selabration #5

this year, we are having our-family-only birthday parties. which is a brand-new party philosophy for us rhodes. each kiddo will get to help plan their special day, and i hope each one chooses something unique for our first year here in boston. sela’s original request – the american girl store. we didn’t have this store in utah, so i truly dodged it with my older girls. i never even let them know it existed. however, they were fans of build-a-bear which is somewhat of a trade. but, our last child – sel-bels – she is a doll lover. so, it’s totally appropriate we cave for her. ::smiles:: and, our new local mall, which i swear is the best mall on the planet, it really has EVERYTHING, an american girl store included, approximately eight minutes from our home.

with that said, sela~bella’s requests:

family brunch
barbie cake
purple & mustard decorations
a visit to the all-american girl store
a special dinner.

her wishes all came true!

i have a fetish for paper chains, and i’m trying to re-invent them whenever possible.
however, i do tend to forget how time consuming it is to create such a simple craft.
hours were invested for these little links of love, but it was totally worth it because i loved the finished look
—a little perk that our dining room is already purple!

for brunch, we had:
crepes
palis verdis eggs
fruit
bacon
juice
barbie cake
and ice cream!

when the taylor’s were visiting & we stopped by our incredible mall, shannon pulled me in to “lush,” i had never heard of this shop/brand before, but shannon had shopped at lush in hawaii… the taylor’s bought me my first bath-bomb, and i was instantly hooked! have you been? have you tried? the shop is awesome!

…it’s handmade cosmetics, but their main item is bath bombs that come in a variety of shapes/colors/scents – you put one in your bath with you & they foam, bubble, color the water, smell delicious! it’s divine if you are a bath-er like me! so, for sela’s little brunch, we chose a variety of bath bombs for everyone to enjoy as party favors. you can see kj’s in the photo on the right, sela chose a robot & blue/green ball bombs for him- i also love that there are boy/girl choices, because sometimes when planning party favors it’s difficult to find something for everyone. {this is a GREAT gift idea, if you are starting your holiday shopping!}

{notice the joggers going by outside – ha!}

hoodsie ice cream!
giving the sox some love during our brunch, their season ended way too early…

everyone likes to help the baby of the family. sela had three assistants/siblings to help her decide what american girl to choose, what clothes/accessories to pick out for her…

then they helped her instantly put her new doll together during dinner!

sela is a very good momma to her “dolly tess”,
nicknamed: bootylicious, because she doesn’t seem to keep her pants up very well –
we see a lot of her booty!

it’s all i can do to refrain from kissing those perfect little round cheeks, constantly.
does she not have the most adorable expressions? ohhh, this girlie has my heart.

the entire day, i kept snuggling up with husband and thinking,
“i’m so happy to be here. life is so good.”

where has five years gone? a big chunk of those years i felt like i’d have a toddler, forever.
and now… now, this little one will be in kindergarten next year, and before i know it,
all four of my munchkins will be in school all day. it’s such a sad thought, welcomed with a love of where we are.

with those thoughts in mind, we used every opportunity on sunday to celebrate this little one.

she has always been my perfect little sidekick, such a little lady.

sela & her tess’s matching pj’s were the perfect ending to a perfect fifth birthday.

cheers to five years, baby girl.
xoxo.

8 responses to “selabration #5”

  1. Happy Birthday sell-bells!! i love her!! What a beautiful birthday brunch! Your barbie cake skills ROCKED!! oh and the bath bombs~ {i can just smell it now} PARADISE!
    I am so jealous that you have that Beloved store, because my girls would LOVE it!! we have the matching jammies and they are so cute all matched!

    That is the absolute best birthday party… at home, with all the people you love and being spoiled all day long!

  2. Happy birthday Sela! What a special day! I’ll have to try the bath bombs! Now that we’ll have a big bath tub in our *new house* I’ll be able to relax a little! Happy celebrating!!

  3. Happy birthday Sela! Jane, I remember seeing you one day standing at the front desk of Center Stage. You were well in to your pregnancy. I remember thinking how cute you were! You made pregnancy look good 🙂 I can’t believe that was over 5 years ago. My little Mayzie is coming up on 5 and I can hardly believe it. She has been asking for a pink barbie cake :).

    I am loving all your Boston posts. You make it sound so dreamy. What a beautiful place! Of all our summer destinations, Boston is the only place I would consider living in. Curt really liked it there too. I’m glad you are happy and somewhat settled.

  4. what a gorgeous candid pic of you, your husband and your daughter… I’m sure she will treasure that for many years to come!

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