Katie & Keith + 2: The Queen Bee turns three

I know she is my daughter and I'm a little biased but this girl is beautiful! I literally could not have used God's hands to make her any more perfect. I'm doting but let me also add that she is fierce, cranky, has a flare for the drama, has to have her way & did I mention dramatic! But she is all Girl & I love every bit of her. She keeps me on my toes & has etched such a place in my heart that it has changed my life forever. I can see our future in that special bond that mother & daughter hold & having a best friend for life. She is truly remarkable in every way & I'm thankful for this wonderful family that Keith & I have every day... even when they want to make me pull my hair out.

I had so much fun with this theme...mainly because Kendall did too. When she was first born Kaden called her Kendall "B" as he could not say Kendall Brianna. That is how he introduced his baby sister and as she got older she in turn said it and the "B" turned into "Bee" hence the Queen Bee turns three. Quite fitting for this years festivities! Kendall already had a ton of bee items because of her nickname...the bee boots & dress for her American girl doll, tea set, etc so it was easy to go a little overboard. I thought because I was hosting the event at a small park in town & not my house that I would take it down a notch this year. But Kendall & I kept coming across adorable "bee" themed items...such as the green bee favor bags to hold all the goodies as guests departed the party! As my husband & I loaded up BOTH our vehicles the night before the party for delivery to the park the next morning I realized it may be a little much...oh well too late & it goes with my motto..."the more the merrier!"

I have to go ahead & admit that the bee tamborines (Michael's) were the inspiration that started it all. And even more difficult to fess up is that I found them before Kendall's Ice Cream Social 2nd Birthday even happened! Read more about that party here http://4thesmithfamily.blogspot.com/2011/02/kendall-turns-2.html.
Yes, those who know me know that I'm a planner! They were just too adorable to pass up. I bought just one for Kendall and then when I got home and opened it up I had to have more so about 6 Michael's locations later I had enough for the party. (Trust me...I do not have that much time on my hands but the actual hunt for something like this brings me joy in some sort of weird way)...ok enough with the admissions of guilt!
The wings & headbands were ordered through one of the companies in which I order items for my shop,Great Pretenders, so of course I bought them at wholesale. They were the perfect accessories & walking decorations once the girls all put them on and were playing together on the playground.

Wings, tutu, wand, headband & black flowers were purchased on Etsy at CreaturesbyChase. They are amazingly detailed & so beautiful. The wings literally glistened! Kendall wanted to keep them on all day but I felt bad having her sport all this attire when it was so hot so we only made it through half the party. However, Kendall will, without a doubt, be a Bumble Bee for Halloween this year!

The bee soaps & bath fizzers from Pier 1 made for the perfect Mommy favor. I figured I made the mom's suffer in the Georgia summer heat for two hours...they might as well leave with something for them too :)

I found the mason type numbered 1-3 jars at Tuesday Morning a while back & knew they would come in handy for something :) So here they are, filled w/ lemon heads, & used to display the three pictures of Kendall at each year. (Pictures 1 & 2 by Brandelyn Lee Photography www.brandelynlee.com). As you can tell from the pictures on hand I'm not the best photographer and as I ran out of time b/w setup & guest arrival I did not get to grab as many photos as I would have liked and my mack daddy camera was on the wrong setting for the first half of party...hence the blurred photos. I hired Brandy, referenced above, for Kendall's first birthday and was relieved of the pressures of photographing and got to take it all in instead of capturing every moment, which in turn gave us some beautiful photos we will cherish forever.
The yellow vintage frames were bought on Etsy at shabbypinkflamingo.
I made the party guests sign-in page that will later be put in Kendall's scrapbook. Yes, I make a scrapbook for each party...I may get to it a year later but it is always done before the next party rolls around & something I hope that the kids will enjoy looking at for years to come & share w/ their children one day...sappy I know!
Kendall's doll was even dressed for the occassion. Outfit was purchased from a boutique in Charleston on King street forever ago...one of those items Kendall has had that went perfectly w/ party theme.

The table setting proved quite difficult in the July heat...even at 10am! The tables had to be moved several times to find shade as the sun moved its way high into the sky! At one point I looked over and the beautiful chocolate "3" w/ tiara had melted onto the beehive! Luckily the bakery was one call away & my mom was able to drive it back over for a facelift before guests arrived. The chocolate "3" then remained on ice until it was time to blow out candles. We served iced coffee for the adults in a beehive & lemonade for everyone to cool down. I also tried to theme up the snacks offered. I had found honey sticks & honey drops wrapped in bee paper while at a farmers market in Philadelphia earlier this summer. We served yellow twizzlers aka "flower stems" as well as yellow & white merinque cookies.
The theme was originally going to be black & yellow gingham but somewhere along the way I changed it to a damask pattern & it came together! There were a lot of monogrammed "K" items for the birthday girl.

The on site picnic tables were the easiest part to decorate & were in turn not used at all :( Black & white damask table runners (Hobby Lobby) with a small glass vase that I filled w/ flowers (Publix) that I arranged the night before in a simple grouping. They were later used at home by the pool for the after party & were enjoyed there.

Cake pops by Tonya Mulkey Lutjens...find her on facebook.
I found this damask planter at Hobby Lobby on clearance & just had to incorporate somehow! I bought some filler flowers and three big sunflowers for the birthday girl. Tonya turned the center of the three flowers into a cake pop...wonderfully delicious & so easy for Mom's to eat while attending to their kiddos. The bumble bees were lemon flavored & amazingily cute!

Kendall enjoys her cake pop!

The "Bee"utiful cupcakes & tiered cake were created by Heaven Scent Bakery. I can meet with Tera, the owner, and she turns my vision into reality! And did I mention that it is all absolutely delicious!
www.mycustomcake.com

The kids table was so much fun to create & I had a lot of help from my Mom. We did hit one more bump in the road when the rented table linens did not fit the tables, but another phone call & the rental company was on site w/ more linens.
We tied yellow organza ribbon around each of the chairs & hung a black & white damask cone (Hobby Lobby) embellished w/ a sequin "bee" (Michael's)filled with yellow & white mints (Tuesday Morning). 12 of these probably cost me $15!
Each place setting had a yellow bucket (Target) embellished w/ the sequin "bees" & black & white gingham flower, set on yellow paper doiles (Michael's)...they were filled w/ the bee tissue paper that I found at Bags & Bows & a damask baggie filled w/ teddy grahams & honey graham crackers that the kiddos could snack on & keep busy with while we prepared the cake for singing Happy Birthday! The yellow buckets were later used for a bee pollen hunt.

Kendalls outfit, hairbow & shoes from my boutique, Kissing Frogs

Yellow craft pompoms were scattered about & the girls lined up for the pollen hunt. Kaden, my son, had a worker bee hat and led the parade down. The bee tamborines were in hand. I had a vision that this would be a musical parade all organized... down to a Easter egg type hunt that would last a little longer. Although this didn't quite work out it was cute while it lasted! Did I mention how cute these tamborines are!

Kendall has a handful of girlfriends from school, Kindermusic, & the fact that most of them also have older siblings Kaden's age so some of them have known each other since birth! The majority of them have also all turned three this summer within days or a few weeks of each other. So this year instead of inviting every one I know I decided to let Kendall do the picking in an effort to bring down the guest list & keep it small & quaint & not overwhelming for the birthday girl.
The great thing about this little group of girls is that I in turn have established friends that I know will be lifelong. It is so neat to know that we will be able to watch our girls grow up together.
Balloons by Treasured Bargains on ebay.