Here's a little round-up of some fall memories we made this year. Zoo boo, pre-school, the kids' first Pacer game and more :) Enjoy!
Glitter & Gold for our One-Year-Old
She's all things glitter and gold and now she is our one-year-old! If you know our Kerigan, you will most likely find her in a tutu and pointing her toes...when she's eating breakfast, watching cartoons, going to sleep...that's her. So we had to do something fun and girly.
The party started at 11 am, so that we could not only party around nap time (she's still taking two a day) but also so we could serve brunch and all her favorite foods!
We've hosted enough baby and toddler parties to know not to over plan. We didn't have any planned activities except for all the kids to go crazy and party in our basement and then to come back upstairs for brunch, cake and presents. All of her parties guests were 4 and under, so the minimal activities worked out perfectly for all the sweet babes.
Here are some party photos and glittery details :)
Brunch & Treats
1. ham, egg & cheese muffins:Lots of babies, so I wanted a snack parents could grab on the go and eat anywhere throughout the party. I'm sure this was a variation of pinterest recipe. The muffin cups are from Sweet Lulu (you'll see we used them a lot for party deets)
2. breakfast casserole:my sister's mother-in-law is famous for her breakfast casserole. It was perfect for some substantial food to avoid pure sugar highs. We ate two trays of it. Huge hit!
3. fruit cups:Kerigan loves fruit. Mom helped prep all her favorites. We displayed them in the cutest little cups, also from Lulu.
4. mini pancakes:pancakes are the perfect food for babies with very few teeth. I think we had at least 5 baby girls there between the ages of 6 months and 15 months. Personal pancakes plates & syrup cups were the extra little mini touch for our mini girl.
5. mini donut holes:fresh from the grocery's bakery.
6. macarons:every year, I order our birthday cakes from the best bakery in Indianapolis, Confectioneiress. I've always wanted to try their macarons. So glad we did. They even sprayed them glittery gold for us.
7. bacon bites:my aunt provided the yummiest bacon snack. She is queen of presentation!
8. cheerio cups:with all these babies, we had to have an option for them. I know all of them are at different stages of what table foods they're trying out. But we had to serve them in cute Lulu cups ;-)
9. churros:my dad made the most delicious churros. I think they were the first things gone.
10. powdered donuts:who doesn't love powdered donuts? perfect for the sweet treats table. Again, fresh from the local grocery. I wish I could tell you I made them, but let's be realistic.
11. birthday cake:who other than Confectioneiress? They never cease to amaze me with their design and the actual cake itself- no one makes them better.
12. coffee & juice bar:lots of tired mamas coming to this party. They were happy to know coffee was on tap. We also had orange juice and a variety of milks served in gold cups with Lulu pink straws
13. pink punch:at every party, punch is our thing. My mom made raspberry sorbet & ginger ale punch (no spiking for a little guests)
14. party favors: gold wrapped mini candy bars:My mom and I sorted through all the leftover Halloween candy to find anything wrapped in gold. Then we put them in cute little treat bags and sent them off with the party guests!
A lot of the party decor came from showers or parties I have thrown before. Remember my sister's baby shower?
Party dress & decor:
1. Custom poster: I ordered this from Custom Chalk Poster. She was wonderful to work with. You receive a high quality digital file as your final product. Then I had it printed on poster paper at the local Office Depot. Then I used a frame & easle my mom already had so we could have it out on display. This is a great keepsake!
2. Fireplace banner: This is a banner from Paper Source- one of my favorite stores. You can customize the banner for any party or even you throw. Party staple, for sure because you can reuse it over and over again.
3. Food & decor details: Muffin cups, fruit cups, pancake plates, Kerigan's growth banner gold twine, cheerio cups, gold sticker hearts, etc- all came from Sweet Lulu. It's an online party supply store that I believe offers more variety and chicer (is that a word?) choices as far as party decor and favors. They were super reasonable in pricing (comparable to Party City). I will be a life-long follower to Lulu because I was so pleased with their customer service, cute packaging and perfect party details at a great cost.
4. Birthday girl onesie: Her birthday girl onesie is from Lola and Darla. If you have a daughter, watch out. This place can be trouble. I love everything about her shop. Follow her on instagram too because she's always designing new items.
5. Gold tutu: Bella Bling by Melissa. I can't say enough positive things about her. She has her own etsy shop and is amazing at communicating with the customer. Kerigan's tutu was custom but was exactly what I was looking for...and amazing quality. Kerigan has and will wear this tutu a lot. She loves it!
6. Gold moccasins: BabyDahl Boutique. This vendor is one of my friends! She has her own etsy shop as well. Her moccs are great quality and again, fraction of the price compared to other vendors.
