Landon is One!

My Baby turned one on Wednesday! How has it already been a year?! His birthday has been a little bittersweet for me...he is just the cutest thing ever, but he grew waaay too fast for his Momma! He is waving, clapping, babbling, crawling everywhere and will eat anything you put in front of him!
But I digress...
I am SO excited to share his first birthday and cake smash photos...they came out so cute! (If I do say so myself...) We went with a Winnie the Pooh theme for his party this Sunday, so of course his photos have a Winnie the Pooh theme as well!

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Or in our case, here in sunny, Southern California, a sandman?
Yes, Frozen has taken over my family, my home, my car and my brain. If you have kiddos in your life, you're most likely in the same boat. And if you've tried to purchase some kind of Frozen merchandise or memorabilia and you've probably noticed that there seems to be some kind of shortage...supply is definitely not meeting demand! Now, I have boys...so I wasn't aware of how bad the situation was until I started looking for a birthday gift for my niece. There are no Anna or Elsa dresses to be found...anywhere...unless you count Ebay and can afford to pay upwards of $150!
Long story short, I thought I might try and make one. It didn't come out perfect, but my niece thinks she's Elsa and that's all that matters to me!
Here a a few photos of my sweet niece Julia (ahem, ELSA) in her princess dress:

Happy Father's Day!

When my Husband and I first met in 2006, we were both volunteering in the junior high program at our church. I had just started and he had been there awhile already. Before we even began dating I knew: he was great with kids. And there are many reasons why I love him and why I decided to date him and then to marry him...but I knew for sure he was going to be a great Dad.

Fast forward to 2010 and the birth of our first baby...and the moment I knew that I was so right.

Watching my Superman Husband hold our tiny little Colt in his arms for the first time and seeing the combination look of love and complete terror on his face is something I'll never forget. I've since watched him bond with Colt in a way that makes me just a little jealous ; ) If you know Andrew and Colt well, you know that they're basically carbon copies of each other...every so often Colt will say or do something and I'll think, "oh hey, there I am!" But mostly, he's all his Daddy: a big-hearted, non-stop ball of energy and a friend to anyone and everyone...which makes for one of the greatest Father/Son relationships I've ever seen...and I am so excited to see it grow!

In 2013, we welcomed baby #2...and much to everyone's surprise (including mine) we got a tiny, boy version of me.

So far, in his almost one year of life, Landon has exhibited many of his Momma's qualities: he is super sensitive, shy around those he doesn't know, but loves a good party. We both learned very quickly that what worked for baby Colt wasn't going to work for baby Landon...but Landon has definitely brought out Andrew's softer, more compassionate side and we've learned more about each other in the process!
Watching Andrew be a Daddy is one of my greatest joys...I couldn't have asked for a better partner in crime to raise babies with!

And speaking of 'partner'...
I get asked a lot how I get so many photos of my boys both looking at the camera and smiling...at the same time. It's a challenge...for every 1 good photo I get, there are 30 terrible ones! But the really, really good ones are good because of Andrew...you can usually find him over my shoulder acting like a crazy person trying to make the boys laugh. And the amount of crazy he exhibits is directly proportional to how quickly he wants me to get my shot so we can be done...
He's pretty much gotten it down to a science...photos that used to take 30-45 minutes now only take us about 10...which is good for when we're in public and people are staring...
Poor guy had no idea he married THAT Mom...the Mom that needs to capture all the special moments on camera and pose her children for themed photo sessions for every holiday...but he's taken it like a champ and I can honestly say that I probably wouldn't have many good photos of our boys without him!
He's been my balloon holder,

 baby wrangler,

hat fixer,

background baby positioner,

and just the best sandcastle building, kite flying, car playing, book reading fun kind of Daddy!

We are so thankful for you, Andrew! 

Happy Father's Day to the best Husband and Daddy ever! We love you!

To Infinity and Beyond!

I am SO behind on blog posts…it's true what they say: having one child is like having one, having two children is like having twenty…they're keeping me busy!
But I digress…
Colt turned FOUR last month! Whaaat?! It is mind-blowing to me how fast time is passing…I can't believe my boy is already four years old!
Colt has always loved Toy Story…he had a blast being being Buzz Lightyear last year for halloween so four just seemed like a good year for a Toy Story party!
This was definitely a fun theme for me…like always, I had just as much fun planning and creating as Colt had at his party. Here are some of the photos. Enjoy!

 The front and back of the invitation. Our good friend Ian, who is a computer graphics genius, made Colt's personalized Toy Story logo. It's kind of my favorite…

 The welcome table! That photo on the left is of Colt at 18 months old…too cute not to share. And the Etch-A-Sketch with his hashtag info was one of my favorite pieces of decor for this party! And last but not least, if you've been following my blog for awhile, you'll recognize our famous birthday tablecloth...had to use that logo...like I said, it's my favorite!

 The party photo booth and props...you might recognize the DIY backdrop from last year's Toy Story halloween costume photos! And that Etch-A-Sketch? It's a red photo mat with plastic water bottle tops for the knobs. The printed props on sticks I found via Pinterest here.

 I covered the tables with white paper, provided buckets full of crayons and let the guests decorate them  a-la-Macaroni Grill-style. I also made Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head felt boards for the littlest guests!

 My boy! He wanted to wear his whole Buzz Lightyear costume to the party...but I thought pants and long sleeves might be too much in the 100 degree SoCal weather...so we compromised and he insisted on wearing the wings all day...even in the bounce.

 Pizza Planet (aka Costco) catered the event.

 The favors might have been Colt's favorite. Little Green Men!

 And this is my piece de resistance: The dessert table!

 The cake...again with my favorite logo! I printed out the size I wanted it to be, cut out the pieces and used them as stencils to cut the fondant pieces. I also loved those candles I found at Party City...four candles and four letters in his name: perfect!

 Mr. Potato Head Mustaches: chocolate melt-molds with striped paper straws for the sticks.

 Banana-flavored gum balls look just like the ammunition Zurg shoots from his gun in Toy Story 2!

Pixar ball cake pops! These were hard to make, but I'm glad I did...they turned out pretty cute!

Sherif Woody badges...with gold sixlets on the points.

 Chocolate coins=Hamm's piggy bank spare change.

 And last, but not least, Buzz Lightyear's 'Moon Rock' candy.

 Colt and his cake pop!

 FOUR.

 Happy Fourth Birthday, Colt!!