Party Time!

I came up with the theme for Caroline's first birthday party last fall.  I LOVE planning birthday parties for my kiddos, so I always try to figure out a theme early and get started with the planning and purchasing of party decor.  Caroline's room has a ballerina theme so I just tied the theme of her party into that- my little ballerina girl.  She obviously is not quite as graceful as a ballerina just yet, but she does love to get her groove on.  I also made the decision awhile back that I was going to have her party in the morning time, breakfast time.
So armed with my ballerina theme and menu I set off to two of my favorite places for party ideas...Pinterest and Catch My Party.  Duh!  I absolutely love these sites because you can get ideas for ANYTHING...food, decor, party outfits, cakes, invites, etc.  I started putting things together a week before the party to try and change my normal procrastinating ways in order to have the party ready.
The morning of the party went pretty smoothly.  My very bestest friend Ashley, who is an AMAZING hostess of gatherings, came early to help set up all the food and drink and she made it look fabulous!! I don't know what I would do without this girl!  My sister and mom are always big helpers as well! Love them and thank you to all three of you!! The party was a success!  I am so grateful for the wonderful people that our children have in their lives and to everyone for making it out to celebrate Caroline!

The invite:

The decor:

 My amazing sister created this and it turned out absolutely perfect!

 Party favors: Chocolate bars and lollipops

Mimosa Bar

 Monthly pictures banner.  It was sweet to see how my girl has grown.

Main table.  Again my sister did a fabulous job on the ceiling.  I had a vision and she made it work!

 Breakfast is served!

Donuts, donut holes, pigs in a blanket, fruit cups, and a mini cereal bar

 And of course cake/cupcakes (This was not my first option on a cake design but it turned out cute)

 Additional beverages

Birthday outfit. This was one of the best pics I got at the party. She was a busy girl. More coming from her 1 year photos

Cake time!  I totally expected this girl to eat her cake simply because she LOVES her food, but she even did better than I predicted :)

 "Hmm maybe I'll just see what this feels like first"

 And the taste test "Yum!"

 "This is so good" Haha again she is my chunky food loving girl!

Lots of loved ones at the party but here are a few in pictures 

Aunt Erica- party assistant :)

 Grandma and Caroline

 Caroline and her Mimi (Waylon's mom)

 The Ashleys and Aunt Erica.  My bff on the right was my party assistant extraordinaire!

 Made me so happy that my brother, Uncle Matt, took a few hours off from his shift to come to the party for Caroline.  He's a Dallas firefighter who is single if there are any single ladies out there ha!

Noah was too busy playing with his cousins to want anything to do with pictures

Again the party was fantastic!  God has truly blessed Waylon and I with some wonderful people in our life.  Thank you to all who came to celebrate our little girl!

Invitation:  HPaperCo via Etsy
Birthday 'one' shirt: Olive and Birdie via Etsy
Tutu: Tutu Fairy via Etsy
Cake and cupcakes: Target bakery
All custom banners, labels, cake topper, water bottle covers, favor labels, thank you cards: Little Apple Desgins via Etsy

Happy Birthday Caroline!

So my baby turns one today!  When did that happen??!  It feels like yesterday when Waylon and I were heading off to the hospital at 5:30am to go have our baby girl.  I just cannot believe how fast time passes.  Caroline's birth was fairly easy so you could say she has been nice to momma from the beginning.  She was born via c-section because of her size compared to my size.  Many people have differing opinions on c-sections but both of babies were c-sections because of their size and both times I had a good experience.  When Caroline was born she weighed a whopping 9 pounds 2 ounces!  No wonder I got such strange looks from people as I was nearing the end- my belly looked like a freak show.  Haha  It's funny because at the time, I didn't feel humongous.  I mean obviously I felt big and was getting somewhat uncomfortable towards the end, but nothing seemed completely outrageous.  Only now when I look back at maternity pictures do I truly see how big I looked to others.
Thinking back on my pregnancy and the past year with our sweet girl, I feel truly blessed.  It is pretty incredible to look at both of my babies and remember that I was their 'home' for the first 9 months of their little lives.  They grew into tiny humans in my belly and that is just amazing.  God gave me the gift of children and I am so glad that I now get to spend the majority of my time at home with them.  Being a momma has truly opened my eyes and my heart to so many new things.  I never knew love like this before having babies.  Everyone says it (and I agree) that you do not know what it is like until you actually have kids.  The love and devotion and protectiveness you feel is truly indescribable.
Caroline has been such a blessing to our family.  She is a wild, crazy little girl and she loves to cuddle as well.  I cannot imagine what our family would be like right now without her.

