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Young House Love » Favorites » A Worm Themed Birthday Party

| By Sherry Petersik | May 14, 2012 | 533 Comments

A Worm Themed Birthday Party

Aw, yeah. Clara’s second b-day party was full of food, family, friends, fun… and worms (she picked the theme based on her deep love of looking at, drawing, and even dreaming about worms). So… worm to your motha!

We were so thankful to be surrounded by the people we love, the bean had the best time, and the 75 degree weather and sunny skies were the icing on the worm cake. Or should I say worm cupcakes. Let’s get this party (breakdown) started…

Party Collage

But let’s start at the beginning. Clara was born two years ago today. Wait, that’s too far back. Let’s just cover the party. Here’s the sunroom all decked out for the big day. Nothing too fancy, just some balloons and streamers from Target, a colorful tablecloth from HomeGoods, and lots of worm-a-licious food. But we’ll get to that in a second.

Party Food Sunroom Full

We decided to use the sunroom, the patio, and the carport for the entire gathering, which was about 30 people total (ten were kiddos under the age of four). Of course if it had rained we would have partied inside, but it felt especially wormy and fun to have kiddos running around outdoors in the fresh air. Having the sunroom (which is located right off the patio) for food and drinks was also really nice since we didn’t have to worry about finding actual bugs in the food (fake worms = ok, real bugs = not ok).

Party Food Balloon View

Here’s a close up of the table seconds before everyone arrived. Fun fact: the table is actually a secret book project covered with a tablecloth since we can’t reveal it on the blog – and also since we didn’t have room to stash it anywhere else. Haha. We figured we might as well put it to good use for now (we’ll be auctioning a bunch of book projects off for charity this fall once the book is out and they’re allowed out of the proverbial bag).

We set out worm-ish food with worm-related labels (made in photoshop and printed at home) like “worm crudités” (long skinny slices of carrots, cucumbers, and cheese), “puffed worms” (white cheddar cheese puffs), “salted worms” (pretzel rods), and “worm dogs” (hot dogs that we cut into fourths and boiled to make them all curly as so many of you recommended in the comments of this pre-party post – thanks!!).

Party Food Full Table

See those pretty flowers on the table? They were from J-boom for Mother’s Day. Love my hubby.

Party Food Spread Pretty Shot

Here’s a close up of the worm dogs. They were a hit among kiddos and adults. I think we moved more of them than we had people at the party.

Party Food Worm Dogs

All of the bowls and plates were just things we had in the pantry. Nothing really matched in shape (round, scalloped, rectangular, etc) but it all worked because it was white – which was actually a nice combo with the crazy-colorful tablecloth (bright platters and bowls might have been a bit much with such an in-yo-face pattern).

Party Food Other Wormy Stuff

We also set out little cups of gummy worms. Hanging a few over the rim like they were crawling out was my idea of a good time. Oh yes, I live on the edge.

Party Food Gummy Worms Close

We had another small table for the pizza – which is always a party pleaser. We did our take on worm pizza by ordering one with worm-like peppers & onions and topping one with pre-cooked spaghetti. The other two (cheese and peperoni) had a label that said “dewormed pizza.” Oh yeah, we ran with this worm theme, baby.

Party Food Worm Pizza

Everyone got a kick out of the bird napkins (birds eat worms, right?) that we found at Ikea.

Party Food Servingware

On the other side of the sunroom we set up a little drink station. See this table covered with another HomeGoods tablecloth? There’s another secret book project under there. Haha. As for what drinks we served, we went with some cute glass bottles of orange soda and Coke for the 20-ish adults and also had Izze, water, and sparkling water in the beverage tin along with apple juice and water for the kiddos. Oh and see those apples in front of the drink tin? We plopped a gummy worm on each one. Ha. They actually got eaten, too!

Party Drink Table Full

And check out those worm-like pink straws…

Party Drink Table Close Soda

Since this room is still completely untouched, there was no wall art going on (we just plopped down furniture 16 months ago and haven’t done anything but shove book stuff in there since). So we taped up Clara’s monthly pictures from this year along with 12 fun worm facts on a nice bare expanse of wall above the table. John just googled around for worm trivia and typed each 4 x 6″ card up in Photoshop.

