CeCe's Third Birthday

A few weekends ago, I got to celebrate Miss Cecelia's third birthday!  I have to tell you, it's been pretty amazing watching this kid grow up.  I feel so blessed to be a part of this family -  I was there for her first birthday party...and her second birthday party.  She has gone from a chubby happy baby to a beautiful and fiercely intelligent little girl.  She's got more attitude in her little finger than most people have in their whole body, but she's also a complete sweetheart and lovebug.  She's a ham for the camera (which is my favorite type of kid), so I got a lot of great shots.  It's really amazing to look back at last year's post to see how much has changed.  But then again, some things never change...

Claire completely outdid herself with treats and fun decorations.

There were three brand new babies in attendance.

Baby Gwen.

Baby Isaac.

And baby Rhett.

And Milly (who was the baby at last year's party, just turned one!

And of course, you can't forget big brother Gus...

And cousin Nora, who's now a big sister.

And little Addie.

Who loved the cookies.

I think there were a few more boys running around somewhere, but they never slowed down long enough for me to get my camera on them.

Opening presents was definitely the highlight of the day.  

She opened each one very carefully.

Some presents (like this pink frog) were very well received.

Others, like this boring piece of paper...not so much.

CeCe loaded up on girlie goodies like nail polish and make-up...

Fairy princess costumes...

Hello Kitty couture...

Pink dresses...

And princess puzzles.

But even better than opening the gifts, was the gratefulness for receiving the gifts.

After opening each gift, CeCe made sure to give the gift-giver a giant thank you hug.

Melt my heart.

Isn't she the sweetest?

And then again...oops!

Which Milly liked!

Milly also liked the ribbons and bows and plastic packaging of the gifts. 

She made sure to taste everything CeCe got, just to be sure it was all good.

Ok, that one's not so good...

And then it was finally time for cake!

CeCe requested a cake with a picture of her and her daddy ONLY on it.

And what CeCe demands, CeCe gets.

Last year she hid under the table when we sang to her.

This year she sang and clapped along.

Milly loved the singing too.

But she was really impressed with the cookies.

The rest of us enjoyed cake.

Addie had chocolate milk.

And Isaac had a bottle and snuggled with his parents on the couch.

The rest of the party was fun and games.

CeCe shared her toys with Milly (she's going to be a great big sister).

Uncle Mike and the girls had a tea party.

The grandpas wrestled with the boys...

And danced with the girls...

And made tiaras...

Milly did some dancing too.

Girlfriend already knows how to shake her booty.

.

And we all got a chance to snuggle with a baby or two.

It was a fabulous day.

Happy 3rd Birthday Miss Cecelia!

I'm looking forward to number 4!

30 Weeks

Well, I'm officially 30 weeks.  I can't believe I have less than 70 days to go before I meet this little guy!  That is amazing!  I don't have a lot of new stuff to report in the baby department at this time.  Other than going from feeling baby "flutters" to being the recipient of full-on baby ninja kicks, not much has changed since my last post a few weeks ago. He's still doing great.  I'm still giant and loving it.  I only had to have tacos three times this week, so I think the cravings might be slowing down a little bit.  I'm also starting to experience the joy that is swelling and water retention, but whatever - no complaints here.  

Mac's nursery is pretty much done and that feels great.  I'd love to share pictures, but since we've got his name on some of the decor, I'm going to wait to post that until after he arrives.  We're not ready to spill the beans on his name quite yet.  But the nursery is bright and wild and fun - perfect for an active little boy.  I think you'll love it, I know I do.  I already spend a lot of time in there, just sitting in the rocker and day dreaming about him.  

So that's about it!  We're all doing great.  The dogs are enjoying their last few months of being the center of attention and Ryan and I are getting in some date nights and evenings out while we're still footloose and kid-free (although I can't make it out past 9:30 p.m., which is totally pathetic).  We finally have a weekend with no plans and I intend to take multiple naps and make enough lasagna to feed a small country.  The next few weekends are completely packed with baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, bachelorette parties, dinner parties, photo shoots, weddings, baptisms, holidays and birthing classes.  So much fun stuff going on!  Don't worry, I'll take lots of pictures and make sure to keep you updated.  