A few facts about Caroline at one year old:

          - weighs about 25 pounds and is about 29 inches tall.

         - wearing size 18-24 month clothes and size 4 diapers (almost to a size 5 my chunky girl)

         - loves to play with the dogs (hug them, pet them, throw their toys for them to fetch)

         - says mama, dada, yay, up, uh-oh

         - LOVES food (again with being a chunky girl)

         - loves her brother (and bothering her brother when he's trying to focus on something)

         - very steady on her feet and has now started to run around the house (loves playing chase)

         - not quite sleeping through the night still but that's okay bc I enjoy the cuddles

         - starting to drink whole milk (but still won't take it by itself just yet)

         - quite the daredevil- this girl is pretty fearless and while I like that about her, it also scares me

         - very lovey when she wants to be :)

Cannot believe this was a year ago- headed to the hospital for the big event!

One of our first pictures together

 Such a big girl now- playing at the park with big brother

Happy Birthday my sweet Caroline!  Thank you for making me a mommy for the second time!  I love you to the moon and back!

Now it's party time!  Cannot wait for this weekend and the girly decoration explosion that is going to take place at our home :)

Wrappin up the Week

Okay so obviously I need to get a little better at this blogging thing. I am going to try to make it a point to blog at least every two days, and I'm telling myself that it is going to have to wait until after the kids go down at night because it isn't often when they nap at the same time (like right now so I better type fast).  We had a great last week.  The weather was pretty nice, Noah and Caroline were getting along well, and I got to see some of my old coworkers when I subbed on Friday afternoon.  The past weekend consisted of a trip to Fort Worth and lots of crafting for Caroline's upcoming birthday party.  So excited!! But also a little sad- how is my baby already one?!  It does NOT feel like it's been a year since I was in the hospital having her.  Time pleeeaasseee slow down.  It makes me sad thinking that this may be my last baby to turn one.  The hubs and I are on the fence about baby #3 and I can only pray about it and go with what God has planned for my life.  There aren't any type of complications holding us back or anything, it really is just us wondering if we want to take it back to the newborn stage with another or stop here and enjoy the ride :).  Only time will tell....I'm sure there will be more on that down the road of blogging. I really had fun with the kids last week, I mean I always have fun with them but last week just seemed to flow smoothly and it was nice getting out occasionally for fresh air.  Now onto the recap of our week in pictures- enjoy!

Noah prefers actions shots (gotta take what I can get).  

And they thought it was hilarious to share Caroline's little car.

Our second 'first birthday' party of the month: sweet Liam :) Liam is the son of Waylon's cousin.  How cute are these two? And how precious is Liam's ourfit??!! Love!!

 After the party we explored the Stockyards with our cousins.  Petting zoo fun!

 Kinda blurry but they seriously love each other <3

My amazing sister is working on a special part of the party decor and I'm trying my hand at being crafty.

Weekend Recap

We had such a great weekend! We didn't necessarily do anything out of the ordinary but I felt just so content by Sunday evening.  You know weekends like that right?  The Texas weather made a change (as usual) and it was absolutely beautiful outside.  Our kids love being outdoors, so when the weather is nice we will take advantage of it to more than likely visit the Dallas Zoo (if you/your kids love the zoo I STRONGLY suggest getting a membership).  But more on that as I go along...

Friday started out with a girls night out for this momma.  I always have a bit of "mommy guilt" when I leave my babies to go out with friends, but my husband is quick to remind me that it's okay to take that time away.  I have to remember that I am with them all day, everyday, and I give my all to taking care of them.  One night away isn't going to take that away.  And of course it isn't going to make my babies love me any less.  I think it's natural for moms to feel a bit of this guilt when we take "me time".  But I also truly believe that it's completely necessary for our sanity!  Never could I have imagined the change my life would make when I resigned from my teaching job and became a full time momma.  It is such a tough, 24/7 job, but it is also the most rewarding experience and it is what God put me on this earth to do: be a mommy. 