Party Drink Table Pics Close

For anyone who wants to see the whole shebang a little closer, just click this photo for an enlarged version:

Party Drink Table Pics Small

Oh and here’s the carport all snazzed up with pink & orange streamers. When it comes to bang for your buck, they’re pretty festive (and so cheap!). It’s hard to see in these pics, but we swagged them so they were sort of wiggly and worm-ish. And I proudly hung the fabric banner that I made for Clara’s first birthday on the half wall that looks back onto the patio. We brought a few chairs and a garden stool out from inside as well as all the sweet little watering can favors for each of our young party-goers to take home.

Party Outside Carport

I can’t tell you how happy it made me to see all ten of those little watering cans lined up on that wall. As I mentioned here, they were each filled with a bottle of bubbles, a pink or orange shovel, and a stuffed snake-turned-worm that we found at Ikea for 49 cents (we cut off the forked tongue to complete the conversion). We also grabbed the watering cans at Ikea for 99 cents each.

Party Outside Favors

Other than streamers and balloons, we just hung three paper lanterns that came in a pack from Target and some funny worm-like pink swirlie paper things that we found for a few bucks at Party City. Then we brought out a low table from the sunroom and made a little play station for the kiddos with things like bubbles, a puzzle from Melissa and Doug that has bugs/worms on it, a box of crayons, and a bunch of color-the-worm pages that I sketched before the party.

Party Outside Patio

I just took cardstock and a gray marker and drew a few happy little worms for the kiddos to color. It actually went over pretty well. It was so much fun to see all those colorful scribbled worms at the end of the day.

Party Outside Coloring Table

Here’s a people-milling pic for ya. Is there anything better than a patio full of people you love?

Party People On Patio

Sidenote: Clara was kind of hilarious about the pizza. She took a big bite of mine and then moved over to her cousin Jake and asked for a bite of his and when we all stared laughing she went from person to person, requesting a bite of each slice (thankfully there were only two other people nearby so it didn’t turn into a giant germ-sharing fest). It was very “welcome to my party, now feed me” of her. At least she wasn’t asking us to bow to her and fan her with leaves.

Party People Clara Eating Pizza

The other crowd favorite of the afternoon (besides our sweet little pizza-mooching bean) were the dirt cupcakes. We just picked up tasty little 40 cent vanilla cupcakes from a local bakery here in Richmond (Ukrops), pressed them icing-side-down into crushed up Oreo cookies, and plopped a gummy worm on top. We also made some that were dirt free (just squished a worm into the white icing) but the consensus from the crowd was that the Oreo ones were the best since they had some crunch.

Party Cupcakes Pretty Close

Here’s the birthday girl getting her special cupcake (she hand-picked that green gummy worm before the party) in her favorite yellow chair. We stuck two worm-ish pink candles from Target on top, sang our little hearts out, and blew them out fast (since she’s still mildly afraid of fire from a certain Hawaiian hibachi incident).

Party Cupcakes Singing BDay

She did momma proud with her cupcake-eating skills.

Party Cupcakes Clara Eating

We even remembered to try to take a few family photos. Of course we didn’t get any with all of us looking at the camera and smiling (what are those odds, one in a million?), but we did end up with some sweet candid ones (yes that is a random bubble floating by in the foreground).

Party Portrait Clara Reaching

Clara took the worm theme very seriously. For example, she took great pleasure in feeding them to me.

Party Portrait Eating Worms

She and her daddy even got all Lady and The Tramp for this shot:

Party Portrait Daddy Clara

We all seemed to gravitate to the carport after a few hours in the sunroom and on the patio, and then we decided to open some presents. This wooden worm (well, actually it’s a snake) from one of Clara’s best buddies was a huge hit. The funny thing is that John and I played around with that exact same thing (from Michael’s) for this old Halloween post before we had any idea Clara would develop a deep, strong love of worms.

Party Gifts Lots Of Presents

Clara was seriously smitten.

