Caroline Turns Two (Part 1)

I have been in serious denial.  My babies are getting bigger and it is so hard to admit it!  Caroline has a birthday next week.  Our sweet girl will be two years old!  I have been snapping pictures like crazy because it seems like my kiddos are changing every week.  I took these in our front yard a few days ago and they TOTALLY captured all the sweet things I want to remember about Caroline in the last few days of being a one-year-old.

 The same serious face she gives me EVERY time she sees my camera.

 And then I started cracking jokes!

 I never want to forget how precious this little dirty hand is.

 Little curls!

 Is there anything more precious than a baby's laugh?!

She is accessorizing!  

Looking out big sister's window

And of course, I had to get some pictures of big sister, Olivia!  Baby sister, Ellie was sleeping.

I will have an update soon!  We are in the process of recovering a sick household, putting away summer clothes and organizing fall stuff, AND planning the babies' birthday parties.  I think I mentioned this in a previous post but we are having one big party for Caroline and Ellie.  Their birthdays are just shy of a month apart so it just made more sense this year to have them together.  Their theme is LADYBUGS!  :)  Caroline is all of sudden REALLY into Elmo, though so we are celebrating her actual birthday with an Elmo cake and a few gifts at home.  I know she will love it this year and I cannot wait to see her reaction to her gifts!  I will post more pictures and details when I am not so sleep-deprived.  Thanks for reading! 

Love, Maegan

Our Double Nursery!

I just wanted to share pictures of our nursery!  It looks basically the same as before, just with an extra crib!  We are pretty set up for two girls in this room, but if we bring home a boy some bedroom redecorating will be in order over the next several months.  I think for now things will work just fine the way they are.  Caroline JUST started sleeping in her own bedroom.  I think I speak for the whole family when I say I can't wait for this little one to get here! :)

 Newborn crib

 Caroline's crib

My First Quilt!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was working on a quilt for Caroline's first birthday, and I DID finish it in time for her party!  For those of you who know me well, you understand what a major accomplishment that is  I love all things crafty, but a quilt has never been at the top of my to-do list.  I just thought it was something way out of my league.  A couple of months ago, I signed up to help with a quilting ministry at LaCroix which sparked my interest.  Due to their meeting times and my busy children, I haven't had a chance to make a meeting and actually help out, but it has been on my brain.  I am sure that everyone there could give me PLENTY of pointers.  I found a DIY blog post (at the fickle pickle) with some simple instructions.  I followed them for about half of the project, then decided to just skip the rest and just do my own thing.

Since Caroline had a John Deere theme for her first birthday party, I decided to put those John Deere scraps to good use.  My mom had them in her crafting closet (and seriously, y'all.. They have been there since I was in elementary school) so they didn't cost me a penny.  I spent less than $15 on the other supplies, since I used a 40% off coupon on the batting and the backing and trim fabric.  

This is what the squares looked like once they were sewn together. 

(Nothing fancy, but once again, FREE.)

Since Caroline had a John Deere theme for her first birthday party, I decided to put those John Deere scraps to good use.  My mom had them in her crafting closet (and seriously, y'all.. They have been there since I was in elementary school) so they didn't cost me a penny.  I spent less than $15 on the other supplies, since I used a 40% off coupon on the batting and the backing and trim fabric.  I sewed all the squares together, then  sandwiched the batting between the quilt front and backing.  For the backing, I chose a light yellow polka dot fabric.  Once that was ironed together to hold in place, I pinned and sewed on the diagonal to make it an official "quilt".  I trimmed it with some green fabric with white polka dots, and put some finishing touches on.  This is what the end result looked like:

It is NOT perfect by any means, but I doubt that Caroline will be complaining any time soon.  I think for the first quilting project, it turned out pretty okay.  It has been in our living room floor since Saturday serving as a  playmat.  I just had to share!  

Love, Maegan

Caroline Turns One

I cannot believe that my baby will be one tomorrow...  This year has just flown by!  It is so hard to imagine what life was like before Caroline was in it!  She has changed our world, all changes for the better.  As a baby, I thought she was so quiet and mellow.  She still is at times, she is very good at playing and entertaining herself.  She feeds herself, soothes herself, she plays well alone.  But there is a whole new side that has really started to show lately!  She is very independent, walking all over the house, and getting into ALL kinds of things.   She is an adventurous baby, for sure!  She will climb on just about anything, which is something Olivia has never done.  It is so amazing to watch their relationship grow.  They are more like sisters, these days.  Fighting over toys and learning how to share together.  I can't wait to watch how they grow over the years, especially with a new sibling joining our family in just a few short weeks.

We celebrated Caroline's birthday over the weekend and it was the PERFECT party.  We decided to keep it just family and close family friends, and it was really great.  We had a John Deere theme, and as I posted before, my friend Jessica made Caroline's invitations and banners.  It was ADORABLE.  I mean, really, really adorable.  I made a precious tutu for Caroline and a matching shirt and bow for both girls to wear to the party.  They weren't too fond of the pre-party pictures, but I did get one good one.  (**When you have multiple children, "one good one" refers to the only one where they are both sort-of looking and smiling.)

I just love this one!  :)

After the pictures, we let the birthday girl lose the tutu and hair bow and we got the party started!  It was a simple party in my parents' back yard, nothing fancy but it was perfect for the birthday girl.  I was so worried about having a party outside in AUGUST, especially with all of the heat waves and record-setting high temps lately, but I am glad we took a chance on it.  The high for that day was 81, and it was sunny and breezy.  Here are some pictures from the party!

Mommy and her girls!

My mom and I wrapped our presents to match the theme, so I had to get a picture! :)

Daddy and the Birthday Girl

 We had all the guests write a message on the frame for Caroline

 Birthday banner and tutu

Close-up of the tutu and bow

 Kennedy, Caroline, and Olivia playing on the quilt

 Caroline's John Deere cake (which was DELICIOUS)

The food table!  We kept it simple, with just hot dogs, chips, and drinks.  

Big sister had to get a little taste, too!

I can't imagine how her dad could have been made any more special!  We are so blessed to have friends and family to share in her special day.  I know there are lots of out of town family members that wish they could have made it, too, but hopefully these pictures and words help to make them feel like they were there!  Thanks for reading!  

Love, Maegan