Meet Quincy

Ethan will be 12 in 11 days. He is such a great boy who has really shown us his strength in the last 2 years. He has an amazing spirit and ability to overcome anything. He has wanted a dog for years and specifically a Pug. He doesn't nag or beg but he definitely wants one.

Bill and I talked about getting one last spring for him and decided not to, it just wasn't the right time. But this year I started looking and found one Pug puppy. It was challenging to find, none were close, no one called me back etc. But one lady did. She lived in Aurora near Cleveland and had one boy left in her litter. They were born March 11th. March 11th was my Grandpa's birthday and it was also the day I had my surgery. It seemed meant to be.

We didn't tell anyone except our family (aunts and grandparents) we wanted it to be a surprise. So when Ethan asked where we were going when we were not heading home the usual way from downtown I explained.

"Open the glove compartment," there was a gift bag hidden with a collar and leash. "What is this?" I gave him a gift to open, a book on how to care for your Pug. "Am I getting a dog?" I gave him a note that Bill wrote to him from both of us telling him we loved him very much and were very proud of what a great boy he is. We hoped he would enjoy his new friend.

He was SO excited. I gave him a list of 100 top Pug names to help him start thinking of a name. He found a couple right away and decided on both for the first and middle name.

He wanted to surprise his sisters so we didn't tell them before we got home. They were so excited! Lindy almost cried she couldn't believe it.

So Quincy Paxton joined our family and is already very loved!

The Cake

 I love all these pictures with Erin conducting the Birthday Song! It shows her sweet and joyful spirit. This is how she is daily. A true joy of a child who brings so much love and happiness to her family. We love you Erin Hope!

The Friends

We started the party off by painting nails purple, face painting a wide variety of requests, and making bracelets.  From there we moved to the "photo booth" where we had props and let the girls pose for pictures. We made sure to get everyone with Erin, I'm hoping I didn't miss anyone! This turned out to be quite a hit, the girls loved it.

The second half of the party had a special treat. Tristen attends our church and we learned that he has a very special balloon talent. He happened to be available for the part of the afternoon so we asked him to come provide some fun entertainment and favors for the girls. He did a great job fulfilling all the requests and even brought lots of purple balloons. He also dressed to match the party which did not go unnoticed by Erin! Thank you Tristen! You made it a great party!

And he taught him self to do this. Now that's talent!

Thank you to everyone for making Erin's party so special!

Purplicious, Purpletastic Party!

Party day finally arrived! Erin wanted a party where "everyone hides and when you come into the room they all yell 'surprise'". I told her as much as I thought that would be fun I didn't think I could pull that off with her here all the time. Maybe when she's turning 16!

So we compromised and she made her guest list (left no stone unturned there!) and chose her theme. She wanted a purple party. Huh? Just purple? Yep, I was told nothing else just purple and that was the end of her involvement. When she said she wanted to be surprised I told her the only way I could do that was to have Lindy and Paige and I plan it and get it organized and surprise her with the decorations, activities, and food. Oh, she wanted chocolate cupcakes with purple icing. That was the last request!

Since Erin had never had a friend party and she probably won't for awhile, we wanted to make it super special. We indulged and spoiled her. She is the baby of the family!

I found different decorating ideas and my "committee" gave feedback. Well, they pretty much loved everything! So the purple party took shape with lots of work by very enthusiastic sisters.

Due to Erin's really bad ear infection we lost 2 days of set up and work so we were running way behind Friday. But everyone volunteered to help, even the boys. Erin was determined for this to be a surprise so we told her she could not go in the basement at all so we had a room to work.

Everyone took turns keeping her company. Once, she was alone on the computer and when I came upstairs to get something she said, "Now I know what its like to live by myself. I always wondered what it would be like to have the whole house to myself."

She never once whined about coming downstairs. She never peeked. She never complained.

When we started decorating Saturday Ethan took her for a bike ride and played basketball with her while the rest of the family worked fast to get things done. She was very pleased with the results!

My favorite part of the party planning was spending the time with Lindy and Paige. As we worked all day Friday I could see a flash into the future of what it will be like to do things like this when they are older. We spent evenings and all day Friday sitting around chatting while gluing, cutting papers and ribbon, working on games and favors. It was really a special time for all of us.

Party decorations are below.Party Pictures to follow.

The chocolate cupcakes! We made the toppers which have purple and monkeys on them. Erin loves monkeys so we wanted to find some way to incorporate them in the party.

New birthday banner! Loved making this!

The girls wanted a streamer wall for the guests to walk through.

We made giant tissue flowers to hang from the ceiling.

Erin's favorite flowers are tulips so we used purple tulips and hyacinth for the table along with candles.

Purple tulle bows on the back of chairs.

Lavender and purple M&M's in clear boxes with purple Easter grass.

Purple Peeps!

Purple Candy Bar for everyone to take home treats. It's very convenient to have your birthday near Easter.

Purple favor bags which carried candy boxes and purple flower hair clips we made below.