7. Gold headband: Kerigan and her mom believe that the bigger the bow, the closer to heaven ;-) So when searching for big gold bows on etsy, I stumbled upon, Gold and Arrows. She's awesome! I have been a repeat customer since because we just love her bows (and prices)!
8. Gold hair bow:And sometimes...after she rips the headband out, we wear a bow clip. This particular bow is from Hanna Andersson. We love their pjs. Like, love. So when I saw the gold, sparkly bow, it was perfect.
9. Pom dessert table banner: These particular poms are from Party Poms on etsy. I was willing to pay a little more than what Target has to offer. I wanted more length and overall a higher quality pom. I use this banner a lot for photo session and even plan to use it in Kerigan's nursery.
10. Dessert table letters: The gold O-N-E letters are cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby that I just spray painted. Love how spray paint can transform anything and on a budget!
Love this party girl!
So excited when everyone was singing to her. She loves the spotlight :)
And that's it! I may have missed something here or there...but I think that pretty much sums up the party deets. The key to party details is to plan ahead. Don't shop at one place a few days before your event. Compare pricing and wait for sales! And reuse or repurpose what you already have. I know that sounds like a big time commitment, but if you love to create like I do, don't overwhelm yourself. Just do a little bit every few days or weeks. If you plan a few months out- it's a piece of "glittery" cake!
Happy birthday, our glitter girl... You make this world sparkle a lot more!
She's One.
One year with Little Miss Kerigan. I think I have mentioned this before, but my Grandma Vargas always use to tell me that "Love multiplies, it doesn't divide." Kerigan, we do love your brother with our whole hearts, but you have allowed me to grow a new one. You are the song to my soul and the answered prayer our family always sent up. Thank you little girl, for being your bright, beautiful, funny, lovable little self.
Here are some things about our Ker Bear. There is one correction on here...I completely guessed before I finalized this poster on her weight....she's only 17 pounds. #pipsqueak
A word from daddy on his girl's day:
"Precious little girl, you completely changed our family since you graced us with your presence one year ago. We thank God for your sweet spirit and loving nature. You remind me so much of my mom with your cool demeanor and beautiful smile. We love you little Kerigan and can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays!"
A word from mommy:
"This year has been filled with baby snuggles, dance parties, a copious amount of diapers, giggle fits, hair bows, baby wearing, double strollers, 'organized' chaos and tons and tons of sissy kisses. I always loved the idea of Briggs having a brother growing up but God knew we needed you. You are our constant ray of sunshine. You are the most go-with-the-flow and uplifting babe. We didn't know we were having a girl and I still pinch myself because I don't believe it's real. I thank Our Savior every day for our beautiful blessing, our Kerigan Kay. Happy birthday, doll baby! Today we celebrate you, my sweet."
Now, enjoy some cake smashing!
Happy birthday, beautiful.
A Rhino, a frog and a fireman
So where is this rhino we speak of? We had a last minute wardrobe change. Halloween night was a our third of three dress up nights. The first two nights, Briggs wore his rhino costume with pride. He even won runner-up at a costume contest...thanks Phippy ;-)
Halloween night was a miserable, wet, cold dreary night. I wouldn't even let the princess frog out of the house. After visiting about 2 neighbors, Briggs and daddy called it quits. We were supposed to visit my parents afterward and Briggs fell asleep for the night before the party even started. Halloweens 2012 & 2013 proved to be more eventful for our little bug. Maybe he's calming down with age?
Along with Halloween, we made some great memories at the pumpkin patch...we dive head first into fall festivities around these parts.
This girl and her daddy <3 <3
Classic mean mugs
Sis, maybe some day you won't get your brother's hand-me-down costume with an added bow...some day
Love these babies!
October Siesta
We're back from our home away from home. The kids and I took went down to Siesta for a late October get away. The last time we were here was in May. Kerigan was only six months old then and it was so stinkin' hot that she wasn't up for play time at the beach.
This time around, she loved the sand and especially the pool. She was terrified of the ocean, though. At 2.5, Briggs decided he was going to swim in the ocean by himself!
We really missed Daddy this week, but had a great time soaking up the Vitamin D. October is my all time favorite month to be in Siesta. The weather is perfect and its never really crowded. My soul really needed this week without work interruptions though. I didn't carry my phone around. I didn't even bring my computer. My soul focus was Briggs and Kerigan. I think this was especially great for Briggs. Before florida, we had been going through a "time-out" streak. I think its just his cry out for mom's attention. Because now that we're home, its like a switch went off. He's back to his sweet self.
