Happily Ever Madsens

Birthday Parties, Everett

Everett’s 4th Birthday | Paw Patrol Birthday | Yelp FOUR Help, Ev is 4!

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Everett’s 4th Birthday | Paw Patrol Birthday | Yelp FOUR Help, Ev is 4!

Our not so little Ev bug is FOUR!! What is life. Haha. These birthdays come and go way too fast and remind me my babies are really growing up. It’s the worst tbh. But, Everett has been so excited about turning four so I’m happy for him that the day finally came! Most of the year we thought we’d be doing another Toy Story birthday for our Buzz obsessed boy, but he surprised us this summer and was dead set on a “Mighty Pup” birthday party! We went through a strong Paw Patrol phase a couple years ago with Clyde, and we are back!! It’s been so cute seeing his little face light up as I put things together for his party. I love how much my kids love their birthdays, because I sure do too!

For Ev’s Paw Patrol birthday party we knew I’d need to keep it fairly simple considering I was 37 weeks pregnant. Haha! Good thing Everett is the easiest child to please and honestly just wanted “all the pups” on his cake and to play with allllll the toys with his little friends. And that we did!! We gathered a ton of Paw Patrol toys for the kids and that entertained them so well! We also had a bounce house, played pin the badge on Chase, did some coloring pages, and of course had some cake! It was so much fun and so simple to put together, which I loved.

Of course we also had to have some fun themed foods so we got some “pupperoni” pizza from Costco, carrots and celery as “fetch sticks” and some “pawtato chips” to eat! We also threw in some little treats like “pup treats” & “chew toys” and some Paw Patrol branded cheese sticks and yogurt drinks! The kids loved it all!

Ev had a blast and absolutely loved his Paw Patrol party and I’m so glad he did! Here is all of the fun in pictures!

If you have any other questions about anything at all or need any links, comment below or send me a message! I’d love to help!

Birthday Parties, Nora

Oh Twodles Party | Nora’s Second Birthday

Oh Twodles Party | Nora’s Second Birthday

Nora is two!!! I can’t even stand it. Nora LOVES Minnie Mouse so we decided to throw an “Oh TWOdles” theme party! All of my kids have loved Mickey & Minnie around this age but they always loved something else more so I’m glad I finally got to do this theme! Nora loved it so much!!

This Oh Twodles party was really simple to put together! All of the kids got a pair of ears to wear and then take home, which was so cute. Then, since it was the end of June and 95 degrees outside, we had a blow up water slide for the kids to play on and that was so easy and such a hit! I also put together a cookie decorating station complete with Mickey & Minnie shaped cookies, frosting and a million sprinkles! The kids loved being able to do it themselves and had so much fun with it! We also had a little coloring table setup, and a piñata at the end of the evening!

For food we stuck with the “hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog” theme from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and it was SO easy, which I loved. We served hotdogs, chips, watermelon, veggie tray and then of course had cake and cupcakes!

We kept the decorations pretty minimal, but I love how it all turned out! I tried my hand at a Minnie balloon arch, which turned out to be way easier than I imagined! Other than that, we had our candy cart and the little ear board I put together!

Nkindle Designs on Etsy helped me make all of the other decorative signs, invitation, Nora’s milestone board, coloring pages and food cards that tied in the theme perfectly!! Definitely check out her shop or reach out to her with any design ideas you have! She was so easy and amazing to work with!

I honestly still can’t believe Nora is two.. These past two years must have been the fastest years of my life because I swear I just had her. ⁣We are all obsessed with her and would be absolutely lost without her sweet and sassy little self. Happy birthday baby girl!!

Birthday Parties, Clyde

Clyde’s Fifth Birthday | Super Mario Party

Clyde’s Fifth Birthday | Super Mario Party

Basically since the day Clyde turned four, he decided he wanted a “Yoshi Party” for his fifth birthday! As time went on, he clarified and made sure I knew he actually needed “all of the characters” haha! Clyde is just about as obsessed with birthdays as I am and I love it. He has counted down all year for this and I know he loved his special day!

Clyde’s Super Mario Party was so much fun to put together! We had all the character themed foods that were easy to put together–but so cute! I made star shaped uncrustables, fruit skewer “piranha plants,” a fire flower shaped veggie tray, and then some fun little treats that went along with the theme. Clyde really wanted a rainbow road birthday cake since rainbow is his favorite color! Haha. I decided to decorate it myself and I love how it turned out!!

