Right before Christmas, my sister and I realized that we needed to have Truett and AnnaLeigh’s birthday parties asap, because both of us are due in January.  Truett’s birthday is February 11, and last year we did a joint Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party, and it worked out beautifully.  We have the same guest list, so we might as well combine our efforts, plus the kids love doing their parties together!

I asked AnnaLeigh what kind of party she wanted, and she said she and Truett wanted a Hello Kitty Party.  Hmm.  I’m not sure that would be Truett’s first choice.  She disagreed.  I tried to convince her to do something else, but she wanted a Hello Kitty party just like Lilly Katherine had a few years ago.  Why argue.  I decided to let the girl have the party she wanted.

Truett’s very into big trucks and dump trucks, and we decided that we didn’t have to have a unified theme.  They could both have their own theme…at the same party.  They could literally have their cake and eat it too! :)

In typical Kate fashion, I was running late.  As our families started to arrive for the party I was not all the way dressed, had no make-up on, hadn’t fixed my hair, was in the process of “decorating” (if you can even call it that), and I was scribbling “AnnaLeigh” on the cake.  Why oh why can’t I just be ready on time?!?!

Anyway, here is our Dump Truck and Hello Kitty Birthday Party.

My mom and I made the invitations, which were a dump truck invitation with a Hello Kitty driver.  The “dirt” pulled up and out for party details.

The rocks in the front end loader and the Hello Kitty Pops are both Oreo balls, which are so flipping delicious! Here are my very imperfect Hello Kitty Oreo Balls.  I know most people use cake, but I prefer Oreos…plus they’re way easier.  I just copied this design.  Not too difficult.

My girl…she loved the Hello Kitty “cake pops.”

Ash made Truett’s precious dump truck shirt.  I used the Hello Kitty Pillowcase dress I made for Lilly Katherine a few years ago.  AnnaLeigh was excited to wear it, and I was excited to recycle it.  Win-Win! :)

The cakes!  Ashley made delicious “dirt” for her dump truck!  Boy-moms, this is the greatest cake ever!  I did this for Preston’s 4th birthday.  Just buy a cute dump truck (it will also double as a gift) and fill it with “edible dirt”…Oreos, brownies, heath bits, peanut butter chips, and pudding.  Serve it with a little plastic shovel.  Easy and delicious!

My cake was not as successful…or easy!  The cake tasted great, but something went wrong and I didn’t have the patience to figure out what!  I was icing the cake at midnight (which is super early for me!) and the icing just wouldn’t stick.  This ain’t my first rodeo, but something just wasn’t working.  I’m so tired and uncomfortable, that when I visualized myself picking the Hello Kitty cake up and throwing it across the room I decided it was time to stop trying to ice the cake and go to sleep!  The cake was not my best, but AnnaLeigh was excited about it and that’s what matters.

You like the chunks of icing missing?

Pinky had to sneak a little bite of icing.  She’s my girl!

AnnaLeigh got a car for her Build-A-Bear from Nana,

a giant Hello Kitty from Memama (my grandmother) that now sleeps with her,

and a “Minnie the Pooh” movie!  :)  We watched it in the theatre and she loved it!

The guests were our family.  (Taylor and Kelly, maybe one day y’all can come join the chaos, too.)

Claire and AnnaLeigh

Caleb, Lilly Katherine, Claire, AnnaLeigh, Preston, Truett, and Garrett

AnnaLeigh and Mimi (my mom)

Brad’s brother, “Silly Unlce Andy,” loves to harrass my girls everyone, and he does it well.  He was messing with AnnaLeigh and she loved it!

A pic of my Pinky and her very large and very tired mama!

I’m only including this because my mom says that one day I will be glad I have pictures of myself pregnant.  I’m not sure this is the pregnancy I would like to have documented, but here goes.  AnnaLeigh asked Ash and I to take a picture back to back, so we did!

OUCH!  I look miserable (as my grandmother points out every.single.time.i.see.her!)  Brad also might have said to me this weekend, “It just looks like your belly is hanging!”  YES DEAR!  It IS!!!  Oh my, I’m having a contraction just thinking about that conversation!

Soon and very soon we will meet this new little one and I will officially have 4 kids…and 3 KIDS’ birthdays to celebrate in January!  Woohoo!

Happy Birthday AnnaLeigh and Truett!  Let’s keep those double birthday parties going as long as possible! :)

-kate

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