Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings, These are a few of my favorite things
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels, Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings, These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs, These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things, And then I don’t feel so bad
Yesterday our sweet little “Rose” turned three years old… She just loves watching the Sound of Music and reading the My Favorite Things picture book she found in her Easter Basket earlier this year, so I decided to give her a “My Favorite Things” birthday party!
It had been a busy week, enjoying a visit with friends and celebrating feast days, but everything fell into place for her party. The boys and Sean arrived home from the Lego competition around 6pm, just as the rest of our guests (my parents, four of my brothers, my sister-in-law, and niece) were arriving. I’m pretty sure this birthday will be remembered as one of her own favorite things!
Raindrops on Roses…
Pink Roses from Daddy, just for our little Rose!
Speaking of her Daddy, I posted it on Facebook, but I still haven’t had the opportunity to share with you all what happened when he came home from work a couple weeks ago… The kids were watching The Sound of Music and I told them to pause it for dinner, since their Dad had to work late. We all ate and just as we were finishing Sean walks through the door (right by our TV) and the movie resumes on it’s own. (it does that after it’s been paused for so long) Immediately “Rolfe” salutes and yells “Heil Hitler!” What timing, and OH MY GOODNESS it was funny!!! Definitely not the greeting he is use to hearing when he arrives home from a long day at work! 😉
… and Whiskers on Kittens
The kids all enjoyed coloring (including the “whiskers on kittens”) Three Little Kitten Coloring Pages. I realized that we don’t have a copy of this book! We had the Golden Book when I was a child, but I couldn’t find it online. Which is your favorite? Maybe the one illustrated by Jerry Pinkney or the one by Paul Galdone?
Bright Copper Kettles…
When I went looking for a copper kettle, I quickly discovered how expensive they can be! Yikes… I was very excited to find this little vintage miniature copper kettle on ebay. She will love having it for her play kitchen!
… and Warm Woolen Mittens
I made cut-out cookies, using store bought dough, for the kids to decorate using a printed template.
Brown Paper Packages Tied up with Strings
Friday night I made a “Brown Paper Packages Tied up with Strings” Birthday Banner using my
Cricut while my friend Erica (her and her dear children visited from Wed-Sat morning!) baked the cakes and we visited! (Oh, how we have MISSED her and her family since they moved…)
I used my
Winter Wonderland Cartridge for the letters and the
Once Upon a Princess cartridge for the strings. I made the brown packages by cutting brown 8.5″ x 11″ card stock into 4 pieces with a paper cutter. I punched little holes in each corner to string the twine through, and hung it in the window!
Of course I wrapped all her gifts in brown paper tied up with strings as well!
These are a few of my favorite things…
Rose opened one of her gifts before her dad and the big boys left for the day. She was so excited about the little toy guitar I found for her on ebay!
She opened the rest of her gifts after we had cake and she loved them all!
The Buckley Deer Family, Clothing, and a PINK doll (purchased from Magic Cabin with a gift certificate) from Daddy and Momma. A beautiful card and money from Grandpa & Grandma G. Adorable pink “Beaver” pajamas and play balls from Grandpa & Grandma M. And the cutest slippers and mittens from her Aunt, Uncle and Cousin.
Whew! And it’s not even Christmas yet… I’m not sure what I think about these December birthdays… For Christmas she will be receiving another special doll, the Grimm Wooden Fairy Tale Village Blocks, and a homemade gift from Momma (if I have a chance to finish it, otherwise I will wrap up this stocking stuffer).
Cream Colored Ponies…
Rose loves her big brothers stick horse, so when I ran across this “cream colored pony” for a few dollars on Black Friday, I had to get it for her birthday! She spent most of the day (when she wasn’t playing her guitar) galloping around the house!
and Crisp Apple Streudels
I had forgotten to purchase Apple Streudel at the grocery store, but the homemade version I made ended up tasting so much better! Yum!!
Doorbells and Sleigh Bells
We made “Sleigh Bell Necklaces” with silver and PINK jingle bells for all the girls – including mom and grandma – using some leftover twine.
They were so pretty and festive!
and Schnitzel with Noodles
Wienerschnitzel (
hot dogs!) with Noodles for dinner.
Both are definitely favorites of the birthday girl!
Of course we had to have pink lemonade too…
The Baroness: “Not too sweet, not too sour.” Uncle Max: “Just too, uh… PINK!”