For activities we had a coloring table, a sensory table, Mario Kart, Bingo, Pin the nose on Mario, and then painted some cute little favors for the kids to take home! It was all pretty simple to put together but the kids seemed to love it all so much! And most importantly, Clyde had a blast and it was so fun seeing his reaction to all the details!

A HUGE thank you to the wonderful people and businesses who helped me bring my vision to life! Definitely reach out to them to help create your next party!

Here’s where everything is from:

If you have any other questions about anything at all or need any other links, comment below or send me a message! I’d love to help!

Birthday Parties, Everett

Everett’s Third Birthday | Pixar Birthday Party

Everett’s Third Birthday | Pixar Birthday Party

Everett has had this Pixar theme planned out for months. When I asked him who he wanted to come to his birthday party, he said “hmm.. Buzz, Sully, Woody, Lightning McQueen, Mike, Boo..” It was genuinely the sweetest moment! Those characters truly are his best friends and have been for a while! It was so much fun to put together a party focused on all of his favorite things!

When searching for the perfect invite and theme I came across an Etsy shop that had something so close to what I wanted! The shop owner Talia was so generous and sweet and accommodated my requests and made the PERFECT invite complete with all Everett’s “friends!” She even designed some adorable cupcake toppers and a milestone board for him too! Definitely check out her shop here! Her cute Pixar design was the foundation of the entire party and I just loved it so much!!

Ev’s Papa took the design from the invitation and surprised him with a huge watercolor painting for us to display at the party, and later be able to hang in his bedroom! Everett was ELATED and I was SO impressed and so grateful for all the time and effort he put into that for us! We are blessed with the best Papa ever! But seriously.. everything I wanted and more. It was the perfect backdrop! For the other decor we just used all of the toys that we have and found a fun #3 marquee on Facebook Marketplace that fit the theme perfectly! It was the perfect balloon display!

To celebrate, we held a family party at our house complete with yummy brownie sundaes! Then we invited some of his cute little friends to a local skating and fun center and enjoyed an entire afternoon there! The kids had such a blast! They rode their scooters and bikes, did laser tag, played arcade games, bounced on a ton of inflatables, played in the jungle gym, ate cupcakes, and played to their hearts desire! I even got to teach Ev to roller skate a bit and I loved that part so much!

It was truly such a fun birthday and I was so grateful to keep it simple and focus on the fun times with my little three year old! I can’t believe he is already three. Time goes by way too fast, but I’m loving this stage with him and can’t wait to see what this year brings!

Now for the pictures..

Birthday Parties, Nora

Groovy One | Groovy First Birthday Party

Groovy One | Groovy First Birthday Party

Nora’s Groovy One First Birthday Party was everything I dreamt of when I chose the theme a couple months ago! Not going to lie, it was so much fun to finally have a girl’s birthday party to do after so many boy-geared themes the past 3 years! Between the food, the treats, the activities, the decor, and my favorite color scheme yet.. It was so much fun, so pretty and so GROOVY!!

We had all of our family on both sides and our closest friends and their littles there to celebrate our little Nor! We wanted our activities to be geared toward the littlest ones so that Nora could join in the fun! We had the cutest SoftPlay setup with a giant ball pit for the kiddos to jump and play in, as well as a cute white castle bounce house! The kids were entertained for hours and it was the easiest AND cutest activity for them! We also had her little VW Coupe for the kids to ride around in, and they loved that!

For food, I kept things very easy and simple with sandwiches, fruit, veggies, and chips! To make it fun and themed, I made daisy shaped pb&j uncrustables for the kiddos, cut all the fruit into daisies, & made a peace sign shaped veggie tray! We also had the cutest custom royal icing cookies and yummy cupcakes for dessert, displayed on our candy cart that Caden built for Ev’s first birthday party!

Decorating the party is probably my favorite part for sure! We had the cutest color scheme filled with shades of pink and orange that matched the groovy theme so well! We rented the best backdrops from a local company who made us the CUTEST setup ever, and had that decked out in balloons by a local organic balloon artist! We added on a “groovy one” sign and it was the PERFECT backdrop for photo taking, present opening and for Nora to eat her cake in front of!

Throwing these parties is always a labor of love, but are ALWAYS worth it when it all comes together and I see all of our loved ones gathered around to show our little ones love on their special day!

