The rainbow cake

Because I think it needs its on post! I mean, come on, its a rainbow cake!!

As I mentioned in the last post, Cheyanne's 3rd birthday was rainbow themed, everything bright colors and rainbows. It was way too cute. And, it made my little rainbow bright girl so happy which is really what its all about.

I pretty much followed some pinterest ideas I found when it came to making the cake. I bought a plain Pillsbury white cake mix and split it into 5 bowls. Using a few drops of food coloring, I colored each bowl a different color.

I poured each bowl into its own round pan and then cooked each about a quarter of the time directed on the box. Out came these pretty layers.

I iced each layer while stacking them.

I fixed the lopsidedness in the picture and got them to lay flat then iced the whole thing with white icing.

I decided not to put any decorations on the top like I had originally planned. I thought maybe there should be ONE plain white thing at the party, ha.

She loved the surprise rainbow inside.

I was a little worried how it would taste with all that food coloring in it, but it actually turned out delicious! I was shocked how moist and yummy it was. Chey didn't care how it taste, she just loved how it looked!

Cheyanne's 3rd Birthday Party

This birthday party is NOT to be confused with her birthday because according to Chey, everyday this month is her birthday. Every. Single. Day she has informed us "Today is my birthday." HA!

So, this post is just her birthday "party" because Chey's birthday lasts all month.

The Saturday before her birthday I planned a big party for her. I had all these grandios ideas of birthday fun- decorations, food, games, music, etc. You know, all those things 2-3 year olds really care about…

I knew long ago that she needed a rainbow themed birthday this year. If you follow me on Pinterest, you had to of known months ago what kind of party Chey was having. Chey loves all things rainbow these days. I figure this is probably the last year I can really get away with planning a theme that I "want" and no way could I just give her a cookie cutter party. :)

Wouldn't you know though that shortly after I sent out 16+ invites and started getting many RSVPs, the Giant bails? Well, not exactly bailed of his own free will (thank you Uncle Sam), but was told he would be flying the same week and wouldn't be home until well afterwards most likely. I think it was within 5 minutes of finding this out that I hopped on the phone and sweetly begged my parents to rearrange all their plans and come help me! Thank God for parents. I mean, really, lifesavers.

With the Giant gone days beforehand, Nana and Skipper were immediately put to work when they got here Thursday and literally didn't get a break until about the time they repacked their car the next week. I'm a slavedriver. Most of the day Friday, Mom and I cleaned and prepped food while Dad helped do a little bathroom remodeling.

Saturday came and we got partying. We all woke early and started cleaning, decorating, and setting up because people were coming at 11.

Not just a few people, but 16 children and their 15 parents. Yeah, 31 people here for a 3 year olds birthday. You ever hear of the rule, 1 kid for every year of age of the birthday kid? Yeah, I'm a rule breaker… this year.

I spread out all over the yard with a tent, tables, chairs, inside, outside, everywhere to make sure we had enough room.

We are just so blessed to have so many people that love us and are willing to give up their Saturday afternoon to come spend it with us in the heat and rainbows.

31 people… we had a chaotic blast!! Chey had a few meltdowns amongst all the fun but she had the time of her life. Evidence of 1st meltdown below. She's not a fan of all eyes on her and most definitely NOT a fan of being sung too by a choir...

 

She did however love her cake and pretty much everything else at her party. 

She jumped like a mad woman. Auntie T and Uncle Jonny struck gold with their birthday present. They rented her a jump castle for her party. Best. Present. Ever. Seriously, I'm not sure I'll ever have a party at my house again without one. 

Of course after everyone left and we had an hour before they came to pick it up, we got in on the action in the jump house. That was probably the part I loved the most. Just getting to be silly and play with Chey doesn't happen very often anymore. Nana held on to Jameson while Skipper and I jumped around with the birthday girl.

J did get a chance to play after all the big kids were gone and he loved it. 

I have no idea now why he was shirtless. At one point or another, both of my children were shirtless during the day, but I think maybe 3 is the cutoff for appropriate naked baby pictures on the blog. :)

Happy 3rd birthday sweet Cheyanne. You are my girl through and through. I'm so thrilled to see the little lady that you grow up to be and blessed to be a part of your life. I know you are going to do big things in your lifetime and have no doubt that you will make your daddy and me very proud. 

** HUGE special thank you to my dearest photographer friend Christina for taking photos at the party knowing I would be way too absent-minded to remember to do it on my own. The Giant really appreciated being able to see what he missed. If you live in Charleston, I highly recommend her as a photographer FYI. She's fantastic!

Pile on

Let me interrupt the otherwise relatively quiet This Wood House to show you what's happened here today.

This is a typical moment when Daddy walks in the door. Baby squeals and shakes all over. Chey giggles and launches towards him with hugs. Lola goes absolutely berserk.

Let's pile on Daddy!!!

There's just too much cuteness around here these days. I just had to share. Poor Lola got stuck on the bottom of the pile for a while, but don't be fooled. She loved every minute of it.

Life Lately

We have been staying pretty busy lately. I feel like I haven't updated in so long, I'm not sure where to even start.

We kicked off the summer with a weekend trip up north.

On our way back home to Virginia to see my family, we first stopped off to see the Giant's grandparents. They hadn't had a chance to meet J yet, and this trip meant a lot to them and Giant.

After a short visit, we headed on up to VA. My parents threw a party for people to come meet "the boys"- Tyson and Jameson while we were there. It was a rushed weekend but so much fun to see so many people that we love and don't get to see enough.

This picture below is the first of Nana and Skipper with all 4 of their g'kids. Love love love. Oh the outtakes.

Us sisters and our boys…

 

After a long ride home and swearing off any other future road trips, we got busy kicking off our summer. Chey was not ready to end her school, so I jumped on trips to the park, play dates, and luncheons with friends to keep her from getting bored. June was kind of blur now that I think about it.

We had many pool days in this sweltering heat. Days that it wasn't tooooooo hot, we had fun at the local parks. J had his first swing ride and loved it. 

We sadly said goodbye to our wonderful friends the Goodwillies as they moved bases. Chey (and I) were very sad to see them go.

June came and went, and we started traveling again once I got over our June trip. The weekend of the 4th, we headed north again to spend a long weekend with my sister and her family at Lake Yadkin. I still can't believe that I didn't take a single picture all weekend long. Fail. I'm stealing my sister's and her MILs here. These are my favorites. 

We had a blast on the water. 

Shortly after our return home, actually long enough for my to unpack, do laundry, and repack, the kids and I loaded up and headed to OBX for a week at the beach house with my family. We've enjoyed a lot of family time this summer, obviously. Going to OBX always feels like going home to me. So far, I have not found a better beach and I hope my kids grow up loving it as much as the Giant and I do. I will post on that trip separately so I'll use my favorite photo from the trip here.

After a week away, and another long car ride home, we are here in one piece and working on my swearing off all car rides in the future. I have a few weeks before we have another trip planned so I'm hoping that I get amnesia about how much my kids hate the car before I pack them up again. If anyone would like to send me money towards ear plugs, that would be appreciated. 

We've survived car rides, teething, sleep and the lack of, crawling, bumps and bruises, almost a dead dog, home construction, starting solids, starting eating meats (woot Chey Chey), successful potty training (double woot) and much more.

Hope you are having a great summer. We sure are!

I'll leave you with a picture from tonight.

Life is never boring.