Baby LifestylesLAUREN HALPERIN

Publisher, Creative Director

TARA STEINLEManaging Editor

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MICHAEL GUSTMANS.E.O. Management

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On the Cover

Say hello to cover girl Emery. She cele-brated her first birthday with a pink andyellow lemonade stand themed birthdayparty. Find it on page 107 and you’ll see why

she’s smiling for summertime.

HOW DOES YOUR BABY PARTY?WWW.BABYLIFESTYLES.COM

IN EVERY ISSUE10 CLASSIC BOOKS11 HOT PRODUCTS

142 LAST CRY

STUFF WE LOVE10 PREPARE YOUR PET FOR BABY

DO IT YOURSELF12 COFFEE FILTER WREATH15 HAND PAINTED NURSERY RUG

NURSERY REVEALS40 BOY’S MODERN MASTERPIECE44 CALEB’S COOL PAD

PHOTOGRAPHY30 OUTSIDE BED MATERNITY50 PHOTOGRAPHER’S SHOWCASE84 COMING SOON MATERNITY

CELEBRATIONS24 ROCKING MIXTAPE BABY SHOWER60 BLUE SKIES AND SUNSHINE68 NO TOY LEFT BEHIND BIRTHDAY76 BRING A BIB BABY SHOWER96 SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM PARTY107 LEMONADE AND SUNSHINE120 LILLY PULITZER INSPIRED

MAKING A DIFFERENCE130 OPERATION SHOWER

HOLE IN ONE GOLF EVENT

CONTENTSJune/ July 2012

PAGE 130 PAGE 96 PAGE 40

PAGE 24 PAGE 68 PAGE 120

www.NewspaperAnnouncements.com

Newspaper AnnouncementsAnnounce your baby to the world

with a completely customizable newspaper!

Mikkel Becker

Your dog is your first baby, buthow do you prepare your four-

legged baby for your two-leggedone? Mikkel has the answers

on page 20.

Lynlee Beckett

While Lynlee might think ofherself as a dessert impressario,she knows how to think outsidethe ‘cardboard’ box to create aToy Story 3 party on page 68

Adam + Alli

This lovely couple specializes inweddings and their knowledge ofdetails is on display on page 76

at Nicci’s bib baby shower.

Ivona Foster

You know you are a product ofthe 80s when you have a

collection of cassette mix tapes.Ivona used her love of pre-iPod

music to create this rocking babyshower on page 24.

Lavara O'hanlon

Lavara brings a stunning mater-nity photography shoot to us all

the way from the land downunder. Check out page 30 to seehow gorgeous her pictures are.

Jenna Clark

Finding unique ways to do amaternity portrait is no problem

for Jenna. She took somebeautiful beach photos on page

84 to showcase new life.

WeHeart our Summer Contributors!

Whitney Shepard

There’s nothing more summerthan pink lemonade. Our coverphoto comes from the beautiful

pink and yellow first birthdayparty Whitney shot on page 107.

JoAnne Wuneburger

JoAnne has an eye for colorfuldetails which you can clearly see

on page 120 in Presley’s LillyPulitzer inspired birthday party.

Jennifer Froehlich

This mom goes all out for herkids’ birthday parties. On page96 she shows off the ice cream

party she threw for her two sons.

Classic ReadsMake a ComebackPat the Bunny Book & Plush ToyConsidered the original touch-and-feel book, Pat theBunny was first introduced to children in 1940 byDorothy Kunhardt who incorporated everyday activitieslike looking into a mirror, smelling flowers and feelingDaddy’s scratchy face to encourage interactivity andsensory stimulation. "Pat the Bunny" is so dear, so sim-ple, and so very, very perfect that it is deceptive. It re-ally can teach a very young baby about textures andcolors and the fact that the world is a varied and won-derful place.The deluxe edition of Pat the Bunny in-

cludes four pages restored from the original 1940 version and now offers a plushbunny for your child to call their own and pat to their heart's content.