Wild Geese that fly with the Moon on their Wings
These are a few of my favorite things
I forgot to print something out for my “wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings” decoration, but here are a few more of my favorite things that I found for the party!
A couple days before Rose’s birthday I ran across this
limited edition Sound of Music/Favorite Things gift box for only $19.99 at Costco. I called home to ask the boys if we still only owned The Sound of Music on VHS and when they said that was all we had I went ahead and purchased it. I didn’t even realize I was purchasing such a treasure!
It came with all sorts of goodies, including a cute little “My Favorite Things” music box! We played the soundtrack during the party, and I also pulled out the included postcards to scatter around as additional decorations. (Also pictured above is Rose’s
My Favorite Things picture book. So sweet!)
Girls in White Dresses with Blue Satin Sashes
The birthday girl’s two favorite big sisters dressed up in their beautiful white dresses and mom bought some blue satin ribbon to complete their party dresses.
Snowflakes that stay on my Nose and Eyelashes
While I was making the banner, I also cut out snowflakes using the Winter Wonderland cartridge. I love my little Cricut!
I set these out, but we ran out of time to make them…
They will be a perfect addition to Bud’s Winter ONEderland party on Wednesday.
Silver White Winters that melt into Springs
I was originally going to try and cover the cake with various “favorite things” but then decided to go with “silver white winters” for the top tier, and “melt into springs” for the bottom tier! I used the
Wilton Large Snowflake Lollipop Mold for the top and the
miniature rose mold for the flowers. I made the rest of the decorations by piping melted candy onto parchment paper creating the designs that I wanted for
the cake!
These are a few of my favorite things
(Unfortunately Bud missed his afternoon nap and ended up sleeping through most of the party…)
The birthday girl loved blowing out her candles…
… and eating her Strawberry Cake and Ice-Cream…
after all, they were PINK-UH!!!
Happy 3rd Birthday to my beautiful
Christmas Rose!
Utterly amazing! Beautiful and creative.
Aaaaaaahh! I am just dying! I *love* the sound of music. It would be a little weird to make someone do this for my 39th birthday,huh? Well,it looks amazing, and I love the cake!
Jessica,
Your blog is so inspiring! I've never commented before, but I always look forward to seeing how you use your creative talents to make joyful memories for your family. That last picture of you and Rose is the best!
On another note, I noticed recently that Yankee Candle has a My Favorite Things collection of scents. They're fairly expensive, and I'm not quite sure how, say, "Whiskers on Kittens" transfers into a scent 🙂 but I still think it's a fun idea: http://www.yankeecandle.com/favorites/favorite-things/favorite-things
-Katie
I am in awe. Your parties keep getting better and better. Your "favorite things" are so blessed to have such a creative and industrious mom. Happy Birthday, Rose!
oh, MY GOSH!!! This was wonderful! This theme could be used for any age really! You are so creative, that cake!! Wow! Makes me want to go watch The Sound of Music right now!! We used to have it in VHS, but don't anymore and haven't gotten it in DVD yet…
My favorite picture of all the pictures you posted is the blowing out the candles one, those kissy lips–oh, so cute!!
Winter ONEderland–can't wait to see…we are just hoping to be home from the hospital for Simeon's birthday, not sure if he'll be even up for cake…we'll try to do cake, but no theme this year.
Great job Jessica, thank you for sharing it all with us!
Vos photos sont superbes joyeux anniversaire à la puce ! ….
bisous bisous
Beautiful party! The "Sound of Music" was my guess. My three year old grand daughter Anabelle received a guitar for her birthday in November. Your little Rose is a sweetheart! I wish you lived close by, I would pay you for your beautiful cakes.
Jessica, I have to tell you that some of the moms in my homeschool group wonder whether or not you actually sleep. ; ) We have no idea how you do all of the things you do. You always have the most beautiful, thoughtful posts on your blog of such beautiful life moments. Thank you for sharing them all with us. I know I speak for all of us aforementioned moms that we are truly inspired. Happy Birthday to Rose!
Oh my….I love reading all of your party-theme posts – but I think this is my favorite one yet!! Everything is just beautiful!!
Your cake turned out so lovely, and what a neat idea to use the melted candy for making the decorations.