Party Gifts Playing With Snake

Here’s another people-milling shot in the carport. As much as we would someday love to convert that space to a garage, it sure is good for friends and family (and balls and balloons). We ended up bringing out our dining chairs with their slipcovers back on (so any rogue icing could just be washed off) and we did what we do best: hung out and watched those sweet kiddos of ours. Although there are only three out of ten kids in this pic, so there must have been a gaggle of them staring at a spider in the corner or dunking by the basketball hoop (a sweet gift from my brother Dan, which you can see two pictures up).

Party People In Carport

The general gist? It was a great day. We are so thankful for our friends and family and our sweet, happy little girl. I always cry at her party. Just can’t help it. She’s our little miracle (birth story here, sniffle sniffle). And we’re so grateful to have awesome folks like you guys to virtually attend our weird little worm party. Haha. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.

But perhaps Burger had the most fun, gazing dreamily up at all the leftovers at the end of the festivities.

Party Burger Looking

He even got lucky and found a cheese puff under the table.

Party Burger Under

The End.

Oh wait, we made a little Clara video like we did last year – not to show at the party this time, just to have so we can look back on it (and watch it with Clara, since she loves the one we made for her first birthday). So here’s her last year in seven minutes. My favorite parts are her Britney Spears impression near the beginning and some Flash-Dance-ish ottoman dancing in the outtakes at the very end.

Love that girl. Love you guys too. Lots of mushiness flying around. Haha. What did you do this weekend? Any Mother’s Day fun? Any worm eating?

Psst- We have a bunch of outtakes for this month’s Clara picture in front of her homemade fabric, so you can check those out here on Young House Life.

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Comments

  1. Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:24 am

    Such a cute party. I love all the little wormy details you guys created! Can’t wait to watch the video when I get home later :)

    PS – I love that maxi dress you’re wearing Sherry! I just picked a blue one up from Old Navy and can’t wait to wear it!!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:37 am

      Aw thanks! It’s totally Old Navy! Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • heather says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:52 am

      Yesss! I was going to ask where it was from. I may need to go buy one before my friends wedding this week! I just bought three from Mardens (local store) for $10 a piece (normally about $40). Boo yaahh.

  2. Ainhoa@ALittleBite says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:29 am

    I love all the decorations that you did for the party! Everything looks great and I’m sure you had an awesome time.

    Reply
  3. Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:29 am

    So cute, it makes me wish my 14 and 16-year-old sons were young enough for theme birthdays.

    Almost.

    Katy

    Reply
  4. Erica says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:30 am

    Such a cute idea and great theme. Sidenote: I love the colorful pillows on the daybed. Source?? Thank you!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:38 am

      Gosh, those are from everywhere and I’ve had them all for a while. From left to right they’re from: ZGallerie, Target, TJ Maxx, ZGallerie, Marshall’s, Marshall’s.

      xo,
      s

    • heather s. says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:59 am

      I was going to mention that I loved the pillows as well!

      The food is adorable and I love the worm facts – it looked like such a fun party!

  5. Anne says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:32 am

    What a fun party! Everything looks so adorable. :)

    Reply
  6. Sarah C. says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:32 am

    Happy Birthday Clara!

    P.S. Sherry, I’m glad to see you’ve branched out to wearing colors other than black. It seems Clara’s influence is definitely brightening up your wardrobe!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:38 am

      Haha, I wanted to be bright like that happy girl of mine!

      xo,
      s

  7. Kaytie @ GardenKitchenHome says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:32 am

    Oh my goodness. Confession time: Your video made me tear up. Too sweet!!! (Also, great job with the party–it’s gorgeous!)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:35 am

      Aw thanks Katie! It totally makes me cry. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • Leatitia says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:31 am

      It made me tear up too! My baby boy will turn 1 in two months… snif snif!

    • Romy says

      May 14, 2012 at 7:58 pm

      Oh it made me cry too!!! We all see clara growing up and this is like remembering all of this year for us too! The toilet paper scene was the best! I’ll do these videos too when I have kids!

  8. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:32 am

    Too cute! I can’t wait to have little birthday parties to plan. It looks like you had a great time! Way to work the worms in without going overboard! The decor is fab.

    PS. Happy Mother’s Day, Sherry!

    Reply
  9. Jill Stigs says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:32 am

    Happy 2nd Birthday Clara! How did she like her dollhouse??