Where the Wild Things AreIn the forty years since Max first cried "Let the wild rum-pus start," Maurice Sendak's classic picture book hasbecome one of the most highly acclaimed and best-loved children's books of all time. Now, in celebration ofthe jubilee anniversary and the recent passing ofSendak, a new generation is being introduced to Max'simaginative journey to Where the Wild Things Are. Thisbook does what all great books should do, it opensyour mind and imagination.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar BookOne sunny day, a caterpillar pops out of an egg. He isvery hungry and begins searching for food. The gim-mick in Eric Carle's book is that the caterpillar eatsholes through all the food, holes that are actuallypunched into the pages of the book. It's a good gim-mick, actually. Die-cut pages, each page has a hole

where the "caterpillar" ate through the food item, illustrate what the caterpillar ateon successive days. This story is a hit every time. Carle's bright colors and cleverdie-cut artwork never cease to entertain even the youngest child, and there is surelynothing in nature closer to magic than the emergence of a butterfly.

Want to get that fauxhawk look celebrtity babieslike Kingston Rossdale are always sporting? HotTot Styling Gel keeps baby’s hair and even curlstouchable and soft. The medium-hold formulatames frizz and flyaways without feeling sticky orstiff. You’ll love making baby look like a rockstarwhile taming those unruly curls.Get Styling Now HERE!

Ever wonder what to do with all those baby clothes yourlittle one is growing out of? The patchwork KeepsakeClothes Bear is made entirely from your baby’soutgrown outfits. The perfect first birthday keepsakegift, now your baby can have those precious beginningoutfits forever nearby.Create a Keepsake Bear HERE

Great Gift Ideas

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Wreaths are a beautiful way to dress up your baby shower andbaby's nursery room. We've seen some amazing wreaths as DIYprojects from themed to colorful. But this shabby chic creation byTaryn of Design Dining and Diapers is more than a decorative

wreath made of coffee filters, it holds part of her family history andwas a special pat of her daughter's first birthday party.

Wanting a more vintage look she stained the coffee filters usingtea. "I love the texture and the romantic look."

MATERIALS NEEDED:dark color tea bags

large potspoon

Styrofoam wreath formribbon

screwdriver

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place five dark color tea bags into a large pot. Bring to boil and then place on low-medium heat.

2. Place 20 coffee filters into the pot and use a spoon tomake sure they are fully submerged. Soak them for 10-20minutes or until you get the desired color. Repeat until all ofthe coffee filters are stained.

3. Let the coffee filters dry completely so they are not as fragile. Helpful Tip: Clip the coffee filters onto pant hangersand hang them to help them dry faster. Spreading them outon paper towels works well too. For this wreath, Taryn usedabout 100 filters.

4. Wrap the coffee filter around a screw driver and push itinto the wreath. "You may need to do a few extra jabs toreally get it secure in there."

5. Place the coffee filters about 1-1 1/2″ a part to get thefullness of this wreath.

Taryn's daughter was named for her great grandmother andshe used gems belonging to her in the wreath making it apriceless family heirloom. "The pink and white pearl clusterswere actually a pair of her earrings and the brooch was a giftgiven to her for 30 years of volunteer service at a local organi-zation." The beautiful ribbon also holds sentimental value as itwas from Taryn's wedding day.

Hand Painted Rug Tutorial

When completing her son Chase's nursery, Cristi of Charm HomeDesign wanted to spice up the floor with a patterned rug. Originallyloving one from West Elm, she didn't want to spend the money to

liven up her floor. Instead, she created her own rug in perfectlymatching colors and couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

Materials Needed1. plain white rug

(Cristi's is the Erselv rug from Ikea)2. paint3. stencil

4. Clear contact paper5. double sided tape6. sponge roller

Step 1:

Buy your rug.Lay it out of the floor andmeasure it to determine how large the patternshould be.

Step 2: Create your stencil. "I spoke with a friendwho is a faux painterand she gave me a

great tip. She said touse clear contact

paper, the kind you line your shelf with. OnceI determined the sizethat my stencil wouldbe, I made my stencilpattern out of an

extra large sheet ofgraph paper. Then Itraced it onto mycontact paper and

cut it out."

