In a Galaxy Far, Far Away - Laila is 8!

We'll look back on this birthday as being a little different. Thankfully, Laila was able to celebrate with her classmates before they were dismissed from school and some of our family members weren't able to attend her party due to the Coronavirus pandemic effecting our lives right now. It's hard for the kids to understand that this is a once in a lifetime experience; that we've never experienced something like this in our lives, nor has the oldest person in our family ever experienced something like this. We'll look back on this birthday, as we look back on all of them with a full heart that we were still able to celebrate; that we are healthy, happy and most importantly, together. 

Laila chose a galaxy theme for her party. She's interested in the solar system right now; how it all works and fits together. How far away the sun is from the earth and if you traveled to the sun, would you ever make it? Not to mention the colors are WAY cool. 

The girls love 'snack plates' - these are full meals to them. They love little foods on a plate and surprisingly they like to share. So, I created a huge 'snack plate' for all to share - they're commonly called 'grazing tables' and they cause people to keep going back for more, to continue to graze! I hit up Trader Joes who often has some unique snacks, cheeses and dips to include and added my fruits and vegetables and a couple small sandwiches. Laila loved the star-shaped bologna sandwiches; her favorite. It's a fun way to have a 'meal' without all of the prep and big food especially for a birthday party. 

Laila requested a cake, of course! And cookies are always a must. The galaxy desserts were 'out of this world' - ha! 

"Happy Birthday, dear Laila, Happy Birthday to you." 

Her favorite gift was of course, the Celebration Slime Kit! BIG set with lots of different, kinds of slime. A slime kids dream come true. A slime to make for every day of the school week. 

Another year down, not sure where the time goes and another year that we're blessed with our sweet girl. 

She's growing in to a super, young lady who likes to keep her room organized and loves to be enthusiastic about her school work. Eight years ago our star was born and in so many ways she shines bright in a world that often can be dark. We couldn't be more proud of her and we love you, Laila, to infinity and beyond! 

Love, 

Mom 

Happy 5th Birthday, Lena!

'Best Party Ever' was what I heard but let's be honest, every birthday is the 'best birthday ever', right? We had a lot of fun celebrating Lena turning 5! She wanted a mermaid party, specifically an Ariel party which surprised me because Rapunzel is her absolute favorite but we went with it, so here goes.

 

 

 

 If you haven't been to the Mighty Museum in Chillicothe you should go for a visit! They have lots of fun activities for the kids and they love the endless play. They literally love to play for hours there.

 

 

 

Lena loved having her friends stop by to celebrate with her!

 

 

 

 

After the museum we headed home for more fun with family! The girls always love to help set the table up and get everything ready for the party; I appreciate the big helpers! The Ariel plates were oh! so pretty!

 

 

 

 Probably my favorite from the party were these cupcake toppers that I ordered from Etsy to top her cupcakes! They were totally cute and made us smile every time we looked at them!

 

 

 

And of course, the '#' cookies so that we can remember which party it was and mermaid tail cookies!

 

 

 We washed those sweets down with some mermaid punch - SO good! I recommend mermaid punch at any time; Blue Hawaiian punch, pineapple juice and lemon-lime soda! Pick yourself up some!

 

 

 

Thank goodness we got to "fall back" and gain an hour of sleep because we needed it! Where did five years go? We learn something new every day from Lena and she makes us laugh constantly which sure is a treat. She's the daughter most like me and loves her Daddy the most. She's a happy-go-lucky, anything goes and so what if it doesn't kinda gal. She loves to dig in the dirt, find creatures to keep and wrestle with her sister. She makes up the best stories and songs and has the sweetest heart. Always wanting to share her treats and asking, 'Mommy, how can I help you?' Gosh, we were blessed with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you had the best birthday. We had the best day ever and may we have many more!

 

 

 

xoxo,

Mom



Laila is SEVEN!

             Laila turns lucky #7!