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:35 am

      We actually didn’t give it to her yet! Since today is her real birthday we’re presenting it to her after her mid-day nap (so I have a chance to shoot some blog pics of it before she goes crazy on it- haha). Is it wrong that I want to play with it all day?

      xo,
      s

  10. emily says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:33 am

    I totally cried watching that Clara video. So sweet.

    I spent a couple of hours cleaning up our backyard yesterday and every time I would find a worm, I would say “Hi, wormy!” and move him somewhere safe and I thought of Clara each time.

    I live in DC and my family is all in California, but I talked to my mom yesterday who was very happy about this necklace I got her for Mother’s Day.

    Happy Mother’s Day to you, too, Sherry. Glad the weekend was a success.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:36 am

      Haha- that’s so cute about your worm saving/chatting! It was very Clara of you! Haha. And that’s such a cool necklace!

      xo,
      s

  11. Melanie@MailboxJourney says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:33 am

    Absolutely adorable! Awesome job!

    Reply
  12. Jennifer I. says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:33 am

    I love it! It looks like you had such a good time…and I love how you carried out the worm theme to the max! I sure wouldn’t mind some of that worm pizza or worm crudite! I like how you kept it girly and wormy at the same time. Who knew worms could be so pretty?!

    Reply
  13. Kate says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:34 am

    Oh, it just kills me when you show Ukrops baked goods! I went to college in Richmond and I remember that the best way everyone would show up for a meeting was to promise cake from Ukrops. :)

    Reply
  14. Lena says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:37 am

    Happy Birthday Clara!! Seems like a great party and as always you guys had some really creative ideas.

    Reply
  15. elaina says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:37 am

    So I didn’t see any of the “worm” balloons you picked out. I saw in the comment section of the pre-party post you were a little worried, so did those turn out to look too much like a certain male body part? lol

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:40 am

      Haha, we didn’t even open those. We had so many polka dot ones (more than we knew what to do with) so we just kept them in the package so we could bring them back- I guess we’ll never know! Haha.

      xo,
      s

  16. Heather W says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:38 am

    The party is too cute! I love the colors and so glad you had a great day! I love your green dress. Where is it from and the pillows on your sun porch in the turq, pink and orange must know where they are from too please =)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:39 am

      The dress is from Old Navy, and I listed those pillows out a few comments back. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  17. Erika says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:38 am

    Awe; so glad Clara had such a lovely birthday. Y’all did a great job on the worm theme!

    Reply
  18. Robin @ our semi organic life says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:40 am

    What a cute party! Bet you’ll never be able to guess next years theme!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:44 am

      Haha not in a million years! Haha. Probably waffles or socks or something random. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • KarylGelatt says

      May 14, 2012 at 2:10 pm

      Oh that’s easy…ants or frogs, naturally. Following our girls’ worm fetish they gravitated to those. Both girls are now the best red legged frog catchers this side of the Cascades. If you come to Seattle we’ll have them give Clara a lesson!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 2:16 pm

      Haha- that’s hilarious! I love that we have your older worm-loving girl’s to base things on! Hahah.

      xo,
      s

    • Karyl says

      May 15, 2012 at 11:58 am

      Haha! We love that they groove on the worms and such…speaking of which they still get excited whenever they find one, so they haven’t outgrown it yet (they are now 5 & 7). Our 5 year old goes out and talks to our ant colony (in a crack in our driveway) every day and the girls catch frogs as often as they can. Not sure what will be next–I’m just hopeful it’s not spiders!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 15, 2012 at 12:18 pm

      Haha, so cute!

      xo
      s

  19. Julia @Chris Loves Julia says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:40 am

    So sweet. I never, in a million years, could imagine a worm party being so sweet and cute–but you pulled it off beautifully. You make worms look like the new black.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:42 am

      Haha, you’re so sweet Julia!

      xo,
      s

  20. Diana says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:42 am

    Happy Birthday Clara! What a special year it has been, and how you have grown!! We can hardly wait to see what the year ahead brings!

    Sherry and John, you two are amazing parents and you should be proud that you are doing such a wonderful job raising Clara! She’s one happy girl!

