Category Archives: birthdays

Leo Turns TWO!

June 8, 2017

Leo man turns two today! What a celebration to share a day with his Mama (read birth story here)! Still can’t believe the rascal arrived ten days early to be born on my birthday :) Talk about a Mama’s boy! Ha! He’s grown up so much this year and gone through so many milestones, fun to think about everything he’s accomplished this year. He started walking, talking a ton, can count to ten, and is getting more and more independent every day. What a year he’s had! Love our little Leo man. Happy Birthday from Mommy and Daddy! We love you!

Leo is a total boy! He’s happiest with a truck, car, or ball in his hand. He loooooves anything that makes noise and I swear he can hear a lawn mower from a mile away. He loves to push his trucks and trains around equally loves to read about them as well. He LOVES to read! Huge plus if it’s a book with noise!

His personality is pretty much hilarious! He wakes up so happy and smiling and could just lay in his crib and talk to himself and cuddle with his blankie forever till we actually come and get him. It’s basically amazing. Then he always gives a HUGE smile and laugh and cuddles back into his blankie. He usually wants to be covered again and wants me to rub his back. Pretty cute! He seems to always be laughing at himself. So happy! And he is so proud of himself all the time. His favorite thing to say is, “I DID IT!!!!”

However, Leo can go from the happiest boy to a downright pain in the ass though! #twoyearolds #ugh He literally can just throw himself on the ground, butt in the air, crying over whatever he wants. TANTRUM. Then he wants to be consoled and cuddle even if it’s me who told him no. Haha. Again, pretty cute! But that’s rare to none as he’s usually a happy-go-lucky guy! So good at just playing and playing.

He loves to go wee-eww, wee-eww, like a fire truck. Says it all day long! Leo also LOVES his blankie still, so cute to see him cuddle with it. Oh and he still sucks his two right fingers. Never gonna quit that I feel like! Overall, total boy that is happiest with any boy toy! Especially riding his cars! Grandma and Grandpa got him this ride-on car for his birthday and I can’t wait see his face! He will love it.

Here are some pics from his two years, oh how he’s grown!

The day he was born! Oh what a little man!

Tehehe, Ivy! So proud of her new brother

Maybe my all-time favorite photo of him <3 – 2 months old

6 months

8 months! Photos by Amie Hansen – see more of this shoot here

8 months and crawling!

1st birthday! Leo’s Wild One – see party here

Leo walking! 14 months!

16 months – photos by Emily Mitton – see more photos from this shoot here

First haircut! 1.5 years

20 months

23 months

Birthday Buddies! 2 days before our birthday :)

Love you so much Leo!!! You’re so sweet and curious about everything! Always wakes up happy and ready for a fun day. Couldn’t ask for a better little boy, LOVE YOU!

Ivy’s Mermaid Inspired 3rd Birthday!

October 4, 2016

Ivy turned THREE last weekend! I can’t believe our first born is THREE! Whew! We had a such a fun weekend throwing her a little party and celebrating our newly three year old!

She is totally into Ariel and Little Mermaid (also my FAVORITE Disney movie!!!) lately so she had asked for a mermaid party. I couldn’t wait to throw her an Under the Sea party with mermaids, sea creatures, and lots of blue and purple! Most of all, I couldn’t WAIT for her to dress like a mermaid in her surprise outfit from Carken Design! She was sooooo adorable in it and wore it ALL DAY LONG. Loved it! And almost all of her girlfriends showed up in mermaid costumes too, it was SO FREAKING CUTE!

Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

I was really excited about this theme because there are so many great ideas out there and who doesn’t love mermaids?! I knew I wanted an arch like this birthday party had, and thankfully, Queen City Balloon Bar reached out to me and wanted to make it for me! He did AMAZING and it turned out so great! Ivy couldn’t believe her eyes when she came downstairs in the morning! The arch was the main centerpiece for the party and I really didn’t need much else for decorations after that. Just some good food to fill the table!

Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

I decided to make Pioneer Woman’s chicken salad and it was SUCH A DELICIOUS RECIPE. Some chicken salads are so mayonnaisy, but this one was equal parts mayonnaise, sour cream, and half and half, which made it so good! I bought a star shaped cookie cutter to turn them into starfish chicken salad sandwiches. Super cute! I made shells and cheese for the kids, and we had some salads and chips and dips too. For desserts, we had seaweed (sour belts), gummy sharks, and cupcakes with mermaid fins on them made of ice cream cones and mermaid fin cupcake toppers! Loved those! So with the theme! I just cut a little bit of the top of end of the cone to fit part of the fin down there. Easy! And can’t forget about the most delicious cakes in Sioux Falls! From Sugar’s Baked Goods and Sweet Treats, plain vanilla with vanilla buttercream frosting, mmmm mmmmm. Overall, everything was delicious!

Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

candy jar | cake stand | tassel garland | mermaid fin cupcake topper Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

plates | turquoise snack plates Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

We put together some goodie bags for the kids to use during the party and they turned out so cute! I went pretty generic and did the Little Mermaid surplus with lots of fun toys and girly items like necklaces, bracelets, and hair bows to wear!

Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

sequin silver tablecloth | welcome sign| bags

And the invitations were equally as perfect!!! And you could choose between a blond haired mermaid, red haired mermaid, or a brunette mermaid! Cute!

Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

Invitation | Cake Topper

For the craft during the party, I found this fun and easy “Ocean in a bottle” activity on Pinterest, but totally amped it up! I bought sea creatures and big seashells and mini seashells for the kids to add to their bottles, and I had leftover glitter from Ivy’s party last year, so we added that in there as well! The kids had so much fun making theirs and it was super easy for everyone to do! And thank goodness the mess was outside! :)

Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

And look at all these cute girls (and Leo, hehe!!) in their costumes! Ivy had so much fun with all of her girlfriends!