But back to my girls night.  My absolute best friend invited myself and three of our girlfriends over to her home for a dinner party and drinks.  These are the girls that I have been friends with since high school (some since middle school).  They are the girls that have SEEN IT ALL.  We've experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly.  We've experienced boyfriends, breakups, vacations, college, weddings, babies, etc.  I will always hold these girls close to my heart and treasure our friendship.  Now, we do not see a lot of each other because of life, work, and babies (babies just for me thus far) but we do our best to see each other often enough to keep up with each other's life happenings.  My bestie, Ashley, is totally meant to throw parties and gatherings!  She set up the dinner table and food table so nicely.  We really felt like grown ups having a dinner party. :)  I had such a fabulous night catching up with these ladies and just being able to relax a bit and have some wine and eat my dinner at a leisurely pace.  We always have so much fun and share so many laughs.  These girls truly make my heart happy anytime we get together.

Our lovely dinner table

 Our wonderful hostess and my ultimate bestie

 Our group <3

Saturday we attended a 1st birthday party for another one of my good friend's little guy.  It was about a 40 minute drive so of course both kids fell asleep in the car and took a bit to warm up to playing at the party because we obviously had to wake them.  However, once they woke up, they were all over the place.  There was a playroom at the house so they enjoyed playing in all the new toys and also with the other kids there.  Caroline had her first taste of chocolate ice cream, thanks to her daddy, and Noah enjoyed the yummy candy that he received when we left.  It was such a cute party...and it made me realize how soon Caroline's own party will be here so I really need to get on the crafty kick asap.

 And the girl's love for chocolate begins...

 Happy Birthday Kiyan!

Yummy party favor!

Sunday we took a trip to the Dallas Zoo.  We LOVE the zoo!! We have had a membership since Noah was probably one and it has been soooooo worth the money.  I would recommend it to anyone with kids who love animals.  The weather was perfect and we also got to visit with some of Noah's absolute favorite people, his cousins.  I love when we can all get together and get some fresh air.  The kids have a blast! Noah loves being able to sort of run free and he loves the animals.  This was the first trip we have made since Caroline starting walking and that girl was a wild woman.  She quickly figured out that she did not have to stay strapped into the stroller and instead she now had the skill to run loose like her brother.  That girl was in heaven! :) Needless to say they both got their energy out :) Seriously, if you've never checked out a zoo membership, take a close look here!  Now get ready for a bit of a picture overload :)

 Waiting for our cousins to arrive (These two are twins!  Even down to their expressions here while they waited lol)

 Carousel ride to begin brother's visit to the zoo while sister enjoys a bottle to get her energy up!

Group shot after climbing the rocks

You can't really tell in the first picture but Noah and his cousin are holding hands as they explore.  They are bffs.  And the littlest cousins hanging in the stroller :)

After to zoo we met my brother and parents for an early dinner and just some time to visit.  We met at, what I call, a "down home mexican restaurant".  I will say that the hole in the wall mexican restaurants are the best! You will find the best, real food!  This place also had a mariachi band that started as we were finishing our meal.  Both kids took interest in watching (though the loud trumpet startled Noah at first).  I felt like it was neat for my kids to experience a little bit of culture. With myself being mexican I really do want them to experience a bit of that culture and some of the fun stuff that I remember doing growing up.  I also really want them to learn Spanish because I hate that I didn't.  Maybe mommy will learn along with them. :) After eating we just went and hung out together at my brother's apartment.  The kids enjoyed playing outside on his balcony and eating the few snacks he had....oh the life of a single guy lol (just kidding Matthew...sort of).

                         Mariachi band                                                                                                                        This kid loves jello

Hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend and has a great week!  Coming up we have school for my little guy, bible study kicks back off for mommy, substituting for one of my favorite former coworkers, birthday get together for two of my brother-n-laws, and another 1st birthday party this weekend :)