A Magical Birthday Party For Lyla

If you know our Lyla, she sprinkles a little magic wherever she goes! There is something about her that is so electric, fun, silly, contagious, and joyful that a magical birthday party seemed like the perfect fit. I saw that "She is magic that one" banner, knew it would be perfect for her room, and used it as my inspiration for her whole party. We kept it really small last minute due to traveling family and trying to be as safe as possible with Covid exposure right before baby's arrival so it was just my mom and our sweet little neighbor girls that came. 

The thing that was so fun to watch was how special Lyla felt the whole day ... like when I put this "Birthday Girl" banner on her. <3

We surprised her with a bounce house rental and she was in total heaven and LOVED it!! So many adorable giggles happened in there ...

The giant slide was the favorite part!

Her only request was a rainbow cake like her first birthday. So sweet! Who doesn't love a funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting?!

She both acted shy and soaked in the attention when we sang "Happy Birthday" to her!

I was so happy with how the cake turned out with my little experience in baking them myself. Typically I order cakes for my kids' parties. But really, you can't go wrong with a boxed cake mix ... it was more the leveling, coloring, and frosting part that intimidated me. How fun is the inside though?!

The cake was a BIG hit ...

Opening presents ... she has played with a baking playdo set that she got from her friends all weekend!

We saved most of her presents for this week so she could open them on her actual birthday but something that has been such a fun tradition for me as her mom is gifting her one of my dolls from my childhood each birthday. This year I gave her "Scott". I always loved him because he looks and feels like a real baby so I was hoping it would be special for her right before she has a new sibling come along. The hilarious part for Nic and I was that she kept calling him a baby girl despite the fact that he is in blue ... she is still very much convinced that her sibling is going to be a sister just like this baby girl doll. haha

I made them all magic wands ...

Liam thought they were cool for a minute but then pulled out his true Harry Potter wand. ;)

My mom got her this adorable coat for winter and a pretend princess laptop that she has carted everywhere so she can "do her work just like dad!" ;) So cute!

Also wearing her favorite twirl dress to celebrate!

We loved spoiling this beautiful girl and can't wait to continue the celebration on Wednesday when our baby turns FOUR! 

A Saturday at the zoo

On Saturday morning we got our yard work and chores done as quick as we could so that we could take our kids to the zoo!  We technically felt like we had two zoo experiences that day when one of our errands that morning was to Zamzows for fertilizer and we all got to see them feed the tarantulas and bearded dragon crickets! Boy was that equal parts horrifying and fascinating! haha I think I'll stick to the real zoo thankyouverymuch. ;)

There weren't very many people at the zoo which was so nice. We started with the side that has the tiger exhibit but their poor tiger recently died so it was closed but Lyla looked adorable riding a baby pretend tiger!

I love Liam's imagination so much. I always have but even more so when I see all of his facial expressions that go with it. Turtle face!

My FAVORITE picture from the day!

My mom didn't have any afternoon plans so we invited her to come along with us! Her and yaya checking out the meerkats ...

One of their new animals they've added since we last came turned out to be Lyla's favorite ... Sand cats! They were all huddled up together in one small box.

Goofiest baby bird I've ever seen. ;)

I waddled my way along behind everyone. haha Everything is incredibly swollen and sore at this point. While I don't have a ton of energy left, I want to make the most out of my last weekend(s) as a family of 4. 

It was so fun to see the giraffes SO close to the fence. They are such an incredible animal ...

I think I have a picture of my kids on this safari jeep every year since Liam was a baby. <3

A few of the indoor exhibits were finally open again like the penguins! We wore a mask inside. 

One of the indoor exhibits that was still closed of course were the bats. Liam was so disappointed!! In fact, he shouted "I've been stuck at home for a year and this is what I get?!" haha It was comical to the rest of us but he really meant it. Poor guy. His other favorite is the crocodile. When we got to that exhibit we weren't quite sure if it was real?! It wasn't out in the pond like it usually is ... instead, we could only see its head peaking out from inside with its jaw permanently open from the door that leads to the indoor habitat. The indoor habitat was completely closed off and the water drained. What do you think ... does it look real?! 

We couldn't believe how much the baby anteater had grown! After only a few months, you can no longer tell the difference between the momma and the baby because they were the same size. Since we went in the afternoon, a lot of the animals were laying down and sleeping including the emu's who apparently lay on their stomachs with their neck extended on the ground. We didn't know they slept that way, it looked incredibly uncomfortable. The butterfly exhibit closed at 2:30 so we just barely missed