Step 3: Once the patternsare cut, peel thebacking off of thecontact paper andstick it on the rug.Helpful tip: Usedouble sided tapeto secure the

paper to the rug.

Step 4:

Using a spongeroller, paint alight coat overeach of the open-ings in the stencil.Once the paint isdry, peel up the

contact paper andmove to the next

sections.

"The Rug is absolutely perfect inChase’s nursery and really helps

complete the space."

While bringing home a newborn baby is an exciting time inany family’s life, many parents may be concerned about theirpets sharing this same enthusiasm. Vetstreet.com’s MikkelBecker, professional dog trainer, author and mother, dogs

can safely and happily cohabitate with newborn babies, andtraining can begin months before the big day. After experi-encing this firsthand when introducing her newborn girl toher two dogs, the daughter of “America’s Veterinarian” Dr.

Marty Becker offers the following tips to prepare your dog forthe baby’s homecoming – including how you can use a dolland baby scents and sounds to help teach your dog how to

behave around the newborn.

Preparing Your FurryBaby for Your New Arrival

Assess whether the dog has aggression or fear issues. Take special notice of how your dog acts when you get nearhis food bowl, chew toys and resting area. Pay attention to anysensitivity your dog shows when being approached by people,especially children and toddlers. Note how your dog acts whenhe is handled in uncomfortable ways, including tail tugs andgrabbing his feet, mouth and ears. If you notice any areas ofconcern, address these with remedial training and enlist yourveterinarian, a certified professional dog trainer or animal be-haviorist if needed.

Teach proper manners in advance. Jumping up isn't only a nuisance; it becomes a safety hazardwhen you are holding a baby who can be injured or knockedout of your hands. To prevent your baby from being jostled orstepped on, train your dog to sit for greeting and to come upon furniture or your lap only when he is invited. Practice the"leave it" and "drop it" commands, which will come in handywhen getting your dog to leave baby items like stuffed animalsalone or to drop them if they’ve already been snatched up.

Think pet-proofing as well as baby-proofing.If your dog currently sleeps in your bed, you may need to re-locate him; having the dog on the bed may not be ideal if yourbaby will be sleeping in a bassinet or cosleeper next to yourbed and could possibly be jumped on. Consider crate trainingyour dog or setting up a doggy-proofed area for the timeswhen you will not be able to supervise your dog. Child gatesshould be set up at the edge of the baby’s room to prevent thedog from going inside unsupervised. Move the dog’s food and

water bowl out of areas where the baby will be, and get a dia-per pail with a secure lid to help keep your canine from spread-ing unwanted décor around the home.

Help your dog be independent. Soon-to-be-parents are often tempted to lavish extra attentionon their dog because they feel guilty about the time they will betaking away from their pooch once the baby arrives. But thesmoothest approach is to prepare your pet to be independent,so that he is already used to a decrease in attention before youbring the baby home. Stock up on food puzzles and chew toysto keep your dog’s mind engaged, and prepare an exercise rou-tine for your dog that you can stick to once the baby arrives.

Acclimatize your dog to the sights and sounds of a newbaby even before he or she arrives. Use a baby doll to mock activities you will do when your realbaby arrives. You can use the mock baby to teach your dog torespect the baby's space and remain calm when you do baby-related things. Play recordings of baby noises, such as crying,and pair them with tasty rewards so your dog associates themwith something good occurring. On the day your baby arrives,have a family member take an item home that has been on yourbaby (either a piece of clothing or a blanket). As soon as yourdog smells this item, give him a highly palatable reward, such asa piece of a turkey hot dog. Since dogs are so keen on smell,he will begin to associate your baby with good things happen-ing before he and your baby even meet.

Introduce the baby and the dog carefully. Have your dog meet the new baby on neutral territory. Al-though it was winter when we brought home our precious Rea-gan, we had the pugs come outside for a quick visit before webrought Reagan inside. While the pugs were meeting Reagan,we kept the visit under control by giving them known behaviorcommands such as "sit" and "down" while rewarding them. Weallowed brief sniffing, and then directed them to do an actionthat was compatible with a baby in our hands.

