eat their frozen treats from a bowl rather than a stick, she happily crumbled the popsicles up.  As you do.

IMG 8119There was lots of play with the popsicles in their smushed up state…

IMG 8123Then she moved onto making rainbow pops.  Because I mean, who wants only one flavour when you can have several, right?

IMG 8127And then there was soup. Oh, was there ever.  Soup stirred so enthusiastically that bits flew out of the bowl and landed in various spots around our living room. 

IMG 8132I’d say pretend popsicles were a hit, wouldn’t you?  A colourful, messy, joyful hit.

♥ 

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Exploring with Magic Potions

5 / 3 / 135 / 4 / 13

Exploring Magic Potions | Mama Papa BubbaThis afternoon the sun was out and I decided to set up something really fun for Grae to explore and experiment with in the backyard.

IMG 9234The set up was pretty simple…  Several differently shaped jars and medicine bottles filled with coloured vinegar (we used gel food colouring), a couple of small jars of baking soda, a couple of spoons, and a few empty mixing containers all on a tray.  Oh, and some safety goggles.  Because in Gracen’s world, science equals goggles. ☺

IMG 9246After helping her with her goggles, Grae set off to work.

IMG 9236As I usually do with this kind of activity, I didn’t give her any instructions.  I simply said, “Do you want to play?”

IMG 9237The answer was an excited ‘yes’, and after a few questions about whether or not she could dump/mix/pour things (of course the answer to all was yes), she got started.

IMG 9249While she’s seen the reaction baking soda and vinegar have while moon painting, this was on a much bigger scale.

IMG 9258And she loved it.  Mixing a little bit of this with a little bit of that in order to cause colour changes and fizzy foam eruptions was right up her alley.

IMG 9252My little scientist made reaction after reaction, delighting each time she caused foam to spew out of the top of her jar.

IMG 9259One thing that was interesting is how the colour of the vinegar seemed to change with the addition of baking soda.  In the case of the orange and the pink, the colours seemed to explode with brightness as the reactions occurred.

IMG 9270With almost all of her baking soda resources used up and her largest  jar of vinegar left, we fetched just a little more baking soda from in the house.

IMG 9274It started off slowly, but the reaction did not disappoint.  After scrounging leftover baking soda from wherever she could, she managed to create enough fizzing foam to have it flow generously out of the top of the jar.  Success!

After she’d depleted her resources, what was left was a beautiful rainbow-y mess.  For a little bit of added fun, we filled up a bin with warm soap water, grabbed a cloth, a scrubber brush, and a couple of towels, and had a little dishwashing station right there in the backyard.

♥ 

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Simple Mud Kitchen

3 / 8 / 133 / 11 / 13

Simple MUD KitchenAfter this morning’s mud soup fun down at the beach, I decided it would be fun to set up a little mud kitchen for Miss G to play with in the backyard.  Now I don’t know if you too have seen the beautiful and elaborate mud kitchens that often pass through my Pinterest feed, but ours was nothing like those.  A few items from the kitchen, some dirt from the garden, and a water source all squished onto a second hand plastic table and Miss G was pleased as punch.  After all, playing with mud is supposed to be simple, right? 

IMG 6430IMG 6432IMG 6444IMG 6438IMG 6463Gracen poured water, added greens, and gently stirred hot soup.  She scooped soil, packed it down, and added pebble sprinkles to dirt cupcakes. She tended to gooey mud pancakes, flipping them every now and again.

IMG 6443And lucky for me, I was the chosen taste tester.

♥

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Face Painting Station

3 / 7 / 135 / 10 / 13

Face Painting StationI thought of putting this little station together for Gracen to explore months and months ago, but only got to it today.  Perhaps today just felt like a face painting sort of day?  I don’t know…

IMG 6372Either way, I set out her step stool turned toddler bench in front of our closet mirror (of course a table top mirror would work just as well), laid out a couple of damp cloths and a jar of face painting crayons, and waited for her to discover her new station.

IMG 6376And when she did, was she ever excited!  She didn’t quite know what it was all about, but she was excited none the less.  I stood back and watched her take off her tights.  Then she turned to me and asked, “Mama helps Grae Grae paint her toes?” Hah!

