Baker’s Bubble Guppies Birthday Party

A few months ago, when I asked Baker if she wanted a Minnie or a Bubble Guppies birthday party, I was praying she would say Minnie but she confidently responded “Bubble Guppies!” Every time I asked her after that, hoping to get just one Minnie response, she said Bubble Guppies every. single. time. A Minnie party would be sooo much easier, but she made her choice so I made it my mission to plan a Bubble Guppies birthday party that didn’t look too boyish and wasn’t a straight up character party. Just a little tidbit about me, I really despise character parties. There is absolutely nothing wrong with them but I would much rather plan a themed party like our flamingo and pineapple party last year. Baker’s 2nd birthday was on July 8th though, literally less than a week before we left for Rwanda, and I let the party sneak up on me fast with preparing for Rwanda and coaching cheer.

I wanted to keep the party pretty simple since we did such a big party last year and I guess all the last minute planning helped me accomplish this goal. I found these invitations on McPapery on Etsy but didn’t send out paper copies due to time restraints. I created a Facebook event and texted it to our friends and family.

As we were decorating the night before, Cory said “I thought you were keeping this party simple?” My response? “Um…I’m only using balloons and streamers…this is simple”. Ha! I guess we have different perspectives of “simple”. I went back and forth between leaning towards more mermaid-themed than Bubble Guppies but in the end, tried to do more of an “underwater” theme with hints of Bubble Guppies. It didn’t really turn out like my vision of underwater since I added the pink and had no blue, but I think it turned out cute. I made this backdrop using this tutorial and it was super simple (and cheap).

I found a few pre-made Bubble Guppies party decorations on clearance at Party City so I bought them in order to take them apart and use the characters. Those are the pictures you see hanging in the backdrop.

Our goody bags were Bubble Guppies tattoos that I also found at Party City, plus bubbles!

Like the great party planner I am, I forgot to plan for a cake until the weekend before the party. Let this serve as reminder to never do a birthday party the same week we leave to go to Africa. Luckily, a sweet friend from church saved my tail and agreed to make me a cake. I literally told her “whatever you have time to make me” and I got this beautiful cake. If you are in the Upstate and want her contact info, let me know because the cake was delicious!

We kept the menu simple as well. We had seaweed skewers (grapes), watermelon, hot dogs, and chips. My mom made the chili for us and Cory’s brother-in-law-to-be grilled the hotdogs for us when he arrived. I had plans to make a “seawater” punch but ended up going with canned drinks in a cooler. It all worked out perfectly!

I really enjoy making birthday banners and was pretty impressed with how this one turned out. It ended up taking me forever to make it (like a few hours over multiple days) but it was totally worth it. I used foam for the letters this time and I really think it made all the difference. I will definitely be holding on to this one so if you need a Bubble Guppies banner, let me know!

We set up a bubble station outside, complete with home made bubbles and bubble machines. The big wands from the Dollar Tree were the biggest hit, though.

We ended up having the most perfect weather for the party. All day, it was windy and looked like it was about to storm but it never did. Being early July, we had the party in the evening, hoping to avoid the hottest part of the day and it actually ended up being a tad bit chilly for the kids playing in the water. More than a few kids said they were cold however, it was perfect weather to be sitting outside since our house is not big enough to host everyone inside.

Again, another clearance item from Party City but I didn’t mind a few touches of the “character party” decorations.

Since it was a splash party, we had Baker’s water table set up, two pools, and a sprinkler in the yard.

Check out homegirl eyeing that cake. I can’t!

It occurred to me that we hadn’t practiced blowing out candles but Baker didn’t need any practice. She was blowing them out before I could even get them lit!

After everyone ate and enjoyed cake, we let the kids play for a few more minutes before changing Baker and heading inside to open gifts.

I’m only sharing this because I handed my phone to my sister Gracie to take pictures and I had no less than 75 pictures of her face. Haha! Of course, I had to share one!

Much like Christmas, Baker really wasn’t into opening all her gifts. I don’t know at what age she’ll really dig opening gifts but we aren’t there yet. It took a lot of encouraging to keep her going.

She got these really cute animal books and all she wanted to do was stop and read her new books (and get some hugs from her mama). She loves to read, which we are thankful for, but we eventually just had to hide the books.

A few of our close friends asked what to get Baker and I went with completely practical gifts this year since we were already overflowing with toys. She needed diapers, wipes, sippy cups, and snacks for Rwanda and boy, did she get the hookup!

Only some of the snacks didn’t make it past that day. Notice the veggie straws in her hand (and mouth). She had to open them immediately.

Her facial expressions kill me! She is such a mess.

After we got done opening gifts, she found the first person that would read to her and Aunt Alee fit the bill.

Since I couldn’t get my own child to take a picture with me, I took a picture with two of other favorite children, my best friend’s kids. Is this what it’s like when they get older? They voluntarily take a picture and smile at the camera?

I can’t wait!

This was the best I got with the birthday girl.

Last year, we got the best pictures in front of the backdrop. This year, this is what we got. Ha! My, does a year change a lot! I used my cell phone for a lot of these photos and we weren’t even in front of the main backdrop but Baker was just over it by this point so we settled on this.

How sweet is this picture? My Nana attracts all the children with her sweet demeanor. She just couldn’t tell Baker “no” when she asked Nana to read.

Even though the weeks leading up to and following Baker’s birthday were hectic, we had the best time celebrating our Baker Bea. It hardly feels like it’s been two years since she came screaming into this world and I’m thankful to our friends and family that help us celebrate Baker’s special day.

To Baker:

It is absolutely amazing and breathtaking watching you develop into such a sweet little girl, with a huge personality and a sense of humor to match. You have so many people that love you and everything you do only makes them love you more. We just wish you would slow down a little on this growing up thing—it’s been so wonderful on this journey with you the past two years and we would give almost anything to make it last longer. There’s nothing that can make our hearts swell to bursting like hearing you say “I yuz you Mommy/Daddy”—because we love you, Baker, more than anything.