Two By Two

so, this weekend was the twins party and it was so much fun!! we had tons of people from outta town, the playgroup friends, as well as grandparents and aunts/uncles. it was just so fantastic.

i had wanted to do a noahs ark party when they turned one but i felt like two by two when they were two was prob more appropriate.

one of the first things i did was ask jeff to build an ark to go on the mantle. he went to lowes and just found some wood and put it together so fast. he had his own vision for everything and it turned out so great.

i found these animals at target on sale that were the perfect colors and i filled the ark with them.

then i made a banner like allison's with tissue paper that i put all over the house.

pretty early on i decided i wanted to have umbrellas as the party favor and i found some that were the perfect size from oriental trading company. they were design-your-own umbrellas, so they were white when they sent them and easy to screen print on. i made an ark design on powerpoint (we know i love powerpoint) and screen printed that on the umbrellas and then tied a raindrop (that i printed their initials and b-day on) with twine to the bottom.

celeste made up a rhyme to go with them that said "take an umbrella to keep the rain off of you, and help us remember the day we turned two!" so cute. loved it.

i cut out some raindrops from cardstock and sewed them together to hang above the umbrellas. i put them on the chandeliers too.

i just drew a rainbow on my shirt with a paintbrush (it was pretty ghetto) and i used the same screen printed ark design for the twins t shirts. i made sawyer an elephant hair clip out of felt and a little skirt that def showed off her tush a little too much...what can i say? the girl could make j lo jealous.

i also made this little cloud bunting that i hung in the kitchen and over the ark that you can kinda see behind the raindrops.

we had, you know, the usual-animal crackers, goldfish, gummy bears, zebra cakes, swedish fish (even though, who really knows if noah had to do anything with the fish??? did they just have to fend for themselves?? did the water affect them at all? sorry, side note) and then rice krispy treats and fiesta dip (that is truly a fiesta in your mouth). my cousin's wife, hayley, sent me the best surprise package a few days before party. she found these cupcake liners and toppers that had actually seen here and they are soooo cute. i was so excited. i had no idea it was coming and i couldnt stop smiling when i opened them and i saved the rest so i can use them again. they are so fun.

and the CAKE. the cake. it was amazing. then, even though i told him he did not have to, my amazing cousin, christopher, (who was in africa just the week before with my mom) and his wife, tiffany, and brother, david todd, made the most amazing cake i have ever seen!! it was just so perfect!! he used 11 (yes, 11) boxes of cake, 12 things of icing and it weighed 50 pounds!! it was incredible!! i mean, incredible! he used graham crackers all around it to look like wood and we put rubber animals on top. i mean, he should have a business. it was moist and delicious on the inside because the graham crackers sealed it and just melted in your mouth.

my dad held ben while they blew out the candles and they got super shy while everyone sang to them...hilarious.

so, i am not the best at thinking of party games and things of that nature, but luckily the bounce house place came through with a bounce house/water slide that was in the shape of a giant wave! i mean, we built an ark and there were waves all around us! it was so fun and even though it was kinda cold outside and we couldnt do the water with it, the kids loved it and went up and down it the whole party. love the wave. just wish we couldve done it with water!

it was also nice enough to swing and play outside so that turned out great.

thank you SO much to everyone who came to the party, stayed up late helping me get everything together, cleaned up afterwards, rode the wave, baked, cooked, brought kids, ate, drank, traveled, brought presents and just helped us celebrate!! (and im just so sad because i dont have any pics of anyone cause i was so bad at using my camera at the party!! thanks celeste for the pics i do have!!) it was such a fun party and we are so thankful to end our time in lubbock with a mini party with our friends. we cant tell you how much you all mean to us and how much we have enjoyed getting to know you all.

and happy birthday ben and sawyer!! these past two years have just flown by and could not be more thankful for you both. i feel like it was just yesterday when you guys were in the NICU and i thought how incredibly lucky i was to get to come visit TWO babies, instead of just one. thank you for making my life full, crazy, and just overall, pretty special. love you ben jam and sassarina.