We celebrated our sweet girls turning TWO & FIVE over the weekend with a pool party, it was so much fun and I am so excited to share some pictures from their special day.  I mentioned before that we decided on a joint party this year (Avalon’s birthday was at the beginning of June and Waverly’s is at the end of July), I loved the idea of it and ask me now after their party, I would 110% say the same and am totally on board to do this forever! 😉  Not only is it way easier to do just one party, but we have a lot of extended family and friends who want to celebrate the girls and this way, we get to do that but each of them also can have their own (way more low key) thing on their actual birthday with their little friends, at any place they choose to go.

This party was actually one of the easier ones I have planned, as I knew all anyone would want to do is swim and have fun in the pool (which was definitely the case!).  We went with a blue and green theme, with a few pops of pink, both inspired by the girls suits and the cutest cake idea we found on Pinterest.  We set out bubbles, water guns and water balloons in the colors of the party, and did two games (found here & here if you are planning a pool party, these were so much fun and perfect for this age group!).  For food, we did a chicken nugget tray we got at Chick-Fil-A and some kid friendly snacks, along with a blue margarita for the adults that ended up being a huge hit (we actually ended up going on an ABC store run doing the party for a second round, not sure what that says about us …).  The setup was super cute, a special thank you to my mom for helping with everything per usual and surprising me with cupcakes that spelled out each of the girls names.

I pretty much didn’t see Waverly most of the party, she was having way too much fun with all her friends and is still talking about how “awesome” everything was.  Avalon was content eating (and eating some more), and then later having her daddy throw in her in the pool 100 times in a row.  They were so sweet opening their presents after the party that night, Waverly made sure she helped Avalon with hers and they lined everything they got in the front of the living room.  I never want to forget how Avalon kept saying “my paw-ty” or how Waverly kept asking where everyone would park and how she stood out in the driveway waiting for the first person to arrive. 
Happiest birthday to my summer girls, I love you both more than you will ever know and you bring so much joy to so many lives!!!!!  XO

We are so excited to celebrate the girls birthdays together with a pool party in a few weeks!!  After two close birthday parties last year for each of them, I decided that together was definitely the way to go this year.  Obviously for planning reasons, but also because one of my favorite memories as a kid was always celebrating with my brother since we both had August birthdays.  I am three years (and two weeks) older than him, which is almost the exact age difference between Waverly & Avalon.  I hope they will love it just as much, and that this can become a tradition for them as well, although I am fully aware that this could totally backfire on me and they will refuse to share their special day ever again.  We shall see.
As the girls get older, I am quickly learning that some fun food and decor just doesn’t cut it anymore, they need something to do and the pool seemed like the best option for that!  I got them some super cute suits (from one of my favorite swim shops here), and will be going pretty laid-back, some cook-out food from the grill and a few fun pool games.  I know the kids will be most excited to swim, so that makes it super easy!!! 🙂
You know I love a good invite, I was actually going through the girls baby books the other night looking through all the invites from their birthday parties/showers, they bring back the best memories and I hope they will love to look at them one day.  We teamed up again with our friends at Minted this year, and it turned out so cute and fun!  We did some pictures at my grandparents pool (where the party will be!) for the back of the card, and they had so much fun doing them.

We went with the last picture for the back of the card, and used this invite.  The final product came super fast and was high-quality as usual, we just love Minted so much!

Hope this gives you some inspiration for a party of your own!  Can’t wait to share details & images from the party afterwards, happiest birthday to our summer girls! XO

Over the weekend, we celebrated Waverly Maye’s fourth birthday with a brunch, donut style per her request!  This might have been one of my favorite parties yet, donuts are one of our go-to weekend treats and I also loved seeing Waverly with all of her little friends who got to come.  This was the first year that she really had a big group of kids her age and she was so excited, we all had the best time celebrating her!

I really wanted to find a fun way to display the donuts, & the cutest shop Freestyle Mom pulled through with the most adorable stand, I am obsessed with it!  I also used a wine stand from our wedding to put donut holes in, and alternated with confetti, the girls loved getting to pick out their own cone.  In addition to donuts, we did an egg & cheese casserole, blueberry muffins, yogurt parfaits, fruit kabobs, and little cups of different cereal for the kids.

Gone are the days of throwing out a few bottles of bubbles, a plastic pool, or sidewalk chalk to keep the kids entertained.  My mom took charge of planning activities for the little ones, and I was so thankful, we pretty much waited until the last minute & I’m sure I would have learned the hard way if we hadn’t (with ten four-year olds, on a sugar high, with nothing to do).  My favorite game was donuts on a string, we just hung donuts and let the kids go to town with their hands behind their backs and it was the cutest ever!  We also had pinata, we let the kids decorate their own donut with icing, sprinkles and other treats, and at the end of the party, did a little painting with washable paints.  I actually love this idea for even a fun afternoon activity, we just got super cheap foam boards from Micheal’s and put them up against our fence.  

