50th Surprise Party

In the middle of September we threw a surprise 50th Birthday party for my mother and father-in-law. They both turned 50 within a month of each other and we decided to have the party after both of their birthdays so they would not know it was coming. We threw the party along with my sister and brother-in-law and we had it at their house. The theme of the party was "casino" and we decorated their house and garage with gambling decor. We served chicken & beef sandwiches along with various sides. For party entertainment we played bingo, Texas hold em', and split the pot.

My mother and father-in-law were completely surprised and blown away that we pulled the whole thing off without them having the slightest idea. They really enjoyed the evening hanging out with their friends and family. And we were so happy to get the opportunity to celebrate them!!

Party Decor...

I made this banner out of playing cards which I hot glued to ribbon and it turned out really cute.

We had them dress the part with their 50th birthday buttons & green casino visors.

My sister-in-law put together a collage of some old family photos.

I made the favors-cookies that resembled a stack of poker chips.

Waiting for them to arrive...

The surprise entrance...

Party pictures...

My sister-in-law made a sugar-free cake for them (since they are both diabetic) along with cupcakes.

Some exciting news...

It's true...we are expecting baby #3 due May 2nd and we are thrilled!!! God continues to bless our family and we are so thankful :-)

I am a little over thirteen weeks right now and so happy that the morning (which isn't just in the morning) sickness is starting to subside. We are so excited to finally share our news with everyone else. When we found out at the end of August we sat Olivia down and told her she was going to be a big sister again. She was excited for a minute then continued to play completely unfazed by the news (or so we thought). That evening we had my mom over for dinner to celebrate her birthday. As soon as the doorbell rang Olivia ran in to greet my mom and as soon as she stepped in the door Olivia said these exact words..."I asked God & Jesus to put a baby in Mom's belly and they did!!!" No joke, she literally said this to my mom, who was so surprised just as Brian and I were, because she had not mentioned anything all day to us about the baby news. Olivia's mind is always going even when we think she doesn't understand something; she teaches us otherwise. It was one of the sweetest moments of my life hearing those words out of her mouth and knowing that she had been praying for another sibling all along.

Olivia turns 4!!!

On September 7th Olivia officially turned 4!! I can't believe that four years ago we were just meeting our little girl for the first time as she entered the world. She is growing up so fast and we are so proud of the big girl that she is becoming. She is such a wonderful daughter and big sister to Brooklyn; always caring about everyone and not afraid to show affection. She is out-going like her Daddy and continues to blow us away with her intelligence! She is only four years old and has already mastered addition, subtraction, and she continues to learn something new everyday. She is a blessing in our lives and I couldn't be happier that God chose us to be her parents.

On her real Birthday we let her pick anywhere she wanted to go to dinner and of course she chose her & Brooklyn's favorite place...Cici's (lol). We dined on pizza and salad. Then, we sang "Happy Birthday" to the birthday girl and enjoyed dessert.

Opening presents from Mom, Dad, & Brooklyn...

After dinner we went to Disney on Ice :-) I bought tickets months in advance when I saw that one of the dates was Olivia's Birthday. The girls were so excited and we had a blast feasting on cotton candy, popcorn, & snow cones while watching the ice show.

Overall we had an awesome day celebrating our first born and thanking God for her. At only four years old Brian and I can already see God's work in Olivia's life as we continue to pray that she will grow up to be a Godly woman and recognize His purpose for her.

Olivia's Birthday Party

I am so behind on blogging because we have been busy with a capital "B" these last two months!!! I have a lot of catching up to do with my posting so forgive me for being so behind.

On September 4th we celebrated Olivia's 4th Birthday!!! I can not even believe that four years have gone by. I remember putting together her first Birthday party like it was yesterday. This year we did a butterfly themed party, because (as Brian is my witness) Olivia chose her party theme shortly after celebrating her 3rd birthday and stuck with it all year. She is so my daughter (lol). So, I had a lot of time to plan this party and it turned out very sweet! I love throwing parties on a budget and adding simple touches to make it more personal:-)

The night before the big party Olivia assisted me in the kitchen baking butterfly shaped cookies and delicious strawberry flavored cupcakes (a request of the birthday girl). She loves helping me and she couldn't wait to get her hands dirty.

The invitations we sent out weeks before the party to invite our family & friends to celebrate with us...

Party decorations...

I stamped these menu cards individually & renamed the food with butterfly vocabulary...we had monarch macaroni, caterpillar chips, butterfly kisses, chrysalis kabobs, pb&j wings, cocoon corndogs, and so much more!

We had a butterfly themed cd playing (thanks to Aunt Tay Tay, which has become the birthday tradition) and we had a bug word search for the kids to do. We also had a jar set out for donations to the Butterfly House Botanical Garden.

On Olivia's Birthday party wishlist this year...

a pinata:-)

The table centerpieces consisted of these little wooden butterfly frames I painted pink to match the party and put pictures of Olivia's face in them. I bought jars which I filled with floral moss and sparkly little pose-able butterflies.

The Birthday girl...

Family photos...

Nana & the Birthday girl.

Aunt Katie & Brooklyn in her butterfly themed attire.

My sibilings with the girls.

Outside for pinata time...

Long story short-Olivia had been telling us for weeks before her party that she wanted to wait outside with Nana while we got the party ready and then she would walk in and we would yell "SURPRISE!!!" She was so adamant about this that we decided to do it in the middle of the party when we came back inside after the pinata. It was so funny how she reacted "surprised."

My friend Taylor is an awesome baker and she always makes something for the girl's parties so this year she made homemade butter cream frosting for the cupcakes that Olivia & I made and lemon & chocolate cake balls. She also brought these adorable butterfly sprinkles to finish off the cupcakes. Olivia even decorated her own cupcake.

The dessert table...

After praying over Olivia, we sang "Happy Birthday." One of the sweetest moments was when we were singing to Olivia and she had Brooklyn come over by her so she could giver her a hug & kiss. She never wants her little sister to be left out of anything.

Present time...

Olivia is so expressive and I got a lot of comments of how entertaining she is to watch open gifts. She loves each one more than the last and throughout opening her gifts she would stop to thank everyone for coming to her party and for the gifts she received. It made me so proud that she is so appreciative and feels the need to express it whenever possible.
And Nana surprised Olivia with a big girl bike with training wheels!!!

GG & Papa getting hugs.

Grams and Olivia.

And for the favors we gave the kids butterfly chalk & a butterfly book.

Thank you everyone for coming to celebrate Olivia!!!