    Loved the video…got me all choked up! :)

    Reply
  21. gina says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:42 am

    Awww perfect! looks like everything was completely lovely, Clara is so lucky to have such wonderful parents! I love ya’ll!

    Sherry……………………. Dress and Jacket by WHO? details please! and more pictures of the FASHION!!

    ALSO- John’s hair, sooo sexaaay!

    Love yall! Burger too!!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:45 am

      Haha- all Old Navy! The jean jacket is about ten years old and the dress was from about a month ago. Haha. And yes, I finally gave John a haircut. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • kate says

      May 14, 2012 at 12:02 pm

      i second that emotion about John’s hair! hubba hubba ~lol that was the first thing i noticed in those family shots. well, besides Clara’s adorableness and Sherry’s gorgeousness! you have a very beautiful fam :)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 12:20 pm

      Haha, I actually am writing a how-I-cut-John’s-hair post (with video) due to popular demand. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  22. Carli says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:43 am

    What a DARLING party you two planned!! Clara is so loved. That is so evident. And in the process, you gave the rest of us some amazing inspiration for our future parties. Thanks so much!

    Ps loved all the bright colors! The party looked equally kid friendly/fun and pulled together/chic and festive for the parents!

    Reply
  23. Lauren says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:44 am

    Thank you for sharing Clara’s fabulous 2nd birthday with us! You all are so creative! My little guy is turning 1 in July, and we are so excited to do a video of the first year. I’m slightly worried about how emotional I will be because just looking at Clara’s videos makes me tear up. Kids, family and all the sprinkles of life are such beautiful things!

    Reply
  24. Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:44 am

    This was such a cute and creative party. I can tell Clara really enjoyed it! I can’t believe she is two. Happy Birthday Clara!

    Reply
  25. danielle c says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:44 am

    I love your party ideas! Hopefully I’m half as creative as you guys some day. Happy Birthday to Clara!

    Reply
  26. Cara @ Live The Home Life says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:45 am

    Such a great idea. Love the work theme and glad the party was a success!

    Cara

    Reply
  27. heather says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:46 am

    That video did not help my “want-a-baby” feeling lately but it was so precious! My favorite was her spinning with John’s hat on. My heart (and womb) may have just exploded a little in a non-literal sense.

    Ahhg.

    Must. Wait. Until. House Gutting. Over. For. Pregnancy.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:47 am

      Haha, you’re so sweet! I bet the house will be gutted before you know it- and you’ll be so excited to get in there and get messy without worrying about a bean in the belly. I still lament not being able to demo the old bathroom since I was with-bean. Haha.

      xo,
      s

    • heather says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:57 am

      Yeah, it’s definitely a big concern to be around all of the dust, chemicals etc. with baby in utero. Also, without a newborn amongst it all. It will be much better in the long run. I keep A in the loop on where my “baby” status is. I’m very logical about the fact that it’s biological. However, the other day I drove by a pee wee softball game and I cried a little because I wanted to be there rooting on my kid. It totally took me by surprise and I did not expect it at all. I came home and calmly told Andy and we both laughed. This is coming from a woman who wasn’t even sure she wanted children until she was told she might have trouble. It deeply bothered me and I was like “well, I guess that settles it.”

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:09 am

      Aw, you’ll have a kid on that field in no time. I swear, you blink your eyes and they’re two!

      xo,
      s

  28. Kate says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:47 am

    The party looked like it went off really well! I love that you really ran with the theme, so cute!

    This weekend I didn’t pay with worms, but my husband and I did go for a walk in the woods and I picked up several different types of catapillers to get closer look (I picked them up on twigs and set them down again gently – no creepy crawlers were harmed!). :)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:48 am

      So cute!

      xo,
      s

  29. Melissa D says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:48 am

    The whole party was so cleverly done! Great job!
    The video is too cute. Favorite part – Clara singing “We Are Young”. Awesome! ~Melissa

    Reply
  30. Jessica says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:48 am

    Happy Birthday Clara!

    Everything looks AMAZING! (I am now secretly wanting a worm party for my 25th)….

    Also, you are such a beautiful family!