Always supervise your children and pets together. The majority of dog bites happen to children when they are notbeing supervised by an adult. Monitor all interactions betweenyour dog and your baby, and use baby gates or crating whenclose supervision is not possible.

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It seems like only yesterday you and your best friend foreverwere rocking the big teased hair and sung in hairbrush

microphones to Debbie Gibson’s “Electric Youth”. Now she isa mommy to be. The mission: a colorful mesh of 80's nostalgiaand homage to the greatest rock ballads of all times that is sureto bring a grin to your bestie's face. It’s a baby shower worthy of

the little rocker to come, no pastel blue onesies here!

With the Eurythmics playing in your head, it is time to get this party started. IIvvoonnaa ffrroomm SSuuggaarrssttiicckkss PPaarrttiieess is on the 80'strain. With her colorful Mixed Tape stationery designs and itdidn't take her long to transform them into a party set worthy of Madonna's early years, especially after handing over a

cassette of favorite songs.

Ivona used Sophie and her husband John’s song list as inspirationfor food and drinks offered at the brunch shower. And sincemommy and daddy already have their playlists, it is only

natural that they start working on baby Liam's ultimate playlist.

As the baby shower hostess, you want to remind Sophie of the daysway back when the walls of your rooms were covered in Dirty Dancing and Tom Cruise in Top Gun posters. Ivona used theseposters as a backdrop to both the food and the favor tables. To create a colorful geometric backdrop pattern that allowed for theplaylist posters to shine through, Duct Tape allowed for a perfect design. Since bunting would have been too cutesy, circular stickers

were put on CDs to add to the original theme.

Flipped boxes of cassette tapes are used as stands for food labels,and food labels, which mimicked the cassette tape wrappers. Allfood listings were also accompanied with the song that inspiredthem. “Lady Marmalade” accompanied jelly bites croissants, starshaped “Rocket Man” sandwiches, “Purple Rain” was perfect forgrape sodas and “Back to Black” was ideal for licorice candy.

As a keepsake for the little rocker to be, a poster where all theguests could leave their autograph for baby Liam, as well as fillout a playlist card that mama Sophie will put in a book for him.And remember those cassette tapes you used to dance to whilethey played on your boom box? Ivona used the actual tapes asthe final touch on the Sugarsticks' flat favor bags. Little rocker

Liam and his mama were showered in true 80's style!PPhhoottooggrraapphhyy bbyy TThhee PPiiccttuurree LLaaddiieess

Maternity PhotographyBy Lavara O'Hanlon

Modern Masterpieceby Tara Steinle

When it came to designing the nursery for her baby boy,interior designer Erin Sander wanted a vibrant and happypalette. She swooned over the ISaK wallpaper of aqua facingpenguins. After marinating the other colors like lime and brightyellow to complement the fun blue she decided that orangemade the combination pop.

"One of my favorite design elements to incorporate is a boldwallpaper or tile pattern to set the mood for a room. Whenstarting out to design his nursery I knew that I wanted a greatpattern on that wall that would anchor the space and providea backdrop for a more modern and simple crib. It didn't takeme long to decide on the Isak paper. The graphic simplicity ofthe pattern made it a great choice for a boy and the colorswere perfect for what I wanted to achieve in the room."

Erin had a wonderful custom workroom that she used for themore detailed window seat and window pelmet, but for thebedding, she wanted a simple design that wouldn't distractfrom the bold pattern behind and in front of the crib. Sheselected Carousel Designs for their assortment of fabrics,quick turn around, and customization options. "It was theperfect solution for the clean and modern style I wanted here."

Erin used gray as an updated neutral to work with against theaqua and orange, and thought the bold design and strongerlines in the rug also added an element of masculinity the spaceneeded.

