Sophie's Hogwarts Party

My baby turned double digits this weekend. She was thrilled to be officially a "tween". I was filled with nostalgia and mixed emotions over how fast she's growing. I tried to fight the tears by keeping myself occupied with turning our house into Hogwarts for Sophie's 10'th Birthday Celebration.

Earlier that day (before the party started) she opened the family's presents, a.k.a. The Purple Tower, because she was just way too excited to wait till the party that evening.



Of course, she was way more pumped about some presents than others. ;)



Then it was time for the celebration to begin. Here's a wide view of our main area...



Let's take a closer look, shall we?

We had lots of candles and miscellaneous jars filled with curious objects...



A very gothic-looking platform held various test tubes filled with Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (in reality they were regular jellybeans with funny names).



Gummy worms of every color made their appearance and some very spooky 2-ft. gummy snakes slithered their way in and out of the test tubes...



Favor boxes held pencils, lip glosses and some Harry-Potter themed gifts...



On our kitchen island there were potions and mysterious fluids. Don't worry, we didn't give the kids any alcohol... these were just for ambience! ;)



Although you wouldn't know it from this picture...



The first activity of the evening was the Sorting Hat Ceremony (see the end of this post for sources). The kids were utterly amazed that the hat actually talked!



Each girl was sorted into the four Houses...









Then we moved into the kitchen where the girls got to use their magic wands to turn clear liquids into surprise new colors. Each color meant something different. Green meant you could switch houses, which made the Slitherin girls very happy! haha



The Dining Hall was decorated in black and purple (Sophie's favorite colors) with candles and star-shaped confetti...



After dinner they decorated their own cupcakes in some Hogwarts colors...



Then it was time to open presents (again). I am always amazed at how much the kids enjoy this activity!





Awwww... hugs all around!







This little group of mischiefs was ready to watch a Harry Potter movie marathon....



And... this is what the adults did while the kids were in the basement, a.k.a. The Dungeon, watching Harry Potter movies, in case you were wondering.



Sources:

• Test Tubes, favor boxes and bottle labels: Martha Stewart's Halloween Collection (bought the day after Halloween for 75% off)
• Platform for test tubes: the styrofoam that held our flat screen TV inside its box, spray-painted black with holes cut into the top for the test tubes.
• Jelly Beans, gummy worms and gummy snakes: we purchased these from our local Chocolatier, which happens to be right around the corner from MODKID HQ (lucky me, eh?)
  
• Favor Box fillers, purple dinnerware and colored icing: Party City
• Sorting Hat: purchased on Amazon with a small walkie-talkie inside of it so Jon could sort the kids into their "houses" from another room. To let him know when each girl was ready to be sorted, Jon's brother Sean would text him.
• Color-changing drinks: squeeze 3-5 drops of food coloring onto the bottom of each cup and let it dry overnight. Before the game begins, fill each cup halfway with ice so the kids don't see the color drops. Give each kid a wand (drink stirrer) then fill the cups with a clear liquid (water, Sprite or 7-up). Tell them to use their wand to magically change their drink color.
• Wands: cocktail stirrers from Party City (on the clearance rack -- 16 stirrers for 50-cents!)

Another hairy situation

A couple of years ago, our sweet Sophie donated more than half of her beautiful red hair to Locks of Love, a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. Well, this weekend she decided to do it again and we couldn't be any more proud of her! Here's a little step-by-step documentation of the process.

One last look at her long locks...





Sophie's hairdresser, Brooke, had to divide her hair into two pigtails because it was too thick to cut through one...



And so it begins...



Chop, chop, chop one side...





Chop, chop, chop the other side...



DONE!



Now, getting ready for a sweet, new, more "grown-up" do...







Mission accomplished!



Thanks, Brooke, you did a fantastic job and Sophie is so, so happy with her new hair! :)



Sophie's locks of love are currently in a zip lock bag and ready to go out to a new recipient tomorrow. :) Happy Sunday, all!

NINE!

Once upon a time, nine years ago to be exact, a little baby girl entered this world. She was tiny, beautiful and perfect in every way and we loved her so. She had a crazy, wild tuft of red hair atop her head which was a sign of a most unique personality just waiting to blossom... and blossom it did!

The years went by and when her ninth birthday approached she wanted to celebrate, with all her closest friends and family members, in a place where she could climb to great heights and face her wildest fears.





During this joyous occasion, our ginger-headed princess learned a few valuable lessons. In life sometimes you have to listen to your elders and follow directions...



... and if you play by the rules you’ll be safe and have fun.



If you’re afraid to just go for it, sometimes it helps to start small...



... and if at first you don't succeed, it’s no big deal.



You just get back up, dust yourself off and try again.



Then when you’re ready for the real thing, you’ll have the confidence to push yourself.



And if you start to doubt yourself and look back, you’ll always see us cheering you on. Because we believe in you!



And guess what? Just when you think you’ve reached the top of the summit, there’s an even higher mountain waiting just ‘round the corner.



But you’ll soon figure out that after you conquer your first real mountain, each one after that will get easier and easier.



If I had one wish for you, it would be that every one of your wildest wishes will come true.



And of course, that you can have your cake and eat it too!



Happy Birthday, my sweet Sophie!!!

Love, Mama & Daddy

P.S. I don’t follow you around with my camera to purposely annoy the crap out of you. I just want to record every waking moment of your existence... is that so wrong?