So here is (some of) our week in photos. I wish I would have taken more photos...but it was tough wrangling the two without dad. Until next time, Siesta! xoxo
These babies love the beach!
Searching for alligators on an air boat
The ole Philippi tortuga (Briggs doesn't use their english name ever)
Big girl turned 11 months while down here! And she decided to finally crawl with four points...no more army crawling :)
Story time with Yaya
Squishies for Sissy
Headed home to daddy!
See you again soon, Siesta!
11 Month Mama's Girl
One more month until our bubbly baby girl is a YEAR OLD!
Ryan I recently traveled to Sonoma to celebrate our five year anniversary...so I was away from the kids for about 8 days. (torture for my heart and torture for a nursing mom. sidenote-taking a break from my pump for A.VERY.LONG.TIME) While in Sonoma, we could talk and Facetime with Briggs. He got it. Baby did not. So since we have been back, she has been attached to me. Literally. My mom now refers to as velcro. :)
While the attachment makes it difficult to get anything done, I kind of love it. I'm hoping this phase sticks around for a while.
Milestones and accomplishments this month:
-No more army crawling! The condo in Florida only has tile floors-so the army crawling was too cold for her. So she finally decided to start the big girl crawling.
-She still has just her two bottom teeth
-She can say "hi" and "bye"
-She loves waving and clapping (loves bopping and clapping to music)
-She can now say "no" and also shakes her head no a lot. (Even when she means yes :) silly girl)
Her birthday invites are going out soon. The them is Glitter and Gold for a our One-Year-Old. She's excited to celebrate soon. And me? Let's pause time for a bit...K?
I love the way her invites turn out! Typically I create them, but couldn't get the gold look I was envisioning. So I contacted DigiBuddhaPaperie on etsy and they helped me create it. They were great to work with and sent a high-res digital copy within 24 hours or so.
Her first year collage is almost complete! I can't believe how quickly this year has flew by
I'm going to have to do some digging, but I have several baby pictures where I'm making this exact facial expression. Maybe I'll finally have a kid that looks like ;-)
Happy 11 Months, Baby Love!
Five Years.
Five years! Five years I've been married to this wonderful human being. We celebrated our fifth year in wine country. We missed the kids like......no words can describe how much we missed them, actually. But our time together, just us, where our story began, was very much needed.
We flew into San Fran. I had visited the city when I was a little girl, and to be honest, it didn't really meet my expectations. It was cloudy and a bit dingy. I realized more than ever, that my heart will always be a little bit "country," maybe even more than I previously knew. We escaped toward the hills and visited the golden gate bridge as much as possible. We liked it out there. We also loved Sausasilito, which is the town across the bay. Not as crazy, much cleaner and overall, more relaxing.
After a two days and a night in San Fran, we headed for Sonoma. Sonoma and Napa are valleys that are side by side in northern Cali. Sonoma was more laid back, more rustic, and more of a small town-which we loved! Wine makers would spend one on one time with you and go into detail in educating you on each of their wines. Napa was a little more commercialized and built up. Wineries seemed to try to get you in and out-but still worth the visit. The landscape in both were nothing short of breathtaking.
Before we arrived in Cali, we knew almost 90% of the wineries we wanted to visit, thanks to the research and recommendations of the sweetest friend a girl could ever ask for (S.Pillerette). If you ever venture to Sonoma/Napa...I highly recommend you find a best friend to guide you before you go. ;-)
The days with just Ryan were perfect. It reminded me of the years leading up to our marriage. We always lived apart in different cities, but whenever we would meet up, we would make an adventure out of it in whatever location we were in...St. Louis, Nashville Tennessee, Columbus Georgia, Memphis, Barbados or right in our backyard. We eat where the locals eat, we soak up the culture, make friends with the townies and listen to their stories. We are both sometimes a little too "go with the flow" so if we want to accomplish a lot the next day, we really have to force ourselves to make plans and goals. But this is us. It what makes us tick. He balances my drama, crazy dreams and multitasking overload and I would like to think I add a little adventure to his calm collectiveness.
Thank you, my beloved, for five wonderful years. There's no one else I would rather be doing life with than you. You are my soulmate, my confidant and my partner in this incredible journey. You are everything that is love to me.
One of my favorite bloggers, Soul Scripts said something that really resonated with me when she and her fiance got engaged. She wrote "Standing here today, we don't have it all figured out. But one thing is certain. God has intricately woven paths together for a beautiful purpose. With Christ at the center, we know that He will provide & equip us each day to bring glory to His name in our lives together"
Happy five years, to the greatest person I've ever known.
We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