IMG 6378Once I explained that they were face painting crayons, she was even more pleased. And off she went, decorating her face.

IMG 6383She went through several changes during the process…  First, she announced that she was a raccoon, and after adding a few more lines here and there, she decided that she was a kitty cat.

IMG 6395Here she is with her first finished look. ☺

IMG 6402When it was time to remove it, she tried using the damp cloth I’d provided, but it was quite tricky.  Face paint is stubborn, but I knew just what would do the trick…. One of our very favourite body/household/cooking products – organic coconut oil!  She dipped her fingers into it, started rubbing it on her face, and the paint literally melted off.  Afterwards she was able to use her cloth and wipe her face clean – easily!

IMG 6406Miss G decorated herself for a while longer, then let me have the final turn…  The natural choice?  Papa eyebrows, of course!  ☺  I don’t know who found it more hysterical – her or me.

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♥

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Sparkly Foam Sensory Tray

3 / 3 / 136 / 13 / 13

Sparkly Foam Sensory TrayDo you ever set up an activity that you think will be a total hit and it just kind of flops?  Or if it doesn’t flop, it just doesn’t take off the way you thought it would?  That was the case with this sensory tray.

IMG 6230After a Sunday morning adventure and a good afternoon nap, we decided to hit the backyard.  Brad and I wanted to get some yard work done, so I decided to set up a sensory station for Grae to explore in between searching for rocks, running around, and helping with the yard work.

IMG 6231I kept it very simple and  filled a tray with raspberry-scented shaving foam, sprinkled glitter on top of it, and set out a warm bucket of water with a hand towel.

IMG 6234Grae dove in.

IMG 6235She definitely had fun mixing up the different colours of glitter and squishing the foam between her fingers…

IMG 6241And she even thought it was funny that it stuck to her hands at first, but after a while, the fact that she couldn’t properly clean the foam off of her hands and arms, even with the bucket of water and towel, started to bother her.

IMG 6238She decided to gather some sandbox tools and played for a while longer, but the activity never really took off the way I thought it would.  In the end, there was a giant tray of semi-played with foam just left there and she was done.

IMG 6244If anything, this was a great way to get messy. ☺

I guess all activities can’t be a total hit, can they?

♥ 

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Snow Dough {for 4}

1 / 1 / 1311 / 25 / 13

I loved this simple variation on the usual cloud dough, and today I simplified it even further for some messy morning sensory play with the cousins.  To create some “snow dough” of our own, I simply made our usual cloud/moon dough and dumped in a couple of small bottles of silvery light blue glitter.  A fun way to kickstart the New Year, right?

Though I could have added more festive / wintery items (mini evergreen trees, plastic animals, snowman accessories, etc.) to the sensory bin, I just stuck to the usuals this time around… Plastic cups, bowls, spoons, and cookie cutters and the kiddos loved it.

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Three of the four munchkins were very eager to join.

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Let the fun begin!

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The sparkles are hard to see, but if you look closely, you should be able to spot them.

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Kinslee digging in.

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The fourth monkey just couldn’t resist the fun.

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Snow dough toes. ☺

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Korbin was a master moulder.

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A girl who isn’t afraid to get messy.

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Snow dough smoothie, anyone?

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Experimenting with snow dough snowmen…

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A safer building site.

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Snowballs stacked.

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Ummm, Grae… What happened to your hair?

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Who says the snow dough has to stay in the bin?

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Mission accomplished!

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This explains things.

 

Sparkly Snow Dough (we doubled this recipe for a group of 4 children)

  • 8 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup of baby oil (or other oil)
  • 1 small container of white/silver/blue glitter

Mix with your hands or a whisk until ingredients are evenly distributed.  Play!

♥

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Slime Sensory Station

10 / 31 / 1211 / 2 / 12

After making each of her little dance class friends a mini mason jar filled with pink sparkly slime, plus giving out another 40 slime packets at Strong Start this morning, Gracen was excited to get her hands on a batch or two of her own. So today, between the Halloween festivities, we carved out some time in the afternoon to set up a very simple little slime station.  

Slime Sensory Station

Here’s how we set up the station… Slime in three colours, a handful of small containers, a strainer spoon, a sand sifting shovel, plastic cutlery, some bowls all on a plastic tray.

