February 2020 | Shoptini

WHEN YOU START COLLECTING MEMORIES OVER THINGS A UNIQUE SHARK THEME BIRTHDAY STAYCATION IS THE PERFECT GIFT!

It’s safe to say that Spencer and I were both pleasantly surprised when Kade asked for a family trip instead of a birthday party. Of course, we loved the idea but also thought he would most likely change his mind and opt for a party. I mean what little kid doesn’t love a birthday party?!? But our sweet little Moose remained consistent in his request, stating “I would like to go somewhere fun with Mommy and Daddy and my cake”. After realizing this was truly his birthday wish we started exploring a few options with the National Aquarium being at the top of the list!

KADE’S FAVORITE THINGS

Over the past year, Kade has developed a love for monster trucks, sharks and animals that ROAR! I started playing around with a few birthday trip ideas like Blaze and the Monster Machines and taking him to Monster Jam, the National Aquarium with ocean animals, or Lion Guard and visiting the Washington DC Zoo.

KIMPTON HOTEL MONACO

Turns out a local hotel, Kimpton Hotel Monaco Baltimore, offers a hotel package with National Aquarium tickets. And with that, I was sold! Next was starting to plan all the little details for Kade’s unique shark theme birthday staycation! Or so I thought.

CREATING THE SHARK THEME

Life got away from me with work projects and listing our house for sale so when I finally got to start planning it was literally the day before and day of leaving for the hotel. It’s a good thing I do some of my best work under pressure. I never know where my inspiration will come from but this time it came from a grocery store aisle where I saw a tower of shark snack containers. I snagged one thinking it would be great as a cake topper, then quickly ran down the baking aisle for cake mix, blue icing, sprinkles, and Swedish fish. That afternoon we worked together as a family to bake and decorate Kade’s birthday cake so we could take it with us the following day to the hotel. Not only did we have a blast creating this cake, but it actually looked pretty terrific too!

WORKING UNDER PRESSURE

The following day I hit the ground running crafting water labels, straws, birthday signs and ordering birthday balloons. When I went to pick up the balloons I swung a kid’s clothing store where, by the grace of God, I found shark shoes and shark shirts. Spencer went in the other direction looking for a gift we saw online, a Monster Jam monster truck called Megalodon that he found at our local Target. And with all of this Kade’s unique Shark theme birthday Staycation in Baltimore was ready to start.

CELEBRATING ALL MONTH LONG

We have pretty much been celebrating Kade’s birthday for the past month. Starting with his Shark theme Baltimore birthday staycation, followed by his birthday photos and then his actual birthday. We partnered with Megan from Maewood Photography to document Kade’s third birthday photos. In true Shoptini fashion, I was a bit late in preparing but pulled it all together last minute. The one thing I really wanted to have was a birthday sign. Thankfully we planned his photo session for the early evening so it gave me time to create and print his shark theme sign.

I have to say finding a word to rhyme with… third or three proved a bit more difficult than I expected. To get started I purchased the shark attack font from Etsy and pulled some clipart from online. As I was filling in the information I googled rhyming words and landed on jubilee.

HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY

My baby is THREE! We kept Kade’s real birthday pretty low key since we had such a big celebration earlier. My sister-in-law gave me the idea to decorate our hallway over night. We had 40 balloons, streamers and shark cutouts so when he woke up it felt special for him. He had special treats to share with his class, lasagna for dinner, a small cake and a few gifts.

WHAT WILL NEXT YEAR BRING?

Kade has brought so much joy into our lives, and I love doing whatever it takes to give that joy back to him. Especially on his birthday! Although the staycation was a little unexpected, it was exactly what he wanted, and he loved it so much! I can’t help but to wonder what he will want for his birthday next year?!