sunshine party Archives – Page 2 of 3

1st Birthday

First Birthday Activity Ideas

October 11, 2012 2 Comments 1st Birthday

Ahhh… the First Birthday. Such a weird age to throw a party for! You get the food done and the decor done and then it is like…
What is everyone going to DO?
Often a first birthday will have an array of different ages of people. Our first birthday had about 20 adults, a teenager, a 9 year old, and 5 babies! I was completely stumped for a long while trying to figure out some fun activities for everyone. Mostly everyone chatted, played with the babies, and took a lot of photos. (Common… 5 babies together, not crying, is probably one of the cutest things EVER.)

Here is what we came up with for our particular spread of people….

For the adults—

We had lots of food and beverages. Some of those beverages were adult-only type beverages. It made the whole party go smoother in my opinion.
Instagram/ Twitter Hastag Fun— I planned this one, but then forgot to put out the sign with the hashtag or use it myself. But, Adi’s Where the Wild Things Are party did a GREAT job with this idea!
“I Remember When” and “Advice for your Birthday” slips for people to write memories or advice for the birthday boy. (Look for a free printable next week!)

For the Babies—

We wanted happy and comfortable babies for the event. So, we wanted to provide shade, food, and toys. I don’t recall any of the five kiddos having a melt-down!

TOYS! Put out some baby friendly toys for the kiddos. We put out several of X’s stuffed animals, cars, and wooden toys. The main event though were the yellow beach balls!
Do a baby time with a story and some songs. If you have ever brought your kiddo to “Mommy & Me” groups, Gymboree classes, or Book Baby programs at the library then you know what I’m talking about. Pick out a few fun books to read (in excited voices with lots of movement). Break up the story time with songs that have movements. Of course, we had to sing “You Are My Sunshine!”

Books that would be great to read at a You Are My Sunshine First Birthday:

Songs to Sing:

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
You Are My Sunshine with alternate lyrics (see below)
Get more songs plus movements and activities from: Sing Gymboree (30 Favorite Songs, Fingerplays, and Movement Activities)

You are my Sunshine, My only Sunshine

You make me Happy, When Skies are Grey

You’ll Never Know Dear

How Much I Love You,

I Love You More, and More

Everyday!

* Photos by Motormouth Studio
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A Well Crafted Pantry

{Recipe} Italian Pressed Sandwiches

October 10, 2012 4 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

When planning the menu for my son’s first birthday I wanted to have plenty of easy adult friendly and kid friendly food. Sandwiches were the best bet in my book.

I saw this great pin via Pinterest and wanted to give making Italian Pressed Sandwiches a shot for the more adult friendly food (although, the kids ate it up too!) These sandwiches are great for mixing and matching things that you love. **READ MORE FOR RECIPE**

Italian Pressed Sandwiches
Makes approximately 24 1 inch by 2 inch sandwiches

Ingredients:

Ciabatta bread: I used one very large loaf, but you can get small rolls instead if you desire, probably 6 small rolls would work
Italian Dressing: Any kind of Italian salad dressing will work. I use my favorite, Newman’s Own Family Recipe Italian Salad Dressing.
Pesto: You can buy some or make your own! I made my own by processing pine nuts, olive oil and basil in my food processor. I made approximately 1 cup.
Fresh Basil leaves about 24-30 leaves
Roasted Red Peppers: 1 jar works
Three types of Italian cured meats. I used pepperoni and two styles of salami. I bought one package of each and used enough to cover a layer.
Provolone Cheese: 1 package of sliced cheese
Pepperocini: Again, you can use whatever your local market has… I used Mezzetta Deli-Sliced Golden Greek Peperoncini Peppers
Toothpicks
Heavy Books, bricks covered in foil, or a cast iron pan

Directions:

Slice the ciabatta bread in half
Spread Italian Dressing on one of the two halves of bread
Spread Pesto on the other half
Put a layer of provolone cheese on the half of bread that has the pesto. Build your sandwich from there.
Layer on top of it a layer of pepperoni
Layer on top of it a layer of salami
Layer another layer of salami
Layer on Basil Leaves
Layer on red peppers
Top with the Italian Dressing side
Press sandwiches by putting a heavy object on top of the sandwich! I like to put a layer of wax paper on top of the sandwiches just to keep the food safe. Keep sandwiches pressed for about 30 minutes.
Cut Sandwiches into 1 inch by 2 inch rectangles
Top each sandwich with a pepperocini by spearing the pepper and sandwich with a toothpick

Mmmmm… I want another one right now! You will probably have left over ingredients. That is okay, you can use them throughout the week. I’d love to know how things turn out if you make these!

*Photos by Motormouth Studio

**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. I do not promote items that I do not use or believe in myself. Purchasing something through an affiliate link helps support the blogger that posts them. For more information about my advertising policies or find out how to contribute to my coffee habit, please click over to my policies page.

1st Birthday

{Real Party} You Are My Sunshine First Birthday

October 8, 2012 4 Comments 1st Birthday

The song “You Are My Sunshine” has been one that I often sing my son. Living in Portland, Oregon the sun only really shines during the summer and early Fall. So, my son keeps me smiling year round.

I hired Macey from Motormouth Studios to hang out at the party all day and take photos. She did a fabulous job!

There were a ton of DIY details that I want to share with you, including printables, recipes, and activities. But, they all can’t go in this one post. So, today will be a picture overload. Stay tuned this week for all of the DIY items!