Last month we said goodbye to our 'Threenager'.  I really was surprised by the antics that came with being three!   But now our little man has turned four, started kindergarten and seems so much more grown up!

Source

There were lots of presents to unwrap...

The renovation of our family home definitely inspired some gifts...

It was very special to have Nanna and Cousin E staying with us during the festivities and of course the phone rang hot with calls from other relatives.

Master H loves music and isn't content with the Wiggles and Hi-5.  His current favourites include the Foo Fighters, James Brown, Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams.  Hubby M surprised us all and returned home from work with a very special gift for our budding musician.  It was a beautiful moment to see the joy on Master H's face as he grabbed the guitar and performed his rendition of Daft Punk's 'Lose Yourself to Dance' and his own composition of 'I Love Everybody' with special shout-outs to our visiting family members.

Miss O did her best to steal the limelight and started walking!

It was an easy decision for the party cake this year.  The old faithful Women's Weekly Birthday Cake book from the seventies had this great design for a guitar cake.  Thank goodness Nanna was here to help!

Happy birthday darling boy!  We love you!

There were some late nights and early starts in our first week home.  (We really need to get some window coverings for the kids' rooms!)  There was no time to sit back and relax with the deadline of Miss O's 1st birthday party on the weekend.  Lucky she was very helpful and gave me a hand to unpack!  ;-) 

We made sure the kids' bedrooms were completely unpacked along with the bathroom, living area, dining and kitchen and closed the doors on the mess in the other rooms.  I had some serious baking to do!  I really enjoy planning parties and did my best to create a special occasion for our precious Miss O under the hectic circumstances.  I was so thankful to have the help of my sister and mother-in-law!

I put to use some gorgeous pieces from Salt & Pepper's 'Dream' range to create a pretty pastel theme for the party.  My apothecary jars were trimmed with pastel stripe ribbon and filled with lollies.  The flower shaped fairy bread added some more pretty pastel colour.  My favourite chocolate mud cakes were piped with buttercream roses and I filled more patty papers with fruit balls and flower picks.

Instead of lollipop sticks, I decided to use straws and sit my cake pops down this time.  I'm really pleased with the outcome.  They were a huge hit with the kids and adults!

I made a triple layer white chocolate mudcake with fondant icing as the birthday cake.  I ran out of time to decorate the cake with anything but the number 1 birthday candle.  Thankfully the cake plate made it look a little better and at least it tasted delicious!

Sadly the outdoor kitchen bench top had not been installed so Hubby M knocked up a chipboard top covered with a party table cloth on the morning of the party.  He's such a champ!  It was a shame not to have the sink and tap for a drinks area as planned but was a great spot for the savoury food.

The backyard was not in any condition for small children to play so we decided our best option would be to hire a jumping castle and place it directly below the deck.   With very short notice Brisbane Jumping Castles came to our aid and provided a fantastic castle with a slide.  The kids had a ball!

It was a joy to celebrate the first of many special family occasions in the house with our loved ones and see the space work just as well as we had hoped.  It is definitely now our 'home'.

And seeing the happiness of little Miss O made all the hard work worthwhile!