Ty Bash

12 Months has come and gone. 2 months ago, gone (!), and I'm just now posting our 1 year celebration.

The theme all started with a tie onesie I was gifted at Tyler's baby shower, long before we decided on a name. I photographed him in this sweet onesie for his 'One Month' photo and the theme just stuck.

So a TY Bash it was...

"Around your neck or in your hair,

ties will be everywhere!"

My very favorite party photos of our little Bud!
We used golf tees to pin down balloons all over the back yard for the kids to run through.

Invitation, tie shaped cake, and table setting.
Invitation: LiliesoftheField Etsy Shop

There is a lack of tie themed party favors in stores, so it was time to get creative making tie cups and serving plates. By Googling silhouettes of ties, I printed, cut scrapbook paper, and taped with clear packing tape. 

Adding more bow tie theme to clear plastic serving plates.

Our "Time Capsule" to be opened 17 years from now. Guests wrote Ty a message, prophetic word, or prediction of what he might be when he grows up.
The idea came from "Keeping Up With The Morgans" Blog. I love it!! Such a great keepsake!

Water Squirter Party Favors from the Dollar store with Bow Tie name tags.
Nice for cleaning off all the cake in the pool.

Our fun photo prop for all of the guests to take with the Birthday Boy!
Aunt Ciera & (One day Uncle) Sam here! 

Ty's favorite part was the Bubble Machine. Gosh, you should see all the faces he made! Hilarious!

The giant "Doritos" ball, courtesy of Frito Lay Pawpaw, was a big hit!

Very surprisingly, The Cake, however, was not! 

He needed a little help to get into it. 

Okay....maybe a lot of help!

Ty couldn't have been more proud of his Big Boy Chair he got from his Mimi & Papa.
It made a great photo prop to go along with his 1st year milestone sign.

I made the sign using black foam board and free handed using chalk. It took hours, in case you were wondering.
A great tutorial can be found again here at "Keeping Up With the Morgans."
The style idea came from PrincessSnap on Etsy.

The best family photo we could manage to get. Anna was obviously not amused.  lol.
Our handmade neck ties, I made using a tutorial from "VanillaJoy."

Happy 1st Birthday, Tyler!!

Thank you to all who spoiled our little guy and made his day a very special one!

2 x 2 x 2 [Birthday Edition]

We had TWO celebrations for TWO very special girls who turned TWO years old!

We began this past week with a small family birthday party! And ended the week with a NICU reunion celebration at the hospital for Esther, which coincidentally was held a day after her release date just 2 years ago!

Pink & Purple Party!

The Decorations

The Fun 

The Party Guests!

NICU Reunion Celebration!

Celebrating our little NICU graduate, Esther, with a petting zoo and games at the hospital. We had fun riding a horse, brushing the llama, petting the bunnies, and feeding the goats. We also got to sit and eat our favorite snacks with Mommy and Daddy after taking our measurements and making hand prints in keepsake clay to see how much we have grown.

 Back from where we started...

(Above) Esther's release date to go home, Oct. 4, 2011 / (Below) NICU Reunion Oct. 5, 2013

Animal Fair

Happy 2nd Birthday, Anna & Esther!
We love you and the delight you bring to our lives!

Our Baby Boy Is Here!

                                   Life & Parenthood just got a little more sweeter!
                                                                     Introducing our newest little addition...

Tyler Alexander Adams

Monday, June 17, 2013, 6:28pm

6 lbs 8 oz

20 1/4 inches

Every bit of PERFECT!

Little Tyler Feet! Eeeek!!!

Comfy at Home

Book of Possibilities Brunch

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of celebrating my friend, Beth's 32nd Birthday, with 7 other fabulous ladies for a breakfast brunch. This was not just any ordinary birthday brunch....it was a Book of Possibilities Creation Brunch. It's been a week later and I'm still thinking about it, being inspired, and being stirred to pray for other ladies' God given dreams! Not to mention, I think this would be a fabulous idea for my 30th birthday!

Beth's idea was inspired by the Queen Latifah movie, "Last Holiday" and the book "Dreaming with God" by Bill Johnson. The idea is combined with Georgia's (Last Holiday) book of possibilities that she chooses to start living out after being diagnosed with a terminal illness and putting a twist on it by being inspired/listening to God's heart and dreams for our lives.

After a yummy breakfast together, we sat down to a table full of magazines, scrapbooking goodness, craft supplies (not limited to neon glitter), and the Holy Spirit.

Beth shared some inspiring thoughts. One of them I remember from my dream blog, "If your dreams don't scare you, then they aren't big enough." She shared that it is never too late to start dreaming and that we could all could stand to dream more! Totally true! My friend, Star, then started us off with a question, "What is something that you have never done before?"