Now, as a photographer, my favorite way to show all the little details is definitely through the photos! Can’t wait for you to see them! I appreciate you being here and I hope you can find some inspiration for your own “Groovy One” party below!

A huge thank you to all of the wonderful vendors, small businesses, and amazing people who collaborated and helped me create one of my absolute favorite parties to date! Definitely reach out to them when you’re planning your next party! I’ll link all of their info below! 🧡✌🏻

If you have any other questions about anything at all or need any other links, comment below or send me a message! I’d love to help! Thanks for being here!

Birthday Parties, Nora, Photography

Nora’s Cake Smash | Groovy Cake Smash Photoshoot

Nora’s Cake Smash | Groovy Cake Smash Photoshoot

Planning Nora’s Groovy Cake Smash was so much fun! I had the idea to do the shoot in front of a real Volkswagen Bus and I’m so glad I did! It turned out so cute and exactly how I envisioned! Caden and I had a Volkswagen Photobooth Bus at our wedding, so we contacted them to see if they’d be interested in being a part of our shoot and they were super excited to work with us on this! They were even able to schedule us with the exact same bus we had for our wedding, which was so special to us!

The weather that day had us (me) so stressed and coming up with backup plan after backup plan. But the lighting storms took a pause JUST long enough for us to shoot and I’m so grateful! We were even able to sneak in some family and sibling photos in the bus in our groovy matching family shirts, and I’m so glad we have those to look back on! We also took her photos with her own little VW Bus that I made for her out of an old Cozy Coupe!

As far as cake smash decor, we kept it super simple with these amazing handmade pom-pom daisies that I lined up over the bumper of the van! I’m obsessed with how it turned out! They seriously look like they were made for that bus! I had Nora in her adorable bell bottom outfit and a cute little groovy party hat to complete the look! She sat on a shaggy pink rug with a giant disco ball and looked so DARLING!

I loved the idea of doing a shag cake for her party but was worried about the June heat melting it and making a giant mess, so we decided to do the shag cake for her cake smash photoshoot instead! I made it myself and I’m so proud of how it turned out! It was such an easy design, matched the theme perfectly, and looked amazing with her cute cake topper on it!

Here’s how it all turned out!

Thanks so much to all of the small shops and companies that collaborated with us and helped me create this Groovy Cake Smash!! Check out all the links above for their shops and items, or message them with any ideas of your own! And of course, let me know if you need any other details or have any questions or comments. I’d love to help! Thanks for being here. 🧡

Milestone Pictures, Nora

Eleven Months | Milestone Pictures

Eleven Months | Milestone Pictures

Where has time gone.. only one more month until Nora is one!! Ahh! This year has truly gone much too fast and my baby girl is growing up!

This month Nora:

  • Started being cautious of certain people–mostly men. Particularly loves to scowl at Kennan haha!
  • Said “Evy”, Gaga, diaper, “go, go, go!” and “ya!” She is a little parrot and tries to repeat everything she hears!
  • Loves to pull her little side eye!
  • Is constantly talking with her tongue. Full on rants 😂She’ll just sit there are flap her tongue and go off with whatever sound comes out. It’s the BEST.
  • Still hates drinking bottles but continues to freak out when she sees one because she neeeeeds it.
  • Hates to be left alone! If I need to go grab something and leave her in her room, even with toys, she immediately becomes so sad and will hold her breath because she’s crying so much.. the drama is real. Haha
  • More and more into things and curious about it all!
  • Started climbing stairs! She was really interested in them for a few days, slowly working her way up, until she figured it out and now doesn’t really try to climb them anymore. Which is kinda nice because her big brothers love to keep the baby gate open!
  • Peed on the toilet! Haha! We were running low on diapers, and her diaper was dry, so I put her on the toilet and she peed!!
  • Had her third tooth pop through! It’s on her bottom right next to the other two. She’s constantly drooling so I’m sure there is more where that came from coming soon!
  • Ate a lot of foods! I stopped keeping track because honestly I just couldn’t remember if something was new to her or not. Haha more #thirdchildproblems. But she loves everything and constantly wants food. She will definitely not let you get away with eating in front of her!
  • Points with her little finger and it’s the CUTEST thing she does. She loves to point at Caden across the room or anything she wants for that matter. She loves when you point back and won’t stop until you touch her finger with your pointer finger!