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I Heart Faces - Beautiful Black & White

Well, it's been a while since I've done one of these photo challenges, but I just couldn't pass up this week's I Heart Faces theme of "Beautiful Black &White."  I'm posting this picture of Gus pushing his wagon of pumpkins not only because it's one of my favorite pictures ever, but because Gus has asked me to go to "Special Friend Day" at his school with him on Thursday and I'm so excited!  I can't even tell you how honored I am.  I'm probably going to cry through the whole thing, hug and kiss him in front of all his friends and thoroughly embarrass the poor kid.  I must hold it together.  Wish me luck.

Go check out all the other beautiful black and white entries at I Heart Faces.

Just a Sprinkle

A few weeks ago, I helped host a "sprinkle" baby shower for my best friend, Claire.  She's expecting twins - a boy (George) and a girl (Charlie) - and is due just a couple weeks before me.  I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it's been having Claire as a source of information throughout this pregnancy.  I love that we are getting to go through this together and that our little ones will be so close in age and such good friends.  Plus,  Mac will automatically get two of the most adorable older siblings in Gus and CeCe (who you've already seen a million pictures of on this blog).  I'm SO excited to meet the newest additions to the family and to be able to raise our kids together.  

The shower was at Claire's friend Sarah's beautiful home and I freely admit that she did most of the work and did an INCREDIBLE job.  I did what I could, but I must give her credit for basically everything!  She is a party planning goddess and made this so easy on me.  I want to plan every party I have with her for the rest of my life!  I think we made a pretty outstanding team -- it was such a great shower!  

We decided on an "owl theme" shower, with some rustic elements.  I ordered the invitations from Fancy Schmancy Notes on Etsy and I love the way they turned out.  

As for decor, Sarah went all out.  She set up the most beautiful table arrangements, complete with spring bouquets of hydrangeas and little owl napkin rings.

I had the easy task of creating some owls from paper lanterns.  

I think these guys turned out pretty darn adorable.

A few other owls made their way to the party as well.

But the highlight of the decor, were the banners!

These are the name banners that Sarah made for the twins.  Aren't they AMAZING!  We all went to the fabric store together and picked out the fabrics for the banners.  (Yes, I made one for Mac too, but I'm keeping that a secret for now.)  Claire's doing the nursery in an assortment of colors with grey, mustard, red as some of the main colors.  She picked out a variety of fabrics, which look incredible together.  These turned out so beautifully!  Claire now has them hanging on the wall of the twins nursery (and Mac's in hanging in his nursery).  I'll post a tutorial on how I made Mac's banner, but if you don't want to attempt it yourself, Sarah is also now selling these in her etsy shop!  Click HERE for the listing.  

The banners looked amazing, but so did the desserts!

Sarah also set up a mimosa bar, with all different kinds of juices, which was a big hit.

And a water bar, for those of us that couldn't drink the champagne.

Much appreciated.

And then the guests started arriving! 

This is our sprinkle honoree with her mom.

Does she not look INCREDIBLE for having twins (or even just one baby)?  

Seriously, she's glowing.    

And the twins are SO active!  

Everyone had to take turns touching the bump.  

Here she is with the two hostesses, the dynamic Sarah-Sara duo.

These are our girlfriends from law school.  

By June, we'll have 9 babies between us.  Crazy!  

Sarah had an incredible spread for lunch.  The menu consisted of a variety of mini quiches, crostinis with toppings like bacon jam, with roasted vegetable orzo, chicken satay with peanut sauce and fruit kebabs.  I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the food - I think I was just too busy eating it all!  

After lunch, we moved on to presents!  

Claire mainly wanted clothing for the twins, so that's what she got.  

Such adorable stuff.

And then the shower was over!  It went so fast!

Claire, I hope you had a wonderful time.  

I had so much fun helping out and I'm so excited to meet the twins.