I will have to come back later on to let my children see this…we just purchased the movie through Amazon Prime & have been watching it *a lot* these past few weeks. 🙂
Happy Birthday, Rose!
YOU GOT "V IS FOR VON TRAPP"!!!! HURRAY!!!! I'm planning on using our copy as part of our Vermont study after Christmastide and I've got "The Sound of Music" coming on DVD in the mail soon!
Today OUR hills are alive with the sounds of WINTER – FINALLY got a bit of snow/sleet/freezing rain yesterday and last night/this morning!
Happy 3 to Rose!!!!
AMAZING! I have told you this before but, you need to start a party planning business! It is a true talent! I wish I was so creative. I never would have thought of the Sound of Music. And the cake… oh my! You just got every detail just right. Lovely!
Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies and I am obsessed with the way you depicted it in this party. Rose is a very lucky lady!!
Oh, what a beautiful party theme, Jessica!! I stayed up late reading the post and enjoying your photos and decided to wait and comment in the morning. I love how the song lyrics are incorporated throughout all the party details – it makes me want to steal the idea for one of my daughter's birthdays… but first, we would have to watch the movie together! One of my favorite movies… I actually got to watch it in Austria, and then we went on a tour and saw the gazebo and the house and the church where they got married at the end… The Von Trapp family really could be such a big educational subject, incorporating history, geography, and more! And we love Maria Von Trapp's German spice cookie recipe – yum!
Did your older girls wear their First Communion dresses for the party? I'm just thinking how great it would be to be able to get more use out of them! My oldest makes her First Communion in May and might wear my old first Communion dress made by my mother… if we can get the stain out of it :/
BTW, my 2nd grader just got her saint trading cards in the mail from the ATC Swap, and she got one of Twinkle Toes' cards – St. Elizabeth! 🙂
And where did you find the stick horse? It is adorable!!
Again, such a fun and beautiful idea; I just love it!! Happy third to your little girl and happy upcoming first to your baby boy!
That has to be the best theme (and best carried out!) I have even seen. Brava, mama! I want that party for my 51st!
PS great lipstick 🙂
Beautiful! Happy Birthday, little Rose!
I love everything about this birthday party – just love it! I will absolutely be copying this for my own daughter!!! Happy birthday to your Christmas Rose!!!
Oh Jessica, what a beautiful celebration!
Hello Katie! Thank you for your kind comment! Hmmm… "Whiskers on Kittens" would make for an interesting candle scent! I've never purchased a Yankee Candle before, but I have heard good things about them. Thanks for the link!
Thank you, Mel! I think this theme could be used for any age! Or even a baby shower!! While I was making the banner my friend Erica suggested that I didn't glue the letters on the little Brown Paper Packages, in case I wanted to change the words for another party! The "Happy Birthday" is just attached with blue tack… Now I just need to wait for another one of my friends to have a baby! 😉
That was my favorite picture too, Jamie! We will all be praying extra for Simeon this week, and for you!
Well, you can tell them that I haven't been sleeping nearly enough lately! 😉 I had been dealing with some sort of insomnia and a teething baby for a couple weeks (not being able to sleep until about 2-3am each night) and then Erica and I willingly stayed up until 3am to visit each night she was here, making the most of their short visit!! I am back to drinking coffee in the morning, and not having time for exercise… (I've unfolded the treadmill 4 times in the past two weeks, and have yet to actually turn it on!!) I need to slow down a little and start working on that again! 🙂 I truly didn't think I would be able to pull off this party, but it somehow (God's Grace) fell into place. I keep telling myself that I will be able to catch up on sleep in January, but since my husband will be out of state for three weeks on training, that might be wishful thinking! Anyways, thank you for your sweet comment and do say a prayer for me! My life has plenty of challenges too (don't we all?) they are just not the things I choose to blog about. 🙂
Thank you, Erin! I think this birthday post took me the longest time to put together, but I was so excited to share it with you all! 🙂 How awesome that you were able to visit Austria!!
Yes, the oldest two did wear their First Communion Dresses. This is actually the fourth time they were able to wear them this year! First for their First Holy Communions, then Easter, then for our Little Flowers Mother-Daughter Tea Party, and now for this birthday party! I got such a great deal on them to begin with and have definitely gotten plenty of use out of them! I hope you are able to get the stain out of your dress, that would be sweet!