This month we:

  • Had a whole lot of soccer!! Clyde has had games 1-2 times per week and Nora is probably his biggest fan. She learned “go, go, go!” while watching him and loves to watch him play and get held by all of his little fan section!
  • Went to dad’s work Cinco De Mayo party and then to a REAL soccer game after a little soccer clinic for Clyder!
  • Went on a field trip with Clyde’s preschool to the farm! It was freezing but the boys had fun going on the slides and hanging out with some school friends!
  • Finally got some warmer weather! It’s been a lonnnnnggg winter for all of us so we’ve been excited to get out and go on walks and let the boys ride their bikes and scooters!
  • I learned how to make and decorate a cake! I’m thinking about doing Nora’s myself so I had to practice. Haha. We’ll see if I follow through with that.

Here’s this month in pictures..

Milestone Pictures, Nora

TEN MONTHS | MILESTONE PICTURES

TEN MONTHS | MILESTONE PICTURES

Nora is TEN months!! Oh my goodness.. 🥲

This month Nora:

  • Tried some more new foods: grilled cheese, tomato soup, cabbage, mashed potatoes, corned beef, pineapple, Hawaiian chicken, roast, carrots, Turkey, hot dog, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, chicken enchilada soup, annnnd… that was probably half way through the month and then I stopped keeping track. Third child problems.. Haha. Let’s just say the girl loves to eat. She didn’t love the baked beans she tried but otherwise she loves it all and YELLS if she doesn’t get it fast enough.. especially if you’re trying to just feed her bites. She will snatch that spoon as quick as she can!
  • Started waving and does it every time we say “hi” now! She typically waves toward herself and it’s the cutest!
  • LOVES singing time in Primary! Clyde has started Sunbeams this year and likes Nora and I to sit with him through the first half and Nora sings the entire time. Haha
  • Is pulling up on everything! The first half of the month she would scream anytime she got up on something because she didn’t know how to get down.. she’d either start falling in the splits or just stand there screaming bloody murder until she got help. Luckily she figured out how to get down now and is much happier standing on things. Hahaha
  • Has started walking along furniture! She’ll usually only take a couple steps but she is always very excited about it!
  • Is crawling FAST! Caden always sets her across the room when doing things like loading the dishwasher so he can have a few seconds to himself. She is pretty quick!
  • Has developed quite the little personality and we love it. She is silly! We love her giggle and lovveeee her kissy/pouty face!
  • Is still obsessed with her brothers and lights up every single time she sees them. She is loving being able to play more and they love it too!
  • Weighs 18.67 pounds and is 27.25 inches! She also has the smallest head out of any of our kids but yet is still in the 79th percentile. Haha!

This month we:

  • Celebrated St Patricks Day with a little play date with friends! We had a fun breakfast, did a sensory bin and made rainbows out of fruit loops! The kids had a blast and it was fun to put together!
  • Lost our sweet Granny Poo! She had a long, beautiful life here on Earth but we will sure miss her!
  • Went to St George for a long weekend! In true Madsen fashion, Ev ended up sick the second day we were there but we still had a lot of fun being outside and with family!
  • Celebrated Nora’s first Easter! We had so much fun seeing the Easter bunny, doing egg hunts, having traditional meals, dyeing eggs, easter baskets, etc. The kids all had so much fun with it all!

Here’s this month in pictures..

Milestone Pictures, Nora

NINE MONTHS | MILESTONE PICTURES

NINE MONTHS | MILESTONE PICTURES

Nine months in.. Nine months out. So crazy!!! My pregnancy with her went so fast but these past nine months may have gone even faster. I can’t believe my baby girl is going to be one in just 3 months. Time is such a thief and I’m so sad thinking about how big she is getting!!

