Tuesday, September 20, 2011

{ first birthday }

look who's one!


holland taylor is!


today we woke up,



and celebrated turning { ONE! }



we started a tradition with hayden by coming into the nursery in the morning and singing "happy birthday" to start their special day just right. holland had the biggest smile on her face and knew something was special!

daddy baked her a cake and most notably... cake pops! (his first!) i love my 'marty' stewart! seriously. who knew that my husband had a passion for cookin' yummy stuff in the kitchen! i love it.

we had such a fun day and took the kids to see the lion king in the theaters.

eyeing her cake...
it's finally cake time!big brother doing what he does best! helping her eat cake and frosting! ready for bathtime!
we took a family vacation to utah last week and had a photo session with shine photography. karen is amazing at taking pictures. i had a blast coordinating holland's outfits for her 1st birthday shoot and LOVED the way they turned out! (more to come!)
{ swoon }

at 12 months you-

...are still the cutest little girl in the world!

...just took your first road trip! you've been to 4 states already!

...have 4 top teeth and 3 lower teeth.

...cruise along everything, everywhere. you like to stand and so far have taken 3 steps!

...your favorite word is "bah-bah." you love to say it, especially when you want your bottle! you also enjoy saying "uh-oh!"

...you've already got "bieber fever!" daddy taught you how to sing the chorus in justin bieber's "baby, baby" and you sing the "ohhh" part. it is so cute and you perform every time! i think you just might be a singer?

...you are an angel sleeper. you don't need to be rocked, we just lie you in your crib, sing your favorite lullabies and you fall asleep.

...still naps 2x a day most days, but only in your crib or in the car.

...getting more squirmy! you like to move and crawl!

...hate wearing head bows which makes mommy so sad! hopefully you'll want to wear them again...pretty please?!

...will grab hayden's toys any chance you get! you are especially a professional at grabbing straws out of drinks and glasses off faces. man, you are quick!

...laughs- like a champ. mom and dad will laugh back and forth with you. you will try and mimic our laugh. it's really funny!

...is most definitely a FAN of her bottle, puffs and strawberries. you really are a great eater!

...loves bath time with your brother.

...ADORES your kitties. you cry when they leave the room.

...wants to "climb me" any chance she gets.

...is still in 6-12 month clothing.

...is just beginning to watch television but still not very entertained. would rather play!

...will crawl into my lap to get close when i'm sitting on the floor with her.

...gives great waves and blows kisses!

...has the cutest shoes but is happier without them on

...is closely "monitored" by mr-home-from-preschool Hayden who lets me know if Holland is puts anything in her mouth which I really appreciate.

...& is showing more and MORE personality daily. Which we love!

what a milestone and what a special day a first birthday is! we cannot believe our sweet baby girl is one years old but have cherished every second with our little princess. happy birthday holland taylor and thank you for every joy, laugh and smile you have brought to our family. i have always wanted a daughter and could not have asked for anyone sweeter or more beautiful than you. i cannot wait for all of the fun "mommy and daughter" experiences we are going to continue to share together and i love you so much! you are also the best other thing that has happened to me!


Sunday, August 21, 2011

{ captain hayden's pirate parrrrtay }

ahoy mateys! first off, this was such a fun theme. i really hope hayden wants to do this again in the future because i would do pirates again in a heartbeat. hayden has been talking about wanting a pirate party for his birthday party for months now and ricky and i have had a "swashbucklin" good time planning it.



hayden hand delivered "message in a bottle" invitations to friends & family





the birthday boy with his first mate- cousin dean

we had a swim party in papa and jamma's beautiful backyard! a big thank you to them for letting us have it here!

it was perfect for a hot summer day.

the welcome table

guests were treated to pirate sashes, eye patches and tattoos to wear!

i also want to start a tradition and pick a book that is within the party theme and have the guests sign the book. this will be a great keepsake for years to come!





we had a lot of fun being creative with the food...
















sailing the "black pearl!"

papa's beautiful koi pond! the kids loved looking at the fish!




swimming pirates!

omi and opa!

princess pirate!

little adri!

me and holland! i'm so proud i made her outfit! tutu and all!

sweet girl

the grandpa's



it's cake time!

coolest cake ever!

sampling it of course!

"happy birthday!"

we can't believe he is 4!

cute cupcake toppers

uh-oh! grammy wasn't looking and holland swiped the cupcake! it's okay because holland turned 11 months today and is already practicing for her cake smash!

presents!

after each present, hayden would say, "thank you! mommy, can you please get me the next one?" it was kind of embarrassing, kind of cute?

we played a few pirate games.

this one was "pin the patch on the pirate!"

it was most of their first time playing the "pin the tail on the donkey" concept game and they all did a great job!

Treasure Hunt Time!

this was a lot of fun to plan! i wrote pirate riddles and ricky hid them around the backyard. the kids were so excited and ran around the yard to find the next clue.

x marks the spot!

yeah! they found the treasure chest! and it happen's to be a pinata, so you know what that means... there is only one way to get the goods out of that!


go hayden go!

pirate treasure! gold coins, pirate beads and of course CANDY!

yummy!

ricky and i were so excited about this-

the pirate photo booth!

we hand-made all of the moustache props and were so excited to see how the pictures were going to turn out...here is a sampling!























so fun! it's been a few days and hayden keeps talking about how much fun he had and how he wants another pirate parrrtay...aarrrrgghhh, i guess we did a good job!

here is a great slideshow omi put together- fun music and all!




can't wait until holland's big 1st birthday! countdown less than 1 month!