Daniel's 4th Birthday

The smallest of the Butlers turned 4 last week and I can hardly believe that my baby is that old.  He is such a joy:  sweet, loving, funny and such a cut-up!  We are so lucky to have him as our son!

He is currently obsessed with mail, as in post office, mailman, mailbox....anything mail related.  So it was a natural fit to have a First Class Mail Party to celebrate his birthday. 

Warren, Bronner and Daniel

His one request was to have a "caprana" (aka Pinata).  He could hardly wait to take a swing at it!

It's always a mad rush to get the most candy!

Sweet Virginia Kate

Daniel and Zadie

Who would have thought Michael and his popcorn machine would be such a hit?  The kids LOVED it!!

I must say Banks enjoyed the party food.  He was the first to sit down and the last to get up! 

Such a sweet group of children!  I am so thankful that Daniel has such a wonderful group of friends.

Jack, Georgie, Daniel and Banks

Book Shelf Revamp

We recently switched the children's bedrooms because Georgia Anne was ready to sleep in a bedroom by herself.  The bunk beds we originally bought for her were better suited for the boys now and they would only fit in one of the two children's bedrooms.  Long story short, I have been working on getting their rooms repainted and decorated.  I still have a LONG way to go, but thought I'd show you my most recent project. 



Enter the Target book shelf that has been in the boys' room for several years. While it is very practical it wasn't the prettiest piece. 

A little paint and a new wood top and it looks all better!

I painted the base Annie Sloan's French Linen.  I slightly distressed it and sealed it with clear wax.  I purchased a 15" x 36" pine board from Lowe's and added a little trim to the front and sides.  I stained it with Minwax Mission Oak in satin finish and also sealed the top with clear wax.  To attach the new top I simply screwed it into place from the underside of the old top.

I also painted this "PJ the Pug" silhouette.  I had a nice chunky canvas that I had already painted for their room before the move.  I never really like it and was tired of it and had it sitting in the "donate pile" when a light bulb went off.  I could cover it with burlap and then paint directly on top of the burlap.  It was easy, easy, easy!  I used good ol' Elmer's school glue to secure the burlap to the canvas.  It actually took an entire bottle to get good coverage.  I did water it down a little so it was easier to spread.  I let it dry overnight then used my staple gun to wrap and secure the edges.  Next I used the left over ceiling paint from their room to painted almost the entire surface with a thick coat. I left about an inch border around the edges where you could still see the burlap.  Let that dry overnight.  I decided to paint a simple silhouette of our fat little pug, PJ.  I think it is so funny how he sits so I chose that pose for the painting.

I felt like it need a little something else so I hot glued brown grosgrain ribbon to the edges and then used these big nail heads (from JoAnn's) to finish it off.

linking up here: {miss mustard seed, my uncommon slice of suburbia, julia kendrick.com, french country cottage} 

Read Across America

Friday was Read Across America at school.  The kids got to wear their pajamas to school and bring their favorite stuffed animal (or bink bink in DD's case).  The school asked me to take pictures so I was there until lunch.  I had so much fun floating around seeing all the fun things the kids were doing.

Jack and Daniel got to see the Cat in the Hat.

Michael got to come and read too.  He had lots of book choices in the library.

He got to read to Georgia Anne's class and she was so happy he was there (in case you couldn't tell by the way she was draped across him while he was reading).

Nana also got to come read.  First to Daniel and Jack's class.

Then to Georgia Anne's class.

The Pre-K class showing off their cute hats they made.  (Jack and Daniel are on the front row, fourth and fifth from the left).

 

Daniel and Jack's class got to enjoy a serving of green eggs and ham.  Daniel did not like the green eggs....I'll just leave it at that and not get into the messy details of what happened when he tried them.  :)

 

Jack's class enjoyed a "pillow fight" story.  Mrs. Creel pretended to be the Mommy at a spend the night party.  She told them a story and then told them, "no pillow fighting when I turn off the lights!"  She would turn off the lights and they would have a pillow fight until she turned the lights back on.  It was so cute!