    Reply
  31. Sherri says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:49 am

    Ok you guys are officially the coolest parents ever! You totally rocked every detail of that party, it was perfect GREAT JOB! Sherry, you looked so pretty in that green dress. And up until now I have always thought Clara looked so much like Sherry (and she still does of course), but that picture of her eating that cupcake was all John. So cute! I’m so glad she enjoyed her party! Can’t wait to see the dollhouse later. :)

    Reply
  32. Laura @ cookiecrumbs and Sawdust.blogspot.com says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:49 am

    Super cute party! Clara is only lucky little worm to have such great parents. Happy birthday!

    Reply
  33. Jennifer D. says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:50 am

    ADORABLE! You two are so very creative and it’s so obvious how much you love your daughter in all the thoughtful little details for her party and all the other stuff you do for her. :) The video made me sniffle a little bit. Great idea for documenting her life. What a great little Monday-morning ray of sunshine!

    Reply
  34. Devon @ Green House, Good Life says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:50 am

    I don’t know if you could put a garage door on each side of the carport (front and back), but I’ve seen some houses in Austin that have fully open-able garages so you can use them for parties and stuff. That would give you the flexibility to use it for outdoor gatherings even after you’ve enclosed it (maybe with windows on the side?).

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:52 am

      We’ve totally talked about sliding doors or large glass windows to keep that open feeling!

      xo,
      s

    • Jessica says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:22 am

      The restaurant I work at has large garage door-like windows that open up and down just like a garage door so that the patio can be used year round. That would be an awesome addition.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:40 am

      Oh man, that would be fun!

      xo,
      s

  35. Stephanie says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:50 am

    What an absolutely adorable party. You guys did such a great job. :)

    I had a weird weekend. Kind of a high/low thing going on BUT on the upside I closed on my townhouse on Friday. Saturday I got to go and measure things (finally!) and Sunday me and my mom went and I got a new couch (& matching loveseat… for $799!) and a new mattress (queen!).

    Now I just need to get a few things taken care of (plumber, electrician, and it needs to be cleaned. It’s a foreclosure so even though its in good condition it needs some TLC) and I can move in.

    …rambling! Sorry. :)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:53 am

      Aw, that’s so exciting! Congrats on closing on your townhouse and happy decorating!

      xo,
      s

    • Stephanie says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:42 am

      Thank you!

      I’m super excited. Although based on how long it took me to pick a couch it’s going to be a slowwwwww process. I think I sat on every couch in the store at least 3 times before I decided.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:45 am

      That’s totally normal! I think as a room comes together more it’s easier to “see” what will work in there, but in the beginning it takes a while to figure out what you’re going for. It gets easier I promise!

      xo,
      s

  36. Lauren@FilingJointly says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:51 am

    Such a cute party. I still LOVE the worm theme. (Especially the ‘worm dogs’) The outtakes of Clara from her 24 month shoot are adorable!

    Confession time. I am 28 years old and TERRIFIED of balloons. Seriously. I’m not sure how it started or why, but even looking at the balloons in these pictures freaks me out. Please feel free to mock me. I realize it’s ridiculous.

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:54 am

      I bet it’s the popping thing. I totally jump when they pop, especially when Clara is tackling one to the ground and then BAM! Wanna know my fear? Seeing someone barf. Even on TV it makes me completely ill. I cover my eyes like a baby and say “lalala” so I can’t hear it. I think it’s from seeing a girl nearly vomit on my shoes at a comedy club in NYC around 10 years ago.

      xo,
      s

    • Melissa Breau says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:05 am

      My best friend during high school (who would be 24 now) was terrified of balloons too. She said her fear went back to the movie IT with the balloon in the bath tub…

    • heather says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:06 am

      It’s okay Lauren. I don’t fear them, but I strongly dislike mascots and clowns in my presence. There’s something about the lack of seeing their actual face and over enthusiasm that weirds me out. I’m pretty much okay with it now, but I’ll still give them the eye and keep my distance.

    • Lauren@FilingJointly says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:08 am

      That is a totally rational fear.

      Have you ever seen The Sandlot?