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While her design style is always a work in progress, JanetteDrost says it always comes back to traditional as it did withCaleb’s nursery. “I know that inspiration can sometimes comeas a stroke of genius, but I think that it usually comes througha lot of research! I spent a long time looking for items I lovedthat worked well together. I knew that I wanted to base it onfeeling cheery and fun, but sweet and babyish at the sametime.” Drawn to light-filled rooms, Janette remembers that herfamily’s nursery was very yellow and sunny, and she wanteda bright and cheery room like that.

Other than an adorable tousled blonde head peeking up, thefirst thing you’ll see when you enter Caleb’s room is the crib,however Janette says the artwork above the wainscoting herhusband made get the comments first. She found all of theseimages at a stock photography site and chose ones that hada cohesive look to them. After hours of doing the math, theywere positioned just right to fill the wall in Ikea frames.

Not wanting a “bed-in-a-bag” set, Janette started designingCaleb’s crib bedding with the crib skirt. She found a fabric sheloved and made the skirt herself. “I gave my mom a generalidea of what I liked for the quilt, and the colors she picked workperfectly! And the knitted blanket adds such a babyish touch.”

“The hand-made items are absolutely my favorites. The cribwas a gift from my aunt and uncle. They found it in aneighbor’s garage and the whole family refinished it for us!I also love the quilt that my mom made, I get so much of mycreativity from her. There is a fabric activity book that my mom

made for me when I was a baby, definitely a treasure. Theknitted blanket was made for Caleb by his great-grandma, andwe also have another blanket made by his great-GREAT-grandma. I just love that Caleb’s room is filled with clothes,books and toys from people who mean so much to us.”

What does Janette love most about Caleb’s room: herwonderful baby. “A pretty room is great, but he’s the one whobrings it alive.”

Crib & table – vintage Bedding – handmade (except sheets from Babies ‘R’ Us)

Dresser – IKEA “Hemnes” Chair – Best Chairs “Hagen” swivel glider & ottoman

Artwork – IKEA frames, iStockphoto images Wall paint color – Sherwin Williams “Quietude”

Photographer Showcase

Steps into Summer

Photography by Betty Ospina of Serendipity Photography

Photography by Taken Photography

Photography by Gina Cristine Photography

Photography by Heather Barlin of Venus Girl P hotography

Photography by Jason and Heather Barr of Revival Photography

Photography by Jenna Clark of Creatrix Photography

Photography by Samantha Foster of Jonathan Ivy Photography

Photography by Sweet Poppy Studio

Photography by Tammy Bacon of Country Roads Photography

Photography by Heidi Orcino

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By Irene Amido of Petite Pomme Design

To celebrate Mari's first birthday,Irene designed a summer partyinspired by all the fun things thatcome with warm sunshine...popsi-cles, blue skies, ice cream, andpretty flowers.

A simple chalkboard and hangingpaper wind chime inspired garlandgreeted guests on the porch. As theyentered, 3-D clouds hung over adarling photograph of newbornMari along with a cluster of whitevases and the popsicle invitation.

The showstopper was curtain of

ombre paper ringlet garlands

cascading overdelicate sheer

panels to create the perfect back-

ground to the sunny sweets.

This simple paper effect drew

everyone's attention to the sweets

station, stocked with delicious

summer treats like popsicle

treats, kid-friendly jello shots,

meringues and flower shaped

cookies.

The simple Happy Birthday cake topper and pineapple flowers perfectly decorated the home-made Kahlua cake.

No Toy Left Behind

One of the main themes of Toy Story 3 is how quickly children growup. As Lynlee watches her daughter Anabelle grow with each pass-ing year, she was reminded of this and knew a No Toy Left Behindparty was perfect to celebrate a year of her daughter’s growth. Fo-cusing on the third movie where the toys' owner, Andy, is packing

up and leaving for college and they are mistakenly donated to Sun-nyside Daycare, Lynlee wanted to play up the use of cardboard

boxes to represent the toys being boxed up, as well as throughoutthe decor. “I also thought the use of color was really important tocapture the vibe of a school, while also corresponding to the rain-

bow logo of Sunnyside.”