Inside, we did cake and drinks.  We had both mimosas and then a little milk bar, with mini-donuts around the straws.  I absolutely loved the donut cake, and also cannot take any credit for it, but it was adorable and one of Waverly’s favorite parts of her day!

I have vowed to plan only one party next year for both girls (I think it was sometime that morning, while four little hands were taking donuts off the stand as I put them on, I actually laugh now thinking back on what a circus our house had to have looked like pre-party).

But regardless of how exhausting stuff like this can be, it’s all worth it.  Before long they will be in high school and wanting to spend their birthdays anywhere but home, so I’m going to soak this in while I can.  And give them all the donuts they want. 😉

And lastly, thank you for your sweet birthday wishes for our big girl, it means so much!
XO

Girls Dresses – Donut Stand – Tissue Garland 

Waverly Maye recently got to participate in a birthday exchange with some of our favorite bloggers for the third year in a row (see last year’s here & the year before here).  I am super excited to stop in to share what she got this time around.  We love exchanges like these so much, fun mail makes us so happy (way too happy) and it was extra fun for Waverly to get some of her very own, her first birthday present this year!

Our friends Desiree & Julia sent over the perfect gift for a girly-girl like Waverly, she absolutely loved it!  She got a Frozen makeup package and the sweetest dolls from an Etsy shop, and they have already been used non-stop.  By both girls.  Avalon even got very first manicure, with Elsa polish. 🙂

The biggest thank you to Desiree & Julia, Waverly Maye is one very happy little girl!  And an extra special thank you from this mama, you bought me some time before she starts begging us some more for her gifts from us, I think the list currently has 200 items that she “has to have”. 😉

For a complete list of all the bloggers that participated, see below!  We had the best time sending over something special for Lily, you can see that here.

Elizabeth and Mason – Chasin’ Mason
Laureen and Tyson – Chateau Deveau
Brittany, Charlie and Maddie – Just Another Day in Paradise
Desiree and Julia – Macke Monologues
Natasha and Ethan – Schue Love
Sarah and Brantley – Seeing All Sides
Vanessa and Arden – Sunflower State of Mind
Julia and Myles – The Everyday Mama
Traci and Charli – The Hallway Life
Amanda and Lily – Tickled Pink
Laura and Liam – Tiny Toes, Little Nose
Whitney and Brielana – Work It Mommy

And wishing you all a very happy Tuesday!!!
XO

Waverly Maye turns FOUR at the end of the month, & I think I may just be more excited for this birthday than any other one yet.  Even more than last year, she is literally dying from excitement, she wakes up each morning with, “is it time yet?” and wants to recite the list of everyone coming to her party at least 20 times a day.  She asked for a donut party, which I’m going for, but making it more of a brunch to tone down the sweets a least a little bit. 😉  I’m incorporating black & whites, since her favorite kind of donut is chocolate, along with a pop of purple.  One year & counting, her “favorite color in the entire world is purple”, so I knew she would love that as well!

You all know how much I love an invite, I worked with Audriana from Invited by Audriana on this one & absolutely love how it turned out!  She has this design as a pre-made template but customized the colors for me, and it is exactly what I envisioned.  We have it hanging in our kitchen and Waverly loves to look at it every time she walks by, I think we may just have to leave it there forever & ever.

Invited by Audriana has so many other amazing designs, there is seriously a creative, beautiful option for any party you can think of.  And she has so graciously agreed to giveaway THREE pre-made templates to three of my readers!  Best odds ever! 🙂  This would be perfect for any event you have coming up, or even in the fall with the holidays!  To enter, head over to my Instagram page.  It will run until this Friday the 8th and the winner will be announced that day.  Good luck!

Lastly, I wanted to share one of Waverly’s gifts, purple Hunter boots!!!  I am so excited to give these to her, she loves wearing rain boots all the time and the fact that they are purple glitter is just going to blow her mind.  It was so hard not to buy her a million gifts this year because she comes up with something new she wants every single day, but I know these will definitely be a favorite.  If you have a little girl in your life, these are currently on sale! 🙂


And hope you all had the most amazing fourth, can’t wait to share some pictures tomorrow!
XO

PS – I shared a story on Ways to Document Your Babe’s First Year here today, a great read if you are expecting or plan to have any more babies. 🙂