Birthday Wish List

I turn 32 on Thursday, and while this year's birthday is going to be super low-key and a bit overshadowed by the birth of L, I still have a few things I want! After buying maternity/big girl clothing since last Fall, a couple of clothing items made my wish list. I cannot WAIT to buy some non-maternity clothes. 

The list:

Source: asos.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Asos A Wear Mexicana Print Maxi

Found this while perusing the net for maxis a few weeks ago. I've been daydreaming of cute clothes for a while!

Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Rebecca Minkoff Baxter Sunglasses (I want Grey/Rose)

Because you can never have too many pairs of sunnies.

Source: lillypulitzer.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Lilly Pulitzer Chevonne Top in Resort White Gold Digger

So cute, will work with breastfeeding, too! Score!

Source: neimanmarcus.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Marc Jacobs Eliz-A-Baby Diaper Bag

I still have my old diaper bag, but kind of want a new one in a fun, girly color...

Branner's Birthday Party: Space Kidets

The Saturday after Branner turned three, we had a little party at Space Kidets for him. He had an absolute blast! While he was not really in the mood to pose for pictures (hence the lack thereof), he bounced, jumped, ran, and played himself silly. 

This place is a mommy's dream because you are not allowed to bring anything but cake and favors. No drinks, nothing. They do it all: pizza, drinks, balloons, moving your things from room to room (bounce room, party room, FREE game room) during the party. It was truly the easiest, most relaxed party. 

Three.

Dear Branner,

We know we say this every year, but we seriously cannot believe that you, our baby boy, are three. When did you grow up? Wasn't it just the blink of an eye ago when we were seeing you for the first time?! How did you become so big so fast? The toddler years seem to pass so quickly.

You are a funny, strong-willed, mischievous, silly, sweet, fast-talking, observant, smart little boy. You can be the best behaved child in a room as well as the craziest child in public. Every day is an adventure; we never know what is around the next bend! Your laughter and smile can light up a room and often do! The sweetest sound in the whole world is you telling your daddy or me that you love us. We love you so very much, and it warms our hearts and sends them soaring to hear those precious words. You say them often.

You love car washes/playing car wash, cars, trucks, cranes, airplanes and airplane rides, ambulances, police cars, fire trucks, construction crews/vehicles/sites, tractors, garbage trucks, trains, boats, school, your best friend Jack, bounce houses, bossing Bailey, Polar Express, Lady and the Tramp, The Fox and the Hound, Caillou, "cooking," weekend family breakfasts out, singing songs, having fun, and being outdoors. You dislike being told "no," and naps. In fact in the past couple of weeks, you have quit napping all together.

Our wishes for you are pretty simple. We wish you love, health, happiness, safety, and that you choose to be a son of God and put your faith and hopes in Him. We will always, always, always be here for you—no matter what. Our family may be growing, but you, sweet boy, are the one who made us parents for the first time, and that makes you special. 

We love you more than the number of stars in the sky,

Mommy and Daddy

Fashion Friday On Wednesday—Birthday Blues

This post was supposed to go up last Friday, but I got sidetracked. Funny, now that I'm procrastinating on the packing I magically found time to put it up! 

I present to you my birthday celebration outfit. I love, love, love mixing patterns right now! I ordered this dress from ModCloth to match these shoes, and to my delight, it ended up being perfect! I plan to wear this to a wedding in July, also.

We celebrated my 31st having dinner at 5Church followed by a Hemingway Daiquiri at Capital Grille. It was the perfect night! If you live in Charlotte, or are in the area, I highly recommend a meal at 5Church!

Branner's 2nd BirthDAY!

Branner's actual birthday was filled with fun! We opened the gifts his birthday party guests brought, went to lunch at Phil's with Gigi, played, loved, danced and did rocket blast offs in the front yard after nap (shout out to the Thompson's for giving us the rocket set)! We capped off the day with a cupcake and another round of singing "Happy Birthday" for our special boy on his special day. We love you with all of our hearts, Branner! You are "two" much!

Branner's 2nd Birthday Party!

This year, this mama decided to make it easy on herself and booked Branner's second birthday party at Gymboree. The party involved lots of kids, lots of activities, lots of fun, lots of bubbles, lots of pizza, lots of cake and one happy birthday boy! He ran, climbed, jumped and played his way throughout the gym with his friends. He had a blast, and I'm pretty sure all of the other kids did, too! We left the party with a car full of presents, cupcakes, pizza and one worn out birthday boy! Happy, happy birthday to our amazingly energetic boy! 

Happy Birthday, Barry!!!

Happy Birthday, Bar-Bar! We love you more than words could ever express and hope you have a wonderful day (even though you are in a bit of pain)! Can't wait to celebrate tonight!

Happy Birthday, Summer!

We had a great time earlier today at Summer's 2nd Birthday party! It was at her house and involved lots of playing, swinging, sliding, pizza and cake. Branner ate pizza and cake, so we considered the party a huge success :) Happy Birthday, Summer!

Half Birthday!

I. Love. Chick-fil-A.

Let them eat cake (cupcakes, that is)!


Why? Because it's Branner's 18 month birthday! I can't believe it. Where is the time going? Out the window, it seems. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that 6 months from today, we will be celebrating the second anniversary of B's birth. Since we entered tantrum territory several months ago, I'm not really scared of the "Terrible Twos." In fact, I'm not going to think or worry about that at all. I have really honest, good friends, so I know that what I really need to save my worries and energy for is age three. But, that's for future discussion. Today is for celebratin' with...

