Surprise Sprinkle

 ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED: I let the kids use permanent markers to decorate onesies for our soon-to-be-born play mate, Emmeline.  We threw a surprise "sprinkle" (not a shower because it was a mini one) for her Mommy and big sisters!  We told them to meet us at the park for a Memorial Day picnic (hee hee)!

 Soon-to-be-big sister, Libby chowing on a "cupcake cutie."

 The unsuspecting guests of honor made a colorful batch of Firecracker Pops to share at the Memorial Day "picnic."  Here is one of our guests enjoying it.

 Sydney found one of her all time favorite snacks.

 Soon-to-be-big sister, again, Grace helping soon-to-be-mother-of-three, currently mother-of-two, Kelly...opening a sprinkling of gifts.

Kelly enjoying her (and my) favorite snack, veggie pizza, made by our amazing friend, Alia.

Cupcake Cuties

Bake a batch of mini cupcakes, as directed on the box, using paper liners (these ones were green with white polka dots).  I used white cake and added pink food coloring to the batter (because they were for a baby shower). 


While the cupcakes cool you can begin to prep the "babies in their beds":
For the baby faces one is supposed to use mini Nila wafers (but of course I bought a generic brand and the box read "bite size" which was NOT mini so I had to gently crumble the edges off of each cookie to make tiny faces).  The mouths are lip-shaped sprinkles (you could just use a toothpick to dab on a tiny bit of icing).
The eyes were dabs of icing we dyed blue (you could use any color sprinkle or icing to fit your needs).  For the hair, I dabbed a bit of icing and placed cut up pieces of yellow candy shoestring (again, you can use whatever color candy or icing you see fit).  Set aside.


For the blankets you will need to unwrap some Starbursts.  Heat them on a microwave safe plate, 5 seconds at a time, until slightly softened.  Set out wax paper and roll the starbursts with a rolling pin.  Cut the blankets into desired strips or sizes.  I ran out of Starbursts because my husband and daughter ate them before I was done.  The Dollar Store had generic Now & Thens which I had to use (because they didn't have Starbursts).  You can also use Laffy Taffies.  The Now & Laters were harder so they took longer to heat and I burned my fingers quite a few times so I would recommend using Starbursts.


Ice the cupcakes (you can dye it any color, I kept it white).  Now it's time to assemble. 


Dip one end of a mini marshmallow in icing and place it at the edge of a cupcake for a pillow, icing-dipped side up so the face sticks to it.


Place a face on the pillow.


Just covering the chin of the baby, place a blanket over the cupcake.  I also bought teeny plastic baby bottles from the Wedding/Baby isle at Michael's and peeked them out from each blanket.  You could use Teddy Grahams as a stuffed bear accessory.
*I stuck in the fridge overnight because it was hot out and the candy was getting melty!  Remind guests not to eat the bottle  : )

Balls in a Box

We placed a sheet of paper at the bottom of an empty box.  Then, we dropped in painty balls. Our bouncy balls were still wet with paint from the previous activity (otherwise we would have just spooned or squirt in some blobs of paint).  Tilt the box back and forth for as little or as long as you'd like.  Try different colors to see how they blend. 

Beauty of Bouncy Balls

 #1) Insert slip of paper into a sealable container.

 #2) Drop in bouncy balls (or golf balls, marbles, plastic eggs, etc)

 #3) Squirt in desired colors of paint.

 #4) Seal lid & SHAKE IT~

*One of many!

Still as a Statue

One of Kelsey's newest favorite games (she actually made it up on her own?), is to strike a statue pose.  You have to pretend to go statue shopping and pick out a statue and place it in your "garden."  (We usually play this outside but since Sydney was asleep in bed, we improvised.)  Then, you have to pretend to get ready for bed (using the computer, eating a snack, reading a book, calling a friend...just to name a few); the statue has to stay as still as possible until you fall asleep.  The statue sneaks away and when you awake, you have to run after your statue.  Here are some of her statue poses:

Building Balance

 A mess-free activity... the kids got the blocks out and on their own created a "bridge".  It was fabulous to see the teamwork as they sorted by length (using the longest first then working their way to shortest), discussed where to place each block, and took turns to balance across the finished product.