 

 

 

Laila chose a donut theme for her birthday party this year! And really, you could easily go crazy with this theme because there are SO MANY cute donut party decorations and little donuts everywhere you turn around; it's a FUN theme! Laila's favorite donut is a chocolate donut with peanut butter frosting from Lindsey's Bakery here in Circleville.

 

 



 

Laila loves Jo Jo Siwa and has jumped on the Jo Jo bandwagon with her cool bows and clothes and positive message of being kind, being courageous and achieving your goals. You can never have too many Jo Jo bows!

 

 

 

 

Laila also loves school and being a teacher. She got a new desk and she's been sitting at it ever since. She said she only needs a phone at her desk now and she'll be exactly like her teacher at school. She loves science, art and math and wants to be a scientist when she grows up.  

 

 

Family and friends showed up to celebrate Laila's birthday. Although we didn't have real donuts we had donut cookies and chocolate cupcakes topped with donut cookies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She even got donuts painted on her nails! Kudos to her nail tech, Colleen - she's amazing!

 

 

 



Laila just finished her first girl scouts cookie sale. Her troop did really well and she loves her fellow scouts! She makes a great girl scout! She's also my baking, laundry, working out, cooking and shopping buddy as well as a stellar big sister.  

 

 

 

 May your 7th year be one for the books, kid! You make each and every day a little sweeter and a lot brighter. I'm super proud of you and the young lady you're becoming.

 

Keep reaching for those stars (and sprinkles)! 

 

 

 

 

 

xoxo - Mom

 



Lena Grace had a PUUURRRFECT Birthday!

How is Lena 4 years old already? I always get a little sad around her birthday, obviously because my baby is growing up and it's exciting to see what the next phase will bring! But on the other hand, it's another year further away from my baby being the last of the baby Barnhart's! Lena is the baby of the family and she definitely knows that and knows exactly how to use her position for her own good. I mean, her face, the glasses and the voice that is SO sweet - it's a weapon! Gets me every time. But don't let that fool you. She's smart, stubborn and tough as nails so don't make her mad!

Lena loves kitty cats. In fact, sometimes I think she meows more than she talks. She loves to play 'rainbow kitty' and respond as a cat. Sometimes she asks you to address her as 'rainbow kitty' or she won't answer so this is why a kitty themed birthday was her first choice!  

Lena is in preschool this year and she's looking forward to Pre-K next year, already. She always says, 'when I get bigger and bigger I can....' She loves to tease her sister but also wants to be her biggest fan. I hope someday that Laila understands just how lucky she is to have a sweet sister that loves her so much and only wants to be her friend for life. It's hard when they're young to see the big picture but I pray that someday she'll see what I see. 

We invited our family and a few friends to spend the day with us; some traveled several hours like they always do. It means a lot to Travis and I that the girls get to see and spend time with family that we don't get to see often. 

Laila and I decorated for the party and threw in some of Lena's favorite things! We had a lot of fun wearing the cat ear headbands! 

I threw together some desserts and added in Lena's favorite ice cream toppings! I don't think the mini gummi bears lasted long! The cake was a vanilla funfetti cake because what's a party without a funfetti cake?

It was a beautiful day so we took a long walk to visit our horses and for her actual birthday on Sunday we visited our neighbors up the road at the A&R Alpaca Farm! They're very docile animals and very sweet. They loved having their picture taken and looking at our sunglasses! Maybe someday we'll have one of our own(hint!)! The girls loved visiting and learning about the alpacas and they're excited to go back and visit again. I recommend checking out the farm - super sweet people that love their animals! 

To me, there's nothing quite like celebrating your child's birthday. It's better than any, other day of the year, really. The day they were born; the day they changed your life forever. It's a big deal, am I right? Of all the good and hard things about being a mom, it's celebrating each year and watching them grow that's the very, best part of this life. 

Sweet Lena Grace, don't ever let anyone steal your fire for having fun! 

Cheers to 400 more! 

xoxo - Mom