Mermaid Inspired Birthday

At the very end of the party, we surprised her with a motorized Jeep! She freaked and has basically been in it ever since, running into EVERYTHING! Hopefully she gets the hang of it eventually! Leo’s too scared to ride with her! :) Haha!

Mermaid Inspired Birthday Party

Such a fun mermaid inspired theme! Lots of fun to decorate! Hope you had a fabulous birthday Ivy! We love you! Happy 3rd Birthday!

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Mermaid Birthday Party Inspiration

September 15, 2016

Ivy turns THREE on October 1st! So cute and so crazy that she is going to be THREE! My goodness. Ivy said she wanted a “mermaid party!” She sings “Part of Your World” (and “Tomorrow” from Annie!!!) all day and it’s so cute. She loves to play with her Ariel Little Mermaid barbie, so I wasn’t surprised she picked mermaids, which is totally ok with me because Little Mermaid was my FAVORITE as a kid! Totally living vicariously through her for this party! :)

Cutest theme for a three year old – “Join us Under the sea, Ivy is turning three!” Adorable. Can’t wait to celebrate her big day! Here’s some inspiration I’ve gathered up so far. Tons of cute ideas out there!

Mermaid Under the Sea Party Inspiration

balloons // tassel garland // under the sea invitation // happy birthday banner // mermaid cake topper // mermaid fin cupcake topper // sequined peplum top // sequined mermaid skirt

I’m obsessed with that Carken Designs mermaid skirt and top! So fun! Ivy is going to FLIP!

And I LOVE the color scheme, the invitations are perfect for it. They even come in a blonde, brunette, or redheaded mermaid! How amazing is that? And what I usually always look for, is to see if they have the extra stationery for the party, and this invitation had other matching items! Favor tags, welcome sign and thank you cards! All to make my life much easier, thank you :)

I am totally gonna copy this mermaid party from one of my favorite mommy bloggers, Little Baby Garvin. The balloon arch is so cool! Let’s hope I can get crafty maybe? And the seaweed?! God she’s good.

mermaid-party

And the mermaid tail (made with an ice cream cone) cupcakes are totally awesome! I think I could actually make those! mermaid-fin-cupcakes

Anxious to get it all together. I kind of procrastinated because I get so sick of planning these birthday parties! UGH! But now that I’ve gotten a start it’s been fun! And this year, her birthday lands on a Saturday (October 1st), fun to get to party on her actual birthday! Can’t wait to see you in your little mermaid skirt, Ivy. We love you xoxo.

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Leo’s Wild One!

June 12, 2016

Happy WILD ONE Leo!!! You’re a big ONE year old now! Getting so big so quickly. I wish I could just hit pause for a couple days so my baby stays a baby!

We celebrated his birthday (oh yeah, AND MINE!) with a Where the Wild Things Are themed party (see the inspiration board here). I loved this invitation suite and everything black and white with pops of gold and woods for the party. I had plenty of wood serveware and for entertaining and even reused a wood slab from our wedding that worked perfectly!

To make the party really Wild, of course Leo had to have a gold crown like Max in the book! The leather crown was so adorable and he actually kept it on his head the entire party! He was KING LEO for the day and we all celebrated with a Happy Wild One party!

Leo's Wild One Party // Apple of My Ivy blog

Yup! Foot in the cake! Dominated that thing! Leo's Wild One Party // Apple of My Ivy blog

Leo, our little man. Happy one year to you Leo! This year flew by so fast! You have brought our family so much happiness and love, I can hardly envision life with you baby. Your sweet snuggles melt my heart and soothe my soul. You are so easy going and truly a mama’s boy who just loves to be held. Which I am completely enjoying because Ivy was never a snuggler! You have such a calm demeanor but are quick to smile when someone you like is around or Ivy being funny to make you laugh. I love how you race to Daddy as soon as you see him and are so curious about what he’s doing all the time. Leo, you are sweeter than I could ever imagine a boy to be and I am so thankful for you each day as you nuzzle up on me and suck those two wittle fingers, like all is calm in Leo’s world. It’s the sweetest and we love you so much!

Happy 1st Birthday Leo!

Wild One invitation suite // gold leather crown // gold crown // black and white stripe crown // mini black and white party crowns // party hats // black tie party balloons // tassel balloons // gold 1 balloon // paper plates // cups // birch paper straws // happy birthday banner // leo’s tank romper // ivy’s dress // my dress (use code – PROMOKAYLEE for 25% off your entire purchase) // teepee // blanket //

A big thank you to Queen City Balloons for supplying the balloons for the party! They were perfect and so much fun! Great to work with you!

Vanilla buttercream birthday cake by Sugar’s Baked Goods and Sweet Treats. The best!

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Happy 1st Birthday Leo!

June 8, 2016

My boy. My birthday boy. Happy 1st Birthday Leo! And, I suppose, Happy Birthday to myself too! Yes! We share a birthday! Leo arrived 10 days early, just to share it with me, ha. Pretty special, to completely be a Mama’s boy!

Here’s a little Mommy and Mini Me post with Leo and I because I couldn’t really help myself when it’s BOTH of our birthdays :)

LeoBirthmin-27

I feel like I just gave birth (see story here) yesterday to this little man. Seeing this picture from the hospital floods back so much love as he entered the world!

Bringing a boy into this world has been so different than with Ivy. I remember being so extremely nervous when we found out he was a boy. And now I wish I could take back all of those nerves and fears as holding and loving a boy is such a different and sweet love. He is really a Mama’s boy and I think we both kind of melt into each other’s arms. Oh Leo. You’re my buddy.

Photo Jun 07, 10 23 22 PM