Bs 1st birthday party

Brooks is ONE! Sometimes I still can't believe it...and then I see all the little milestones he's learned over these last 12 months and remember I've watched him grow so much and a year seems just about right. :) In true (Lindsay) fashion we stretched out his birthday celebrations a whole week! Which secretly gave me more time to *over* plan all of the little details, decor, and food we planned to have at his party. I cut, hot-glued, and baked more in one week than I had in my entire existence..okay probably not true, but it was still a lot and the burns on my fingers can tell a tale! But making the day special with all the little thought out details was just my way of sharing my love with my little nugget, B.

Even though it was a little crazy getting all the decor and food to our location at a nearby park *cough* thank you Geoff!!!!!!!! it was still such a special day with sweet friends who came to help us celebrate B's 1st birthday. And, let's be honest, some of the celebration is for Geoff and me making it through our first year of parenting!! and not because B was a difficult baby...I think more for the fact that my '4th trimester' of hormones outlasted the normal 'allowance' for spousal sanity. :)

Anyyyywho, his birthday party really was special and it meant so much to me to have our PNW friends come out and spend the afternoon with us -- quick sentimental side note, I took a small pause after 'helping' Brooks open his gifts and just thought "wow, all of these people came out to spend time with us and our little nugget, to shower him with love and gifts" and it really meant so much to me. I talk a lot about missing my family and friends back home that I don't think I give enough to those here who we've grown close with and have been there for us. It's really amazing and I want to thank each and every one of you for being in our lives. We love you. :)

Ok... on to the pics, amiright?!!

We had this one particular spot picked out for the party and when Geoff got there a few hours early to start setting up while B napped and I baked...there was, um, another party going on in that spot! *gasp* Apparently you can reserve these areas for parties?! I swear, y'all, I did my research and even checked for that...but apparently my comprehensive reading score was low that day. ;) We ended up finding another, more secluded, spot for our shindig and it was perfect.

Ok, a little back story on this...I thought it would be super cute to have a 'wall' of white balloons behind the food table as a backdrop. I set the balloons down behind the table to get the rest of the food and decor out of the car and when I came back, this happened. They really give the trees that certain je ne sais quoi...don't you think?

This is a little sign I made for the bubbles for the kids to play with and take home. It ended up getting bent and looking like doo doo...can't win 'em, guys.

 

I'd never made a two-tiered cake, so I dabbled in what little I'd learned from watching Ace of Cakes on the Foot Network! Ha! The icing visually left little to be desired but it was still pretty tasty! The batter tasted a bit like pound cake and the icing was a cream cheese frosting from scratch. I worked on these the day before during the Auburn game. Let's just say I was slightly distracted and the first batch didn't go so well. (I forgot about them after the buzzer went off) so back to the store for batch #2 ingredients we (er, Geoff) went! :) 

UM, just to clarify, Geoff's smoked pork butt and smoked chicken did not disappoint. It might've even been his best!

Another proud dad moment, by Geoff :)

So many sweet helpers :)

Thank you, again, everyone near and far who made our little B's first birthday so special!! You are loved!

Thanks for reading!

Lemons to Love,

#FBF - Baby Shower Gender Reveal!

Welp, I'm pretty sure the cat's outta the bag on this one! Not only has the gender been revealed, but the baby is born! Ha! Regardless, I still really wanted to share with y'all this fabulous day spent with friends and family. The beautiful baby shower thrown by my two sisters and best friends back home is definitely worth a bragging post.  They filled my parents' home with so much love and creativity I can't help but show them off with my readers!

While trying not to be too much of a Momzilla during all the prepping I did have a little input in the shower since the gender reveal was a secret to most of the party. I love being creative and couldn't help myself to add my own little flare of fun into the shower with the reveal.

To do this, I made (*the best cupcakes I've ever whipped up*) Salted Caramel Cupcakes and filled them with gender-appropriate colored icing. When the guests would bite into the mouth-watering sugary goodness they would reveal the gender of Baby!

To reveal the name of Baby Cott I made little individual letters to spell out the name and attached them below on the wrappers of random cupcakes. Those who chose the lettered cupcakes would then get together and unscramble the letters to reveal the name chosen for our first baby-to-be.

Before consumption of cupcakes and Baby gender was revealed I wanted to create a little game for the attendees with a gender guessing game. I cut out little pieces of card stock paper, one in a blue design and one in pink. I then set up two labeled jars for guests to place their vote. After the gender was revealed I pulled out one lucky winner from the jar and gave them a fun little girly box filled with a gift card to Ulta along with some nail polish and colorful emery boards as an added Thank You for coming!

Last but certainly not least there were the food and gifts! The spread was divine and decor even sweeter. I even heard someone say it looked straight out of a Food Network article....great job ladies!! Who's ready to start a side event planning biz? ;)

Everybody needs a little Nipple Butter in their life...

One of my most cherished gifts, this handmade quilt for little B from his MiMi.

These pictures don't even do the day justice. It was so surreal opening gifts for our coming bundle of joy, and surrounded by so much love was the icing on the (cup)cake. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to Brooks' shower and for all the sweetness you fill our lives with. He really is such a blessed little baby to have all the love and care given by each of you.

Thanks for reading!

Lemons to Love,