selah's pet shop party

my beautiful girl ready for a party...

and boy did we party!

~

as you know, selah chose a pet shop party this year.

we had fun learning about pets and how to take care of them...

 first we made dog tags for the furry friend
that each child got to take home.

if you  haven't done shrinky dinks with your kids,

i highly recommend them!

 after craft and snack time, we were ready for some games!

for the first game we practiced feeding our pets.

take one bag of corn pops, one large spoon,
and one bowl on the other side of the room, 

and you have a dog feeding relay!

trying not to spill - until they realized how fun it was to clean up! 

for another game i had a tray of items that pets need, 

and i secretly took one off the tray to see if anyone 

could remember which one was missing.

whoever guessed what was missing 

got to remove a new item from the tray...

 we also played musical lily pads.  

you hop around while the music plays,

and when it stops, you find a lily pad.

instead of being eliminated, you have to share lily pads as they disappear,

until there is only one lily pad left for all the kids to squeeze on to.

there were a few other games, but the most amusing one had to do with 

a litter box.

i filled a bin with litter (oatmeal) and droppings (tootsie rolls).

each child had to take a turn scooping the litter.

this is selah finding the courage to eat her tootsie roll...

 after the games selah was excited to
open her presents and give thank you hugs!

then a quick group shot before cupcakes!

i guess it was a little chilly with the door open for more light...

 enjoying the cupcakes!

a successful party and one happy 5 year old!

hours of prep - but so worth it...

party planning is right up there with photography for me!

many of these photos were taken by judah.

 thanks hon!