Our trading cards haven't arrived yet, maybe they will today! How exciting!!
I found the stick horse at Fred Meyers, a one stop shopping type store we have out here. They were in a big end cap box. I tried to find it online, but didn't have any luck.
Aw, thanks Barbara! And I made sure to put some lipstick on just for you! You'd never know that I had woken up (after not nearly enough sleep) feeling miserable thanks to a certain something that decided to come back after *almost* a year, right?! 😉 Thank goodness for coffee and make-up! lol
WOW! You definitely pulled out all the stops, and have outdone yourself, once again!
I am so inspired! Yours seems like a beautiful house to grow up in… in all aspects.
Thank you Charlotte! And thank you also for letting me bounce ideas off of you as I was planning, and for all of your great suggestions!! Rose LOVED her roses from Daddy, and I think he might have to start bringing the girls flowers (or balloons) on each of their birthdays!! 🙂
Yes, with all of my free time! 😉
I really didn't know how this was all going to come together, but I finally decided on the theme last month (originally I was going to go with a Woodland Fairy theme, but decided to save that for when she is doing the Alphabet Path in a couple years) and had been watching for little gifts and ways to incorporate the theme for a party! I said it all "fell together" but that was only possible since I had put a little thought into it ahead of time and had some "supplies" to choose from along with the last things I bought at Michaels when Erica and I went to town/Costco.
As for the cake… the inspiration finally hit the night before her birthday as I was driving home from the post office, singing my way through the song as I tried to picture incorporating each part!
Anyways, thank you Amy! Hope you are all feeling better!
I love December birthday parties…so cozy, so festive! My own little December baby will be 6 on the 27th and we have a fun party planned, but nothing like your AMAZING party in this post. Your family celebrations truly are inspirational; I enjoy reading about each one and gleaning ideas to use in my own home. Thank you for sharing your art!
Fantastic party. I had recently thought about trying to introduce The Sound of Music to my own wee girl and now I definitely will! Love your ideas though my husband doesn't like the amazon transactions on my Visa card! LOL. X
hahaha! Sorry about that! I tend to link over a lot – especially since when I don't I am usually asked for the links anyways! 🙂
Seriously though, I really appreciate all the purchases that you all make after clicking my links… It is how I am able to get Christmas gifts this year! Such a huge blessing for my family!! God bless!
Just checking in after a week long trip to check on the O Antiphon ideas and saw another wonderful idea with your birthday party. Amazingly awesome. Love "stealing" from you! Used the St. Nick's coins idea for our school this year. It went off with a big hit. Next year I plan to use your chocolate Santa turned St. Nick idea (did it for my kids this year as practice). So CUUUUTE!
Thanks again!
Carla
Wow Jessica! I love the Sounds of Music and your party is amazing! I was wondering when you ever sleep as well! Every detail is so well thought out and planned! I would have trouble just ordering the gifts and special touches! I have four boys and we are waiting for our first baby girl to arrive in March! I hope someday she loves the Sound of Music as much as I do and I can come back and revisit this beautiful birthday party! We shall see! Congratulations on a job so well done and on your beautiful family. Thanks for sharing all that you do. Merry Christmas!
Marianne in CT
Amazingly wonderful, Jessica!
Happy Birthday, Rose!
What a great theme! Your children are blessed to have such a thoughtful mother!
My kids and I sang the song as we went through the post.
OH MY GOODNESS JESSICA
you are one of the coolest people on this planet.
This was so amazing.
My girls and I just had the most wonderful time reading this post and admiring it all! Thanks for sharing.
Okay, I have to say it: "My dear, is there anything you can't do?" (!) =) And I'm sure you'd make a very good nun… if you weren't already an excellent MOTHER.
Awesome. Simply Awesome!
Jessica, I will definitely keep you in prayer, especially that you catch up on some sleep. ; ) I hope you have a very Merry Christmas season!
Hello! My husband and I struggled to find a name for our daughter but finally settled on Liesl because of our shared love of musicals. We just decided to do a Sound of Music theme party for her first birthday. You have such wonderful ideas here! And beautiful children. Thanks for posting!!
Beautiful!!
beautiful…I remember reading this when you first posted it…one day to have a girl 🙂
This is the most beautiful idea for a birthday party! I hope you dont mind me stealing it for my 22nd birthday party or when I am blessed to have a little girl