By Lynlee Beckett

To set the tone for theparty, Lynlee envisioned theinvitations coming out of card-board donation boxes. Sheused an adorable illustration ofa little girl resembling An-abelle, dressed up as her fa-vorite Toy Story character,Jessie, by artist CarolyneTillery and utilized it in the de-sign of the invitation, alongwith additional graphics.

When smiling faces ofAnnabelle’s friends arrived to

play and celebrate, they weregreeted with giant "magnet"letters reading "NEW TOYS",as the characters heard whenthey arrived at SunnysideDaycare. “I wanted the kids tofeel like they were toys them-selves and the oversized let-ters and alphabet blocks wereperfect! My father did such anamazing job with the blockswith the use of wood/papermache letters, masking tapeand paint! I just adore how the

blocks turned out!”The backdrop for the

dessert table was built out ofcardboard boxes and filledwith the Toy Story toys pop-ping out of them, while thebanner was strung with alpha-bet block letters. Boxes wereclearly labeled if they wouldend up at ‘College’ the ‘Attic’ or‘Sunnyside’. Lynlee made fon-dant toppers of charactersfrom the Toy Story movies andplaced them on cupcakes inindividual boxes. Beautifulrecreations of Woody, Buzz,Rex, Hamm and even thePizza Planet aliens wererecreated in detail so beautifulyou want to get on the floorand play with them. Printedout block letters, rainbows andadditional characters toppedthe rest of the cupcakes dis-played on the table insideplastic Slinkies.

Instead of a tablecloth, thekids' table was lined withdrawing paper from a tabletoppaper holder from Ikea and all

the kids had their own Sunny-side lunch box. “Two daysprior to the party, I unwrappedthe lunch boxes and realizedthe latches were not of thehighest quality and after brain-storming with my family, my fa-ther came to the rescue withhis idea of securing them witha rubber band, which I embel-lished with a tag.”

An art area with easels,coloring pages and Sunnysideart boxes was set up for thekids to let their imaginationsrun wild. Drawings fromAndy's room were pinnedacross a string, while a blow-up bookworm welcomed thetoys/kids. Lynlee found the funand colorful art boxes and at-tached the Sunnyside label tothem with Mod Podge. Inside,the kids found a box of ToyStory crayons, charactererasers and crayon bubbles.

“Some of the activities wehad in store were kept in thesenumeric mesh containers fromIkea and labeled with the box

cards. The colorful paratroop-ers from Oriental Trading werea huge success! The kids alsohad fun with the trash bagraces and saving charactersthat I cut out out of cardstockwith a grabber...the claw!”

For the menu, Lynleewanted the kids' food to be ex-actly what a day care childwould find in a packed lunchwith a sandwich, apple slices,rainbow goldfish crackers, fruitsnacks and juice. “I found theToy Story sandwich boxes, as

well as the themed snackbags and tissues which werejust perfect!” The adult foodwas displayed separately inthe "Parent Cafeteria" sectionwith colorful plates, cups andplasticware.

The kids had a fun timewith Toy Story coloring pagesand dressed up for a “You’veGot a Friend in Me” hoedown.

One of the new charactersintroduced in "Toy Story 3" isLotso Huggin' Bear, who{spoiler alert} turns out to be

bad, but once Lynlee saw this humongous, huggable stuffedbear at her Costco store, she just couldn't resist! “Anabelle'sgreat-grandmother bought it for her and it is indeed a hugger!”

We laid out empty boxes with an oversized post-it note forguests to "donate" their gifts to Anabelle! The favors were hid-ing in these "TOYS TO DONATE" boxes... The kids went homewith a set of Toy Story characters and the note quoting Andyin the movie, who just donated his toys to a deserving little girlas he departs for college:

"Now you gotta promise to take good care of these guys.They mean a lot to me."

So long, partner.

Handmade Bib Baby ShowerPhotography by Adam + Alli

Handmade Bib Baby ShowerPhotography by Adam + Alli

The invitation for this baby shower came notfrom the mommy-to-be,

but from her baby. Writtenfrom the perspective of the baby being born, the invitations were uniquelyhandmade bib designed

by Quirky Finch.

