Is your little cowpoke about to have a birthday? Host a fun western themed hoe down birthday party!

Nothing is cuter than a little cow poke, and when starting a cowboy party off right, no cowboy or cowgirl is complete without their hat and cowboy boots! Recently, while throwing my little girl’s first birthday party, we opted for a western theme.

I found her hat at a local party store for only five dollars, and because a cute cowboy baby hat is a must, I was lucky enough to find white and brown ones for all the little cowboys and cowgirls.  Each child also received a cute little fringe vest I made from felt and a bandanna (for flash and as a practical bib).

As for the boots, we had the most perfect pair of pink cowgirl boots on eBay (so many stores are making the miniature versions now).  You can go with a name brand like Laredo and spend over $40, or you can go with mud pie’s cowboy baby boots which are very affordable.  If you child is no longer able to wear baby shoes, try the local Target.

The set up was simple.  By using the great outdoors, not many decorations were necessary.

• Saddles, hay bales, bandannas, and farm animal cut outs complete the scene.
• Find some old fashioned western music to plan a square dance.
• Musical chairs is always a party favorite!
• Sticking with your theme use small bales of straw or stick horses rather than chairs. Call your local horse enthusiast –  I am sure they will love to lend some saddles for soiree.
• Saddle seats might even spark a musical chair of their own.  These are especially fun if the weather is nice enough for the party to be held outside. Plus, being outside makes it easier to shake any loose straw from the baby clothes.

We kept the games simple and short as toddlers and very young children have short attention spans and can become easily frustrated if they cannot figure out a game quickly.  We set up two tables for simple crafts. The first one was a make your own sheriff badge.  You can find pre-cut shapes of paper or foam to simplify things, a little elmer’s glue and some help from adults – your little law enforcers are born.  For a little bit of extra fun, we added a game of arrest your parents.  The little sheriffs would take their parents to a “jail” we had set up and made out of hay bales.  The adult had to stay until the little one decided they had served their time.  The second craft was to plant a seed in a little cup to take home with them.  We used bandanna print party cups and simple wild flower seeds.

For food, we served hot dogs and hamburgers with your usual sides.  One of the most important menu items is baked beans – all cowboys eat beans on their cattle drives. For my little girl’s cake I used a flowered sheet cake from Sam’s club in which I added My Little Pony figures.  It was adorable!  Another idea I have seen is cupcakes with black and white cow spots on them.

With these suggestions and a few of your own ideas,  your little rodeo queens and cowboys are sure to have the rootin tootinest hoe down in town!

By Shannon Henrici of My Baby Clothes Boutique.

No, no, your eyes are not deceiving you. Those are in fact pencils “designed” by Marc Jacobs!

Nylon reported the exciting news last week. There have been several rumours in regards to this, as Marc Jacobs bought the beloved Biography Bookstore in New York’s West Village, and Style.com claimed it would stay a book shop, with the name “Book Marc”, while others insisted it would be yet another clothing store. Marc has slowly been rolling out school supplies such as cases, colouring pencils and cool tins covered in marble notebook patterns, under the name Book Marc. The supplies are available to purchase now through Marc by Marc Jacobs stores across America.

Source and images courtesy of Nylon.

Do Fun Stuff Vol. 1, is a fun compilation of children’s songs put together by Ryan Marshall who writes the blog Pacing the Panic Room. The recent tribute to Hotslings, features “Ladybug” by Rabbit!, one of my favourite tracks off the CD. Do Fun Stuff, is to be the first of of a yearly compilation, benefitting SMS. Rabbit!, Cracker Jackson, RickoLus, Scampi, Radical Face, Davey Rocker, Steve Foxbury and Astronautalis are the groups featured on this year’s CD.

Inspired by his step-son’s love of music, who was diagnosed with Smith Magenis Syndrome in late 2009, Ryan decided to create a children’s record to help raise raise funds and awareness towards Smith-Magenis Syndrom. PRISMS is the one non-profit organization that really provides a glimpse into the complexities and challenges that lie ahead. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of Do Fun Stuff will go into a grant fund established by PRISMS and the money made available to grad students who select Smith Magenis Syndrome as their field of choice. This is in the hopes of generating more intense case studies to provide parents, and researchers with new and important information about the mysteries of Smith Magenis Syndrome.

