Kate's 2nd Birthday Pawty

My baby girl turned 2 on the 18th! We celebrated with a party combining her favorite things-dogs, friends, & the outside! We had her friends over from 2-4, and then we had the family at 5. Last year, we combined everyone b/c we didnt have that many babies. I knew our little home would be overflowing if we tried that this year. I am really glad we split the parties, but did them back to back. A little chaotic, but a wonderful day!
I made the invitations and did two variations...One looked like this, and the other was a flat card with the picture and words on the front and the magnet on the back.
The pink poodle hat is from one of my Halloween costumes in college. Poor Luke. While all the other girls were nurses and cowgirls, his girlfriend chose a pink poodle.

I just bought pink notecards and a paw print cutter outer.

And this was the inside. I also added a note below the (free!) magnet that asked everyone to bring something for the puppies at the shelter something instead of Kate a gift. More on that later!

Here is Kate's amazing cake! I showed my friend Stefanie a picture,  and it was way more amazing than I could have imagined! And so delicious too!! Also, you can see Kate's party hat in this pic.

Meg painted this canvas for the occasion. Adorable.

Cant believe we are the parents to this little joy!

Here are the table decorations. I got the plates, napkins, and cups from birthdayexpress.com. The napkins and cups were on super clearance for like 48 cents a package or something ridiculous! Loved the pink poodles!

Of course!

I saw this server on amazon, and just had a fit over it. It didnt exactly fit into our budget (it wasnt that expensive, just a ridiculous purchase), so it was part of my Valentine's Day gift from my sweet hubby! He knows the way to my heart is through cute servers!

The supercheap cups fancied up a bit!

Dog bone treat cookies compliments of KK

I set up some of Kate's puppy friends on the front porch. Dont forget to wipe your paws!

Although you can't tell really well in this pic there were puppy prints on the sidewalk leading up to the house.

On our dining room table, we had puppy ears set up (instead of party hats), and people could drop off their donations for the animal shelter.

The boys got these adorable dog bones with 6 dog bone shaped crayons inside!

The girls got these poodle "hat boxes" with a pink poodle necklace inside!

Some of the cute puppies:

The coffee table with kid friendly treats!

The sweet twins getting ready to sing!

Can you tell Kate is thinking, "Seriously, Mom?"

And now for a costume change:

All the Bousson great grandkids!

Kate's 1st 1st cousin, Audrie

These cousins came all the way from Texas to celebrate Kate's special day!

And brought this awesome table.

We had lots of fun with our new swingset ( I got a giftcard to csn.com from this awesome blog, and Pawpaw and KK did the rest)

Who doesn't love bubbles?

Glorious Chaos

Playing in the new playhouse from PopPop and Grammy. Notice a trend of Kate telling people where to sit in these next few pics. Haha!

Play table from Papa Q and Ninabelle.

And then the sun went down, and things got crazy!

Here is Kate sitting among the goodies for the shelter. We have such generous friends!

We had such a wonderful day celebrating our sweet girl. Several times during the day, I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Do you know that everyone is here for you?" And she would reply with her usual, "Yea!" I really want her to know how loved she is by so many.

Dearest Kate,

You are truly more and more of a blessing everyday. I love you so much more than I ever thought possible. At two, you are trying sometimes, but you are so funny! You love to make people laugh, and you have the best sense of humor. You are also so clever. Sometimes when you should be in trouble, your Daddy and I have to stifle a giggle. Speaking of your Daddy, I pray that you always love him and look up to him like you do now. Yall have the best bond and I hope you treasure your relationship with him forever. You are so sweet with your Bubba too. I love watching yall interact, and you can never kiss him enough. If he is ever fussing, you come and get me. I also love that when I ask, "Who is your best friend?" You yell, "Mommy!" I hope that I am always someone you can confide in, run to when you are hurt, and always feel completely safe with. I pray that you bury your heart in Jesus, and look to him for acceptance, not this world. I just want to shelter it all from you, but I know this isn't the best way. I pray your heart stays tender, and that you dont become hardened to evil and unfairness. Oh, baby girl, I love you so much! On your birthday, I got to rock you until you drifted off the sleep (after your daddy had already done the same thing, you stinker), and I remembered sitting in the hospital room that first night with you. I didnt want to go to sleep, because I didnt want that day to end. Now, I would love to go back to that room, just you, me, and Daddy, and smell your baby hair, and kiss your baby cheeks. You arent a baby anymore, but a precious little girl that I am so proud of.

I love you,

Mommy, your best friend.

springing up

I am so ready for SPRING!!!

Preston has been getting so interactive, and loving all of our fun toys. He loves the jumper, the exersaucer, and the Bumbo (when it's within eyesight of someone). He doesnt even have to have the blanket under his feet anymore. If he is awake, he is moving!!! When I was pregnant, he was extremely active, and this has been proven true outside the womb. I know whenever people ask to hold him, I get him back quickly because he is such an arm workout...now why dont my biceps show that?!





Pres and Coco at a Tutus and Ties 1st bday party






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He loves the sling! Funny story...I was at the Walmarts this week and a little boy asked me why I had a baby in my shirt?! Haha, so funny, and it made me wonder how many other little kids had thought the same thing!

  I think we, along with the rest of Memphis, LOVE our days of warmer weather. Now, if we could just talk it into staying, it would be nice. I think both of my poor babies got my sinus issues. We now have humidifiers in every bedroom, I have snot on my somewhere within an hour of getting dressed, and we all sound pitiful.

We were so excited to have a playdate with the Laneys and Butlers. Audra and Erin and I went to nursing school together (& Erin and I have actually known each other since she was born), and we each had one baby, and are on to round two! Drew (audra), Kate, Cole (Erin), Pres, Hannah (Audra), and Jordan (Erin) is coming soon! It is funny how we each have one boy and one girl. I loved getting to see them and watching our kids play together!

Yes, we made the preggo get in the jungle gym!

Kate making sure the boys are acting right!

We celebrated Cole's 17th bday! Cant believe it! And, of course, I got him a Barbie balloon!

We have no idea why she made this face...but it has kept us laughing!

Big Boy is 4 months old! He is rolling over both ways, chattering up a storm, and loving his Mama! He loves to give kisses, loves his sister, and likes to be facing out. He has always loved giving me kisses, but at first 

Luke's beard tickled him and he would make the poutiest face. It was so funny, we tortured him like that often! He loves to cuddle before bed, and is still waking up every 2-3 hours to eat. AH! That is about to make me a crazy woman. He is wearing size 2 or 3 diapers depending on the brand, and 3-6 month clothes. is such an easy baby, and I truly thought Kate was. He goes with the flow, naps anywhere, and has the biggest, goofiest grin I have ever seen. He has stolen all of our hearts!

No wonder he doesnt sleep for more than 3 hours at a time...he is worried about sister girl!

Kate is just as sassy as ever. She is so sweet most of the time, and then sometimes just has an attitude! I feel like I am living with a teenager somedays!

I am making her clean the house before her birthday party this weekend.

It's a hard knock life...(side story below)

Did yall catch that? YEP!! Her Second Birthday Party is this weekend...can you guess the theme?

side story: When Megan and I were little and shared a room, she wanted to move into an orphanage so she could clean like Annie (I never understood this since she never helped with our chores anyway). Well, Kath was fed up, and told her to pack her bags. I started a balling as her suitcase was filling up because I truly thought she was leaving me! This is also the child that used to want to go to daycare so she could eat breakfast there...and my poor Mom had us a hot breakfast every. single. day.