Immediately, I started thinking of a hot air balloon. As I was envisioning this idea, I started to question myself, 'Is this what the Holy Spirit really has in mind?' Then, the friend sitting next to me opened up with a dream she had that involved a hot air balloon. Boom! Confirmation! Thinking I would never find a picture of a hot air balloon in a magazine to cut out for my page, it all the sudden appeared while cutting something out for a marriage ministry dream.

God has all kinds of dreams for us! Ones that involve our every day world, ministry, creativity, imagination, life dreams, and yes, even hot air balloon rides! We just have to tap into His heart and collaborate with His dreams and plans for our lives. They are dreams and possibilities bigger than we can imagine for ourselves. It's exhilarating and beautiful, but can be a bit scary, daring, and out of our comfort zones at the same time.

"No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

If I look at the big picture of what God is inspiring me to do and has planned out for me...it's a bit scary to think that God has given me that kind of potential inside myself. The books we started creating are works in progress. We will be adding more to our books as the Holy Spirit downloads ideas to our hearts and life. And not only will we be adding, but we will be doing. The books are inspiration to actions lead out by His perfect timing and will in our lives. Beautiful!

Picture of my dream pages here soon!

My husband took them out of town with him. Haha!

Happy 1st Birthday, Anna & Esther!

This weekend was a special celebration in our new little family- 

Anna and Esther turned 1 years old!

This milestone was marked by a Giraffe themed 1st Birthday party celebration with friends and family and a day of playing in our living room filled full of all kinds of new toys. It was such a joy to share this special time with everyone and enjoy our two little blessings!

One year ago, we were two nervous newlyweds (our twins were honeymoon souvenirs) getting prepared to go into the operation room for a C-section. Looking back, we seemed like kids, scared, anxious, and with no ideas of what to expect and just scratching the surface of our relationship.

Now, we have two of the most beautiful good little babies we didn't even know to ask for (God definitely had immeasurable surprises in store for us). We have a year's experience of two different babies under our belt, feel a little older (I am sporting some gray hairs and Kyle losing more of his ::wink::), maybe a little wiser (maybe not), a little less selfish in some ways, and both filled with more joy and love to share together. It's so crazy to compare the then and now all within a year's time!

Party Photos Courtesy of Talei "Lei Lei" Akins Photography

Anna was our little ham during the party. She surprised us all by walking around and socializing with everyone and not being her shy little self that she usually is. She played with the other kids, let people interact with her, and pick her up. She totally took advantage of being one of the little stars of the party. She also took a few bites of cake, which surprised us more. She refuses, any other day and since the party, to take any food from our hand or off a plate. It must be pureed and sitting in her chair. Instead, she was licking every bit of icing off of her lips and coming back for a few more bites. So cute!

Our Little Ham, Anna!

Esther, on the other hand, wanted to observe everything and everyone within the arms of her Mommy. She was definitely taking everything in, but only in her safe space. She did venture out a couple times to play with the other kids and her new toys, but it didn't last for too long. She also refused to participate in the ritual cake eating and normally she eats off of my plate any chance she gets. We also realized she was teething, so she wasn't quite feeling herself either. My poor punkin'.

Essie staying close to Mommy

The girls were spoiled with lots of toys from everyone! We got to join in the fun of opening presents with them. It will probably be one of the last times too. 

And of course, there was cake!

Planning a giraffe party was a lot of fun and a little stressful since I more than procrastinated to the very last minute since I was in vacation mode from our Destin trip the week prior. There's not a lot of giraffe party themes out there, but thanks to Pinterest, I was able to create our own. 

Invitations set the tone:

Created by CutiesTieDyeBoutique

Think pink and giraffe....

The giraffe cake in the shape of a number one, I made with inspiration from Cake Believe. Giraffe cookies are Nutter Butters with Honey Nut Cherrios and Mini Reese's Pieces iced on. If you ever replicate, check to make sure the cookies in the pack aren't stale. I didn't find out till after the party, I had a bad pack. :( My Mother-in-law had previously made these cookies on tops of cupcakes at our babies' shower, which was a Noah's Ark theme, so the idea came from her. 

The most fun I had was putting together the party favors. We got some of our babies' favorite things at the dollar store...tiny board books, baby maracas (those are not actually Easter eggs in the basket), animal crackers, a pack of giraffe crayons, plastic balls, and I sewed together stuffed Giraffe taggies. I made my own sewing pattern from viewing another blogger's (Fig and Ruby) stuffed giraffes.

We made giraffe headbands to wear during the party, put together a photobooth, and made chalkboards so that guests could write messages to Anna and Esther kind of like a memory guestbook since I wasn't sure if our girls would cooperate for photos with everyone. However, no one used the photobooth, so I think it served more as decor for the party instead. 

Now that the party is over, I'm thinking of all things giraffe I could have added to the party. Kind of like realizing we had giraffe balloon animals and forgot to put them out for the kids! :(  Oh well... Our babies only turn 1 once!

Thank you to all our friends and family who have shared in this precious time with us! 

You are so special to us!

Happy 1st Birthday, Anna & Esther!

We love you dearly!