The music from this record is a cross between folk, The Beatles and Yo Gabba Gabba!. In other words – my daughter loves it! You can listen to clips by visiting DoFunStuff.net, or you can purchase the CD directly through iTunes.

If you’ve been reading Child Mode for awhile, you will know that I am a huge fan of Babushka dolls aka Russian Nesting dolls or Matryoshka dolls. This Set of Five Nesting Doll Paintings is so very precious and unique due to the soft candy-color hues.

Dress up your little girl’s bedroom with these five little ladies dressed in sweet colors and embellished with glittery accents. They can be hung directly on the wall or arranged on a shelf – colors can be customized to match your decor/bedding.

This set comes with 5 canvas sizes:

9×12″
8×10″
6×8″
5×7″
4×5″

Price: $145.00 from Sugar Cookie Studio on Etsy

Every season, Chloé has produced an adorable mouse toy in a colour or wearing an item that reflects the season’s collection – in this case the Fall Winter 2010 Kid’s Collection.

This adorable mouse comes in white with silky chocolate brown trims and wears one of this season’s signature dresses. Luxury at it’s finest!

Price: £55.00

Custom decals are either a hit or a miss, depending on the style or design. These beautiful Custom Monogram Decals from Open Heart Creations on Etsy, are elegant and tasteful, making them the companies best selling item!

When ordering, you have the choice of one initial and first and middle name decal. The initial measures 16″ x 16″, while the first and middle measure 5″ x 28″ (varies depending on the length of the names).

Wall art is an inexpensive, yet classic way to dress up a bedroom or nursery!

Price: $26.00

One of my favorite companies, Hotslings, was one of the most well-known makers of Infant Carriers for over 7 years. Recently, they made a sad announcement, stating that they would be closing their business due to various factors including the recession, a bad supplier that caused a 9 months delay in receiving their products – costing them over half a million dollars in sales, and of course, the recent CPSC warnings. Although the CPSC recalled a completely different baby sling brand, it caused quite a bit of damage in the baby carrier world.

Danielle Friedland, entrepreneur, mom of two and the founder of Celebrity Baby Blog, put together a beautiful tribute to this company that was loved by so many.  You can follow Danielle on her website daniellefriedland.com or through twitter @that_danielle.

“Ladybug”, the song used in this tribute is courtesy of the band Rabbit! and Ryan Marshall of PacingthePanicRoom.blogspot.com or @ThePanicRoom on Twitter. The new album Do Fun Stuff Volume 1, is their very first release of kids music. In partnership with PRISMS, The Panic Room will be raising awareness about SMS and benefiting the foundation through sales of this new CD.

Have you ever tried Stroopwafels? They are delectable, crispy and have just the right touch of sweetness. When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I ate these babies by the package! Jamie Oliver has put together a recipe that looks positively divine, using these delicious biscuits.

dessert recipes | serves 4

• 8 stroopwafels (Dutch caramel waffle biscuits)
• Butter
• 4 bananas, split lengthways, then halved
• 3 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra
• Greek yoghurt or ice cream, to serve

In a very low oven, heat the stroopwafels. Place a frying pan on a high heat, add a good knob of butter and cook till it foams, then add the bananas and maple syrup and cook for 2 mins or until golden. Serve the warm waffles with bananas and an extra drizzle of maple syrup, and a spoonful of Greek yoghurt for breakfast, or ice cream as a pudding.

Recipe by Abi Fawcett, photograph Sam Stowell

One of our favourite skincare brands, Episencial, is holding a one-day only special 50% off sale. Take advantage of deep savings this weekend, on Sunday September 5th, on this fabulous brand on Target.com.

This is also a great opportunity to stock up on gifts for mom and baby!

Gilt is holding their “Baby Shower Event” featuring brands such as Little Giraffe, Miyim, Plain Mary & more for discounted prices.

Momeni Rugs in a variety of funky patterns and colors are on sale up to 50% off on Ideeli.

Hug Me First has boy’s and girls’ wear on sale for 50% off through Zulily.

Wry Baby’s super cute onesies, burp cloths and accessories for kids are on sale, up to 67% off on Haute Look.

Beautiful dresses, shrugs and two-piece outfits from HYPE Girls are up to 47% off through Haute Look.

Adorable outfits from ellie B and Bodean are on sale through Totsy.