• Gymboree. FUN! It was B's first day in his new class, Level 4. He loved it!
• Cupcakes. We went to SAS and picked up a 6-pack of cupcakes. We have a combo of chocolate cake/vanilla icing, vanilla cake/chocolate icing and a chocolate on chocolate for Gigi. We even have a candle for festivity's sake :) The cupcakes will be consumed after dinner...can't wait!
• Chick-fil-A lunch. Who doesn't want a yummy half birthday lunch? B even got waffle fries instead of fruit just because it's his special day.
• A visit from Gigi! 
• Yo Gabba Gabba.
• Scoot-n-Zoom rides.
• Maybe an afternoon walk depending on the weather.
• Sidewalk chalk.
• Bubbles.

Happy Half Birthday, Branner! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Bailey!

Happy 8th Birthday to our beloved Bailey! He is truly the best, most loyal friend anyone could ever ask for! We all love him more than words can express!

Britt's Birthday

Last Saturday, I went to Raleigh to attend a surprise 30th birthday party for my life-long best friend! Brittany's birthday was June 2, but Jamie and her awesome neighbors planned an amazing party for Saturday night. It was very low-key with great food, cold drinks and wonderful company. Some people (including Britt) went swimming--if you count being thrown in for your birthday swimming! So glad I got to be there for my BFF's big day! Shout out to Gigi and Big Papa for watching B so I could go. Welcome to your 30's, Britt. This is sure to be our best decade yet!

The Big 3-0

My birthday has come and gone, and I am officially thirty! Here's how I celebrated the actual day:

• Woke up to a "Happy Birthday" picture colored by Branner.
• Took B to a dermatologist follow-up appointment. His skin looks great, by the way, so good news!
• Received lots of sweet phone calls, texts, Facebook messages and e-mails. What a lucky girl I am to have such amazing people in my life!
• Went to my favorite class at the Y, Total Strength.
• Had lunch with my great friend, Stacey, and her adorable kiddos.
• Spent an hour sunning, listening to beach music and with a new book on my back patio.
• Caught up on some of my favorite Sunday night shows while the boys went on a long bike ride. Y'all know I was watching the Celebrity Apprentice finale, so I missed everything else.
• Enjoyed a delicious dinner Barry picked up from Dean and Deluca.
• Had a glass of champagne and a pink (strawberry) cupcake.
• Watched RHONJ and went to bed early.

These days, that is a perfect birthday in my book! After all the celebrating I did this weekend, it was just what I needed. Can't wait to spend a weekend at the beach with my parents and ring in this new chapter in my life with them!

Birthday Celebration Weekend!

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Well, it's finally here...the weekend before my thirtieth birthday! I have so much going on this weekend, but I'm really excited! Here's what's on tap:

• Volunteering at Fish & Fiddles--a fish fry/bluegrass event tonight at our church.
• My great friend, Jamie's, baby shower tomorrow.
• Jason and Kendra coming in town tomorrow afternoon.
• My birthday dinner/celebration at Dandelion Market tomorrow night.
• A day at the lake with Lauren, Bennett and Drew on Sunday.
• Celebrity Apprentice finale on Sunday night (sorry, I'm obsessed with the show, I'm excited).

I'm sure come Monday, my actual birthday, I will be exhausted! What better way to recover than a long weekend at the beach to celebrate with my family next weekend?!?!?! Surprisingly, I'm looking forward to the next week/weekend! Turning thirty doesn't scare me...yet!!!!

Happy Birthday, Jen!

Before Georges Brasserie

Happy Belated Birthday to one of my BFFs, Jen! She is the best neighbor, mani/pedi partner and person to have a glass of wine with a girl could ask for! We celebrated by going to Georges for a delicious dinner and a few cocktails Saturday night. Love hanging with the Harrisons!!!!

Branner's Birthday Party

We held Branner's first birthday party actually ON his first birthday, January 15th (one of the perks of having your baby on a Friday), at my parent's house in Asheboro. The theme: cars. Branner really, really loves the Cozy Coupe he got for Christmas, so it was a good choice. The party started at 4--after nap time. It was really just a drop-in for hors d'oeuvres and of course, CAKE!

My mom, my dad, Barry and I spend most of the day preparing, cleaning and cooking to get ready for the big celebration! We (well, my dad and Barry) even had to salt the driveway because it was still icy from a winter storm earlier in the week. I had sent out about 25 invitations and invited at least 50 people. Guess what? The vast majority of them showed up! Not that I was surprised, seeing as we have the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for! The party was a whirlwind. We posed for a few family pics,

chased Branner around while he played, played and played (with the blinds and toilet paper in the guest bathroom) and visited with his guests, had some yummy treats, watched Branner destroy his cake and opened a mountain of gifts! Branner LOVED his cake and enjoyed opening the first few gifts. Then, the decorative acorns on Gigi's coffee table caught his eye, and he really needed to see what they were all about. We had an absolutely wonderful time celebrating the first anniversary of the best day of our life!
Happy First Birthday, Branner! We love you more than words candescribe and you bring more us more joy, happiness and laughter than we could EVER have imagined!

Happy 31st Birthday, Barry!

The guys enjoying a pre-dinner drink

Barry has entered his second year in his 30's, and it definitely seems to suit him! A lot of good things have happened to him in the past year from welcoming his first son into the world to a huge promotion to finally having a year where he didn't have to have any part of his body operated on! We celebrated early on Thursday by having dinner at Cajun Queen with a group of friends, then heading over to Jackalope Jack's for (a really bad) karaoke night. I think Barry had a little too much fun, but that's what birthdays are for.

Happy Birthday, Barry! We love you!