Gracen quickly settled on the blanket next to her tray and began exploring.  She wasn’t so sure about really diving in at first, but before too long she was picking up full batches of slime at a time and watching them slip and stretch out of her hands.

IMG 1287IMG 1294IMG 1297IMG 1301IMG 1306IMG 1296IMG 1321IMG 1324IMG 1327IMG 1339IMG 1344What I like so much about this sort of slime (besides how cool it is to play with), is that despite the fact that it looks like it can get pretty messy, it’s very easy to tidy.  Because it acts more like a solid when removed from little people, dishes, and blankets, it just kind of clumps up and comes away clean.  Plus, it doesn’t stain skin and it washes off of clothes and blankets without any effort.  Messy play being easy to tidy? A definite win in my books.

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♥

5 Comments

Remnants of a Messy Play Date

9 / 14 / 129 / 17 / 12

Gracen had a wonderful time with her friends at her birthday party and has talked about having friends over to play every day since.  So with my little lady’s wishes tugging at my heartstrings and our beautiful Vancouver weather continuing into September, I decided to host our first ever {outdoor} messy play date.  

It’s been something Gracen’s been anticipating all week, and yesterday, she helped me pick out and put together our snacks, sensory bins, and art stations, and today we had four of her little friends over to play in the backyard.  It was morning of ‘treats’, friends, hugs, and getting dirty, which suited Gracen just perfectly.  

Though I tried to take photos during the play date, attempting to drink a hot coffee, engage and supervise a handful of one and two year olds, and visit with fellow mommies at the same time ended up being quite a lot on its own.  Afterwards, however, once all of our friends had departed and Miss G was tucked in her crib for her nap, I couldn’t help but smile at the piles of mess all around me.  Mostly eaten snacks, well played with sensory bins, almost empty juice cups, dried up paint, and little white plaster footprints across our backyard pad… All signs filled bellies, happy babies, and old-fashioned messy play.  

Play date snacksIMG 9611IMG 9615IMG 9617IMG 9619IMG 9621Sand

IMG 9624IMG 9625Apple stamping
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 ♥

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Gracen’s {2nd} Backyard Birthday Bash

9 / 5 / 124 / 24 / 14

Over this past long weekend, we celebrated Gracen’s 2nd birthday with a backyard party in the sunshine. The afternoon went amazingly well… The sun was shining as hoped. There was just the slightest breeze.  The decorations were handcrafted and colourful. The snacks were made of local ingredients and individually portioned for easy toddler chasing. The wee ones played until they were soaking wet and filthy.  The sweets were plentiful. And Miss G had the time of her life… An afternoon filled with “yittle fwends”, tons of play,  2.5 “cupcakes”, Davison Orchard’s fresh-pressed apple juice, an endless supply of crackers and treats, and a generous sprinkling of hugs – for her, it just doesn’t get much better than that.

Since the party, she’s wanted to talk about it constantly.  “Mama talk (about) Grae Grae’s birf-day party?” is a request I now hear more times a day than I have fingers.  We discuss all of the details of the day, and inevitably end the conversation with a “More play yittle fwends, Mama?”  Yes, Babygirl… We’ll have your little friends over to play again sometime very soon.

Here is Miss G’s special afternoon in photos… (Be prepared. This may be the most photo heavy post of. all. time.  But I’m sure you already expected that, right?)

The Invitations:

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These simple little invites {along with almost all of the decorations} were made while we were in the Okanagan on vacation.  Using this free printable as a starting point, I sketched out what I wanted the invitations to look like and Bradley designed them using Photoshop.  Once they were designed, we printed them on Grandpa Dave’s colour laser printer, cut them out by hand, created homemade pouches for them, and punched out some pretty confetti to tuck into the pouches.

The Decor:

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This last minute little chalkboard greeted guests on our front porch and asked that they make their way around the side of the house.

IMG 9070{this post contains affiliate links}

I crafted a few of these ribbon chandeliers out of embroidery hoops and wide grosgrain ribbon, and hung them up around the yard to dance in the breeze.