Coming Soon to a Beach Near YouBy Jenna Clark of Creatrix Photography

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We All Scream for Ice CreamBirthday PartyBy Jennifer Froehlich

Photos by Moncrief Photography

We All Scream for Ice CreamBirthday PartyBy Jennifer Froehlich

Photos by Moncrief Photography

While planning her sons' dual birthday party this year,Jennifer wanted to let her boys have input on the theme.They both asked for their favorite things: ice cream,

bounce houses, and popcorn! She went with an ice creamtheme using her favorite locally owned and home madeice cream. While that would have been yummy all byitself, she had to have a fun toppings bar! The pavilionshe had rented has a turquoise blue background wall soshe added a fresh orange complimentary color and had

her frozen color palette.

With ice cream as a theme, each guest got to pick their icecream flavor, then choose either waffle cone or a cup andtop to their heart's content from 17 different options.

"The kids just loved that they could get all they want, theywere in heaven! I tried to keep several of the toppings inour matching color scheme- all orange reeces pieces,blue/orange/yellow sprinkles, yellow pineapple, eastercolored M & M's and sixlests which matched perfectlytoo and many more in other bright fun colors." After thesugar rush was in full effect, the bounce house castle was

perfect for burning off that extra energy.

At birthday cake and singing time we passed out icecream cone cake pops instead of cake to go with ourtheme and its also just easier and cuter than cutting cakeslices and serving them! On the side we had a popcornmachine for a little bit of something salty after all thesugar, plus its my son's absolute favorite food

Milk glass bottles were perfect to hold all of the toppingsand Jennifer used old coke crates to elevate them and givethem some height. To attach the food labels onto the milkglass she used tiny orange clothespins. She used them againfor the sugar cone party favors topped with cotton candy tolook like ice cream. The labels had stickers of the boys eat-ing their ice cream printed saying "Thanks for coming!"

Photography By Moncrief Photography

Invitations and paper goods By Modern Moments

Ice cream cone cake pops by Sweet Chicks

Waffle cone paper wrappers and large ice cream cups in orange by Shop Sweet LuLu

Tiny hand painted orange clothespins by Paper and Present

Lemonade and Sunshine First Birthday Party

Photography by Caught on Camera’s Whitney Shepard

Has pink lemonade in the summertime ever looked sogood? Emery’s Mommy Hannah went all out for her

sweet baby girl’s first birthday party! The entireLLeemmoonnaaddee SSttaanndd themed party was planned out inpink and yellow detail and even featured a real life

lemonade stand that Emery's Daddy made just for her!

Apothecary jars of lemonade, vases filled with pinkand yellow pinwheels, mason jars holding bunches of dainty sweets and treats, the decorations were

perfect for a a girl as happy as Emery.

A Lilly Pulitzer Inspired Garden FirstBirthday Party for PresleyBy JoAnne Wuneburger

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On May 6th, 2012, a“Celebration Fore Baby”baby shower was held inPonte Vedra Beach, FLon the Stadium GolfCourse at TPC Sawgrass,sponsored by Birdies forthe Brave, The PGA Tourand the Lend Lease Com-munity Fund. Forty-onelocal military moms andmoms-to-be arrived to beshowered with support,recognition and gifts do-nated from high-endcompanies.

It was the first time I hadpartaken in an event forthis incredible organiza-tion after writing aboutthem for years, and wasthe most moving charita-ble event I have ever hadthe privilege to attend.

A Hole in One for Operaattiioonn SShhoowweerrBy Lauren Halppeerriinn

There is something to be said about the quiet strength ofthese women. I sat at a table with amazing mom-to-beCourtney, who was scheduled to deliver her second childvia C-section three days after the event. She works full timewhile raising her two year old daughter. She told me herhusband is stationed on a nuclear submarine, his exact lo-cation she does not know and cannot be told. I think shefeels it’s better this way to be a little out of the know.

