A Slammin’ Rockstar Party

I wrote this post just a few days after Luke’s party and the night before I made it live, I thought, “Eh, wouldn’t it be fun to submit this to the dessert table queen, Amy Atlas. You know, just for kicks and grins.” Yeah, I was ALL smiles when I got an email two days later saying it would be featured. It’s a good thing the car was in “P.” It is always a joy to do parties for my kids. I love birthdays. I might just be their biggest fan. And, when someone you admire says ‘job well done’ it’s just that much sweeter. Talk about making your day. You can read Amy’s take on the party over on her blog. Thank you, Amy Atlas!

You know me. I love a good party. When The TomKat Studio put their party printables on sale last November (yeah, that November) I fell in love with the rockstar party. We often call Luke a “Rockstar” so the idea just stuck.

Enter Pinterest, a few Google searches, a trip to Home Depot and purchases on Etsy and Amazon and we had a winner of a party. Each year since Luke’s birth I am finding more joy. His premature birth was traumatic and that first year was the hardest of my life. I am grateful that God has put more happiness in the celebration. This party did not disappoint. May I present the highlight reel of a slammin’, rockin’ party.

The Table of Good Eats
Ever since I met *the* Amy Atlas in person, I’ve fallen in love with the dessert table. However, when you invite kids who all have sensory issues as a result of their prematurity, you make it the “table of things they can eat.” I did have some desserts, but I also had lots of crunchies and goodies. Momma didn’t need any throwing up at this party. I included photos of Luke at years one, two and three on the shelf above the table. Wow – what growth!

That popcorn was made with corn syrup, butter, sugar and – wait for it – jello. Hat tip to The House of Smiths for that culinary gem. Since the colors of the party were lime green, aqua, orange and black it was perfect! And, Luke loved eating it. Double win. Goldfish, because that is the great kid unifier and cheese puffs. Interestingly, my oldest saw the puffs on the kitchen counter before the party and exclaimed, “MOM, did YOU buy those?” Then he quickly remembered and said, “Oh, you buy all sorts of stuff like that for parties.”

Those green bottles you spy? My new slice of heaven. If you haven’t tried a Green Apple Jones soda, you are missing out, y’all. I saw them on Pinterest but had a heck of a time finding them. I should’ve gone to Central Market to start. The kids keep asking when I’m buying them again.

And, of course, what would a party be like without some sugar sweetness from Polkadots? Pretty darn boring and much less tasty. Olga outdid herself. We steered clear of black icing (it stains everything) and opted instead for the fun colors of the party. I loved these. So much. We asked her to make the cupcake pretty for the pictures, but I’ll share how Luke handled all that icing in just a bit. The paint can, below, doubled as a cool drum. I attached the “Luke” and “Rockstar” printables to fancy it up.

The Rock Concert
Because details are what I love best, I had a great time putting together backstage passes for the kids.

A few minutes after the kids arrived, they were issued their passes and the concert got underway. Attention Austin people, if you are looking for an AWESOME entertainer at your party that is completely affordable, so charming and incredibly talented, I have your guy. Mr. Will. That man had the kids (and a few adults, too) bopping and singing for darn near an hour. It actually made me want to throw this party every month until the end of the year because the kids had such a great time. There was freezing, hokey pokeying, La Bambaing, laughing and lots of singing. We opted to make this the only party activity. Three-year-old’s traditionally don’t have the longest of attention spans, plus we had two flag football games and a soccer practice AT THE SAME TIME as the party. I’ll be offering bilocation services as part of my next party series. Oh, and that cute shirt Luke was sporting was from a great shop on Etsy. I got it in less than a week and it was so well made. A definite winner!

 The Favors
I found these cute bags on sale, added the “thank you” printable and then filled them with sunglasses, Mr. Will’s CD and a harmonica I found on Amazon. Pinterest inspired me to personalize the harmonica wrapper. Imitation is flattery, right? We included a bag of popcorn, too. Mostly, because I would’ve eaten all 16 cups I popped. No good can come of that.

The Cake
If you’ve followed the blog for any length of time, you know that Luke and anything squishy or icing-like is a no-go. Right after we sang happy birthday and took this photo…

we scraped off all that beautiful icing (and I may or may not have eaten it for him) and let Luke dive into the cake. This photo brought me to tears.

LUKE ATE CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At his party. Without gagging. And he took one more bite and ate a half a cookie. Laurie, I hope you’re reading this. Luke’s OT and all of us have worked our tails off to get him to this point. Last Friday I saw a big ‘ol fat ray of hope on the eating front.

The Love
Luke’s Godfather joined the fun and I may have seen him singing once or twice. Because the kids were coming and going in shifts, we took two family photos! We also had my parents, Scott’s mom and my niece (compliments of Facetime) enjoy the festivities. We are blessed, indeed.

The Rockstars
Every time I look at this photo, I see three HUGE miracles. Between them, their surgeries run into the double digits. These boys are FIGHTERS and ROCKSTARS in their own right. I also happen to really love their mommas, too.

The party was just as I envisioned it:  fun, funky, loud and lovely. Master Luke, here’s to a stellar year. Welcome to THREE!

Cookies/Cupcake by Polkadots Cupcake Factory
Printables, favor sacks and snack cups by The TomKat Studio
Luke’s shirt from Etsy, SunshineDaydream4U
Party favors from Amazon (harmonicas) and Target (sunglasses)
Entertainment by Mr. Will