      Worst vomit scene ever.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:10 am

      Ughhhhh. Yes. Bad. Bad. Bad.

      xo,
      s

    • Steph says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:51 am

      So funny, I thought this was just me! I remember being in kindergarten and we had a field day thing with a bunch of games and races, well at the end of a relay type one we had to pop a balloon at the end. I had my whole team counting on me and I just froze! I wouldn’t pop that balloon even with my team yelling at me! Haha I swear ever since then I am terrified of them!
      We also had a surprise party for my parents one year and I went with my sister to pick up the balloons, sounds innocent enough, until I got in the car FULL of balloons, freaked out and literally walked home from the balloon store haha.
      Sorry for the long winded balloon comment, clearly I need therapy or something :)

  37. Janelle D says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:51 am

    $herdog, you know how to run with a theme, girl! Who would have thought a worm theme could be so festive? The little details make it all come together really well. So adorable!

    Reply
  38. Krissy @ Shiawase Life says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:52 am

    FUN FUN FUN part and that video made me tear up! Wowza. I am so concerned about how emotional I am going to be when we start our family!!!!

    Reply
  39. Emma says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:52 am

    Happy belated Birthday Clara! What a worm-tastic party. And Sherry – you looked beautiful as always and I love the green dress you were rocking. :)

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:53 am

      Aw thanks! Old Navy!

      xo,
      s

  40. Shaena says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:53 am

    I love the font you used for the food labels and what not…what is it?

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:55 am

      That’s called Blackout (we probably got it from a free font site like fontsquirrel.com). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

    • Ashley M. [at] (never home)maker says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:18 pm

      Def. Blackout — my friend Tyler created it — it’s good stuff! http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/Blackout

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 15, 2012 at 10:03 am

      Wahoo! That’s so cool! Tell Tyler that we bow down to him. It’s awesomesauce.

      xo,
      s

  41. Rachel says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:54 am

    Adorable party for an adorable girl!

    Reply
  42. Tiffany says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:55 am

    ADORABLE!!! that video made my day ;)

    Reply
  43. susan says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:55 am

    Who knew worms could be made into such a fun party and that there are so many interesting facts about them? And all the pictures….oh my. The theme is starting to worm its way into my heart.

    Loved the pics of Clara.

    Reply
  44. teresa says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:56 am

    Adorable! Happy Birthday Clara! :)

    Reply
  45. Lori says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:56 am

    What a special party you threw for your little girl! It’s amazing to see how much she’s grown this past year. By her last party she was still a baby but now she’s a real person! Savor every moment with her.

    Reply
  46. Taya says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:58 am

    The worm party looked like so much fun! Happy birthday to your baby girl and Happy Mother’s Day to you, too, Sherry!

    P.s. Her two-year video was priceless!

    Reply
  47. Holly says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:58 am

    LOVED the party! So cute. I am doing a butterfly theme soon and using the same color scheme. Where did you get the polka dot plates?? Hope our party looks half as good as yours!!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 10:59 am

      Those were from Target. Hope you have a great party!

      -John

  48. Katie says

    May 14, 2012 at 10:58 am

    What a wonderful video – Monday morning tears!

    Reply
    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 14, 2012 at 11:08 am

      Aw, you guys are all so sweet. We love you. Best readers ever.

      xo,
      s

  49. Lauren Elizabeth says

    May 14, 2012 at 11:01 am

    What a wonderful party guys! Looks like everyone had a ton of fun! Not gonna lie- I teared up watching the video – and to think, I don’t even have kids yet! You two are such wonderful parents : )

    Reply
  50. Katherine Victoria says

    May 14, 2012 at 11:01 am

    I’m so glad you all had such a fun and worm-filled day. Clara is so adorable and looks like she’s having the time of her life. Virtual birthday wishes from Maine!

    Reply
    • Nikki Kelly says

      May 17, 2012 at 5:26 pm

      Omg, this is too precious! If my bf and I ever decide to have kids I want time thing like this. Oh, and I’m just calling you out on this but, why wasn’t that adorable picture of Clara measuring the cabinets in any of your kitchen Reno posts? I mean Come On! Loved every minute of it.

      Nikki Kelly

    • YoungHouseLove says

      May 17, 2012 at 9:02 pm

      Haha, yes I think we had a picture and a video of that back during the kitchen reno! Haha.

      xo,
      s

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John and Sherry Sitting On Woven ChairHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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