gen says... (a post by genifer goodman sohr)

From Gen:

"As promised, here are my pictures from Oden's 3rd birthday bash!

We could not have had more fun at the party. I realize each time we host a gathering how lucky we are to have such wonderful friends and family. Parties (for me) are actually worth all the effort, once the day has come and gone and I have a moment to step back and take it all in. I must say, however, that I am looking forward to simply being a party guest for the next little bit! This one wore me out.

As some of you may remember from my first post- I mentioned that Oden wanted a Lightning McQueen-themed party. Silly me...I forgot that 3 year olds have a new favorite character almost weekly. So I finally decided to stop torturing myself by changing the party concept with each of Oden's new favorites and went back to a classic, old-fashioned kids' birthday party theme. I still anchored it with the tomato red I adore, and decided we could layer it on whatever character he finally decided on...which in the end, was Batman.

The log cabin is not flooded with natural light, so some of the pictures are blurry...

From top:

1) Batman makes an exit to the moonwalk, to join the other little guests.

2) This photo was taken the morning of Oden's birthday, and I simply couldn't resist sharing. Oden chose this outfit himself (I swear!), and I just had to take photos of him looking so sweet. (One of my next posts will be about capturing great family photos and clever ways to display them) 

3) I just love this 'pop' invite Sara did for Hicks Paper Goods. The combination of my signature red and the playful star graphic was the ideal twist on my non-traditional children's birthday/house warming.

4) I transformed the dining room into the party area with playful white lanterns hung with assorted patterned ribbons. The vintage red-stripe table runner and collection of sweet treats (served in milk glass containers) topped it off.

5) The children's favors create a fun display on the buffet. I found some old-fashioned red tin lunch boxes (from Michael's on clearance- only $1 a piece!) and  Martha Stewart hang tags- again, a Michael's find. The boys got the tins stashed with Batman treats from the dollar section at Target and the girls received red and pink bags filled with Hello Kitty treats (also from Target).

6) I baked cupcakes that I topped with Oden's favorite cream cheese frosting and colorful sprinkles. Napkins are a vintage-looking print I found in Paris on a recent trip. Old-fashioned wooden planes were bought in bulk-- they served not only as a fun favor but as fun table decor (I put bunches of them in glass jars on the table).

7) Children and grown-up's were entertained by the airplanes in the back yard at dusk- so fun!

8) Oden/Batman and his best buddy Gunner take a much needed rest at the end of the evening.

9) Oden opens his last gifts...being the clothes horse that he is, he promptly put on the pajama's he got from Kayce Hughes. 

All in all, the party was tons of fun! The house is almost back to normal, and Oden's mom is ready for some rest."