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Timeline Tree

Last year, I did a more traditional timeline of Gracen through the months, and although I loved how it turned out, this year I wanted something a little bit different…  I ended up deciding on a ‘timeline tree’.  We chose 2 photos for each month {from 13 to 24}, added the text using Photoshop, printed them, and hung them back to back using jute and curtain clips from IKEA that we already had on hand. And voila. Our plum tree instantly became a tree filled with memories of the past year.

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Across the way, in our fig tree, I hung the felt poms we had made for last year’s party, giving it just a touch of colour.  The beauty in not really having a colour scheme, is that everything goes. ☺

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On the main food table, we displayed the letters T-W-O I crafted with cardboard letters, tissue paper dots and Mod Podge.

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I also strung up one of the many fabric buntings I sewed for the occasion between two vintage apple crates that Grandma Charlotte’s family has had since she was a little girl. In the middle, I framed a copy of the birthday interview I did with Miss G on her real birthday so that guests could take a read.

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For an added touch, we picked a couple of the beautiful dahlias growing in our front garden and popped them into vintage mason jars that used to belong to Gracen’s Great Grandma Amy.

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Our photo booth backdrop consisted of a plain sheet {not very glamourously duct} taped up to the wall of our house, and a handmade fabric bunting strung across it.

The Snacks:

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Here’s a peek at the food table…  Since the party was from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., we stuck with snacks only and tried to keep them as portable as possible so that parents could munch and chase after their wee ones at the same time.  Also, although we had a separate table to baby/toddler friendly treats, I wanted to make sure that everything we served was Gracen friendly (save the desserts)…  Nothing more insulting than not being able to eat the food served at your own party!

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On top, a layer of hummus topped with fresh veggies, many from Grandma Charlotte’s garden.  On the bottom, individual layered bean dip cups {with homemade pita chips on the side}.

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Fresh berry cups.

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Okanagan cherry cups.

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Plums picked straight off our tree the night before.

Besides these snacks, we had individual fruit salsa cups with homemade maple cinnamon crisps, as well as brown paper bags of stove-top popcorn.

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For the adults, we served chilled lemonade and citrus iced tea in mason jar cups.

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We also had an ice water station, which the kids quickly discovered and had a blast playing with.

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At the toddler table, we served toddler trays (which included a variety of healthy bite-sized snacks), as well as fresh-pressed apples only apple juice from our favourite place in Vernon – Davison Orchard.

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And for the wee babes – purée pouches in a variety of flavours.

The Sweets:

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the desserts on the day of the party…  Not sure how I managed that one, but I’ll blame it on being busy I guess.  Fortunately, I took a is a couple of crumby photos the night before while I was baking into the wee hours of the morning.

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For the adults, I decided to try out these mini mason jar cheesecakes and I’m so glad I did. They were easy to make, easy to hand out, and out of the 20 I made, we were only left with 2 at the end {at a party with a total of 12 adult guests}.

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For the munchkins, I used Pioneer Woman’s vanilla cupcake recipe (I made them using 1/2 wholewheat flour), baked them in flat-bottomed ice cream cones (a trick I learned early in my Kindergarten teaching days – no wrappers to mess with and much easier for little ones to hold), and topped them with this {ridiculously rich} buttercream frosting, candy sprinkles, and fresh raspberries.  I also baked some regularly (sans the cone for adults that preferred cupcakes to cheese cake).

For Miss G, I whipped up this sugar-free banana muffin recipe (and added an extra banana, skipped the salt, and replaced the melted butter with grapeseed oil), baked some in a flat bottomed cone so it would look like the ones many of her friends were eating, and topped it with fresh whipped cream (made without added sugar – just a touch of vanilla) and a fresh raspberry on top.  I baked up the rest of the batch as regular muffins, and topped several of them with whipped cream and fresh raspberries for the other babes who don’t do sugar yet.

The Play Stations:

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Since first birthdays are often more about the adults than the wee ones, I wanted to make sure that this year’s party was all about play.  Messy, fun, noisy, old-fashioned play, just the way Miss G likes it.  I set the stations up all around the yard, making sure there was plenty of space and a little something for all different tastes.

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A big bucket of sidewalk chalk sat at the beginning of the path.

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A construction bin filled with pea gravel , tower building supplies, scoops, tractors, and a hardhat for the little builders.

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A cloud dough sensory bin for the wee ones who don’t mind getting messy.