Courtney’s husband was deployed when she was six monthspregnant and is not scheduled to be home until their son willbe four months old. I asked her if she got to Skype with himto communicate. Clearly, I have been brainwashed by com-mercials on television, as she informed me that she gets tosend him an email once a day and gets a response back everyfew days. However, at that moment the submarine was onhigh alert—doesn’t that sound scary!—which means that allcommunication must be ceased and she had not heard fromhim in two weeks. It was unclear if he would be able to get intouch at all as she went in to give birth in a matter of meredays. She says all of this without an air of worry, like some-one describing what they did last weekend, cool, calm, col-lected. Balancing a career, a child, and a household on her ownwhile being pregnant and alone, I honestly can say I don’tknow how she does it.

What touched me most about Courtney and these otherwomen is that while I teared up, and even went to the full-on ugly cry once for what they have to go through, they ex-emplify courage. This is their way of life and have acceptedit fully. There is no feeling sorry for them, for they are sim-ply doing their duty in supporting those who defend ourcountry. It made me want to kick myself for being upsetwith my husband when he comes home 30 minutes late fordinner. One expectant mom arrived at the shower after say-ing goodbye to her husband that morning for a six-monthdeployment. Her husband will miss the birth of their babyand those first moments where everything in the world isnew because that little face is looking up at you. I couldn’teven begin to imagine going through that experience alone.

Instead, what continues to pull at the heartstrings is how grate-ful they were for the simple act of acknowledgement of theirservice and sacrifice with a party that can only be staged by theindustry best. A team of party designers and planners from allover Florida, and some from much farther, arrived the daybefore to style the event, do craft projects, move tables, andcreate table masterpieces, transforming a tent on the 18thgreen into a blue and green Golf-themed baby brunch.

Paper and Pigtails and Pen N’ Paperflowers designed and do-nated a really fabulous dessert table, all in the shower’s golftheme. Frog Prince Paperie designed adorable printablesplaced throughout the event in signs, cupcake toppers, flagsand more. The list of amazing websites and companies in-cludes: Celebrations at Home, Half Baked, Malu’s Boutique,The Flair Exchange, Let’s Get This Party Started, Malu’s Bou-tique, Love and Sugar Kisses, Cookies are my Canvas, GreatGatherings, and Mommy GPS.

After being chosen to attend the event, moms let OperationShower know if they were expacting a boy, girl or were wait-ing so that the shower-in-a-box could be personalized tobaby’s gender. Every last mom received a baby shower boxcomplete with almost everything a new mom could needor want for their baby. Remember these are women and fam-ilies living on a military salary, so to receive everything they

Me with LeAnn Morrissey and Amy Belle Isle

Paula from Frog Prince Paperie, Kori from Paper and Pigtails, Merepresenting Baby Lifestyles, Amy Belle Isle, Carrie from the Cake

Blog and Jessica from Pen and Paper Flowers

could possibly need for baby is truly an amazing gift.Amongst the items in their shower box were a Petunia PickleBottom diaper bag, teddy bears, pajamas, blankets, andbathrobes and floaty toys donated by the staff at BabyLifestyles. While many moms were excited at hearing therewould be one car seat raffled off, they were overcome withemotion at hearing that the Jim and Tabitha Furyk Founda-tion would be donating one to each of them. Other surpriseraffle items to the entire group included McLaren strollers.

Watching the range of emotion on the faces of thesewomen was truly extraordinary. Disbelief that they now hadeverything they need, sheer appreciation at being recog-nized, and sadly that they could not share this wonderfulmoment with their spouses were all present in their smilesand in their tears. It’s an incredible thing to know that you’remaking a difference in someone’s life, but to actually witnessit first hand gives instant gratification to your heart. The or-ganization started by LeAnn Morrissey and shepherded byAmy Belle Isle is truly remarkable.

In an effort to help even more military families, OperationShower recently partnered with Babies R Us to help pur-chase items needed for the moms-to-be and to help cele-brate the new arrivals. Through this partnership, it’s easyfor everyone to help support our military families!

Photo by Ryder Photography

"Any man can be a Father but ittakes someone special to be a dad."

Anne Geddes