This month Nora:

  • Tried a lot more food like: chia seeds, greek yogurt, granola, corn, olives, bbq chicken, avocado, black beans, eggs, bacon, blackberries, blueberries, cottage cheese, spaghetti, parmesan cheese, ground beef, spaghetti sauce, plain bread, teether crackers, turkey, swiss.. and probably more that I forgot to write down. Haha
  • Learned to get from a sitting position to her tummy and then back again!
  • Went from cruising across the room army crawling to getting up on her hands and knees and crawling!
  • Is drinking through a straw! 
  • Has a LOT to say and babbles constantly. She even said Nana this month!
  • Got her first tooth at the beginning of the month and then another by the end of the month! Her two bottom front teeth.. and they are so cute!!
  • Is trying to pull up on things! She has pulled up onto the bottom stair and other smaller things. It’s only a matter of time til this girl is fully mobile!
  • Introduced the little baby walker toy and she’s not a huge fan. She doesn’t know how to move in it yet so she’d much rather be on the floor where she can get around. Unless of course the boys are pushing her **full speed** then.. she’s all for it. Girl loves some thrill. 😂
  • Wanting bottles less and less. It’s gotten to the point where she HAS to be alone to actually drink her bottle. Her nighttime bottle is usually when the boys are already asleep so that one she’s okay to be held but the others she has way too much FOMO for.
  • Is trying to eat any little crumb off the floor and KNOWS where to find them.. aka under Ev’s chair. Ha!
  • Loves to stand on her hands and toes with her butt in the air!
  • Has the cutest lip pout you’ll ever see and she does it constantly!! I think it has to do with her teething all month but man.. it’s the cutest. She tucks her top lip and just chills there for a while. 😂

This month we:

  • Potty trained Everett!! Days after getting home from my girls trip last month I decided to just pull the trigger and do it. Ev has been interested in the potty for a while now and he did SO good. He was quick to catch on and had very minimal accidents from the beginning. He is still learning to self-initiate but he’s doing so great and we’re super proud of him! Yay to only having one in diapers again! 
  • All of Utah had a snow day! Where we live hardly got any snow compared to our family’s houses but we still had several inches and made a day out of it! It was Nora’s first snow day and she LOVED sledding so much so that she cried when I took her snow suit off. Haha! The kids all had a blast and we loved making those memories with them!!
  • Celebrated Nora’s first Valentines Day! She basically slept through the festivities but she had some cute outfits and we took some cute pictures! Haha. The boys had a lot of fun having their heart shaped waffles, passing out Valentines at preschool, going to library “school” for story time, and having heart shaped pizza while watching a family movie!
  • Took the boys to Disney on Ice a couple days before Clyde’s birthday! They had so much fun and were so surprised. We loved watching their little faces light up when they saw their favorite characters and just enjoyed all the Disney magic!✨
  • Celebrated Clyde turning 4! We had a construction party, he went birthday shopping with Nana & Papa, had a family party, and went on a date with mom and dad to a play gym and dinner! He had the best week of birthday fun and felt so so loved by all who came to party with him or called to wish him a happy birthday! We can’t believe he is 4 but he’s already counting down to being 16 and driving soooo… help!!

Here’s this month in pictures..

Birthday Parties, Clyde

Clyde’s 4th Birthday | Construction Birthday Party | I Dig Being Four

Clyde’s 4th Birthday | Construction Birthday Party | I Dig Being 4

Clyde is four!! I can’t even believe it. Feels like I was just planning his first birthday party and now here we are. Clyde chose a construction truck theme for his party immediately after his Three Rex party was over! 😂 He stuck with the idea all year and has patiently waited for March to come! He was thrilled watching different pieces of the party come together and was overjoyed when I took him out to take his birthday pictures!

For the party, I set up a few activities for the kids to do such as coloring their own construction hat, pin the wheel on the front loader, a tool bench, some temporary tattoos to put on, and a ball pit to use the big construction trucks in! My favorite activity though, was the giant construction themed sensory bin I made! I scored and found the perfect toddler-sized sand table on Facebook Marketplace to use and filled it with dried beans, dried corn, rocks, little shovels, cones, construction workers and of course LOTS of construction trucks. The kids LOVED it and played in it the entire time.

I kept the food super simple since we planned the party to be between meal times! I had a “fuel-up” drink station, super cute chocolate covered Oreo tires, a few fun little snacks, dirt cups, and of course the cake! My mom made the cake for him and it was so cute and such a hit!

For decorations, I made a cute balloon arch for the food table, a small arch for the sensory table, had some constriction truck balloons, a few little road signs, and mostly just a whole lot of different kinds of construction trucks! It all came together so cute and Clyde was STOKED which was my ultimate goal. 😘

A HUGE thank you to the wonderful people and businesses who helped me bring my vision to life! Definitely reach out to them to help create your next party!

Here’s where everything is from:

If you have any other questions about anything at all or need any other links, comment below or send me a message! I’d love to help!