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A gardening bin for the aspiring green thumbs.

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An ocean-themed bin for the little water lovers.

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And a coloured spaghetti sensory bin for the mini sous chefs.

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On the top of the grass knoll, there was a music making station that incorporated Gracen’s purchased music instruments, as well as several instruments that we’ve made together.

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Up on the cement pad, we set up a sidewalk chalk painting station using homemade paints.

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And on the other side of the yard, we used a hot water heater drip pan and this homemade bubble solution to create a ‘baby in a bubble’ station.

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We also had Grae’s pool blown up and filled with water and toys, as well as the sandbox filled with all sorts of moulds, buckets, scoops, and plastic dinosaur bones.

The Birthday Girl:

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After having a good hour and a half of quiet time in her room, we decided that the birthday girl was probably too excited to nap.  We got her up, lathered her with sunscreen, and she picked out a party dress and decided how she wanted her hair done.  Then it was time to head out into the backyard and get started on playing while we waited for her friends to arrive.

The Action:

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Gracen was beyond thrilled when her guests started to arrive.  Hugs and playmates = one very happy little girl in our house.

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Girls  Bubbles

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Although the whole ‘baby in a bubble’ thing was really hard to do in the beginning, the solution did make great big bubbles using regular wands, so I was glad I had picked them up the night before.

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All of the sensory bins, with the exception of the gardening one (which I don’t think even got touched), were a pretty big hit.

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The kiddos enjoyed digging for dinos in the sandbox.

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And the birthday girl made her rounds all afternoon.

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This little corner was put together with our littlest guest and Grae’s beloved friend, “Baby Tate”, in mind… Away from the action, in the shade, and filled with all of Grae’s favourite toys from when she was a baby.

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Before long, it was time to bust out the bikini and make a splash in the pool.

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Judging by our now beautifully decorated cement pad, the sidewalk  chalk paint was one of the favourites.

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The snacks, hugs, and company weren’t bad either…

Time for Cake:

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As you can see by Grae’s face, she wasn’t so sure about her ‘2’ sparkler…  Luckily she had her little friend Jaiden nearby.  I think her excitement and lack of worry made everything alright.  What did go over very well with Miss G, however, were the “cupcakes”.  Yes, cupcakeS.  She ate every single last bite of the one I’d baked in the cone for her, then demolished a second one, and made her way through half of another.  Two and a half muffins?!  Hey, when it’s your party, you’re allowed.

Better with Time:

Grae in a  Bubble

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Jaiden in a Bubble

As the party went on and the bubble solution got handled more and more, the better the bubbles got (just like Jackie from Happy Hooligans said it would).  Our resident bubble expert, Jordan, was not only able to put both Gracen and Jaiden in bubbles, but he was also able to make bubbles that were seriously HUGE.

The Photo Booth:

Before leaving, we asked each of our guests to have their photos taken in our makeshift photo booth using the felt props I’d created for last year’s party.  Here they are…

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Ava and Jordan (somehow their parents made it without being in the photo… sneakers!)

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Auntie Brandie, Jackson, and Kevin.

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Auntie Silke and Ainsley.

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Grandma Charlotte and Uncle Brett.

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Tracy and Keagan.

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Auntie Steffie and Baby Tate.

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Jaiden and Cheri.

The Goodie Buckets:

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This was probably the part of the party Gracen looked forward to the most… Handing out her goodie buckets to her friends.  We’d collected little items for them for a long while and Grae was so excited about them that I’d made sure to really prep her about the fact that we’d be giving them away.  Thankfully, it worked like a charm and she was very happy {and proud} to hand them out at the end of the party.

To go with our backyard theme, the buckets were filled with a watering can and sidewalk chalk (all bought at Michael’s), as well as a big beach ball (purchased at Superstore), a mason jar of Bouncing Bubbles, and a bubble wand (purchased at our local teacher’s store).  The best part? (And I totally blame me being excited about this on the Ogasawaras, because before them I never really got that excited about a good deal…) At regular price, each of the 8 buckets would have cost well over 16 dollars, but because we started collecting early and found some great deals, each only cost around $4! (Crazy, right?)

And that was our afternoon.  Miss G loved it and we did too. It was the perfect way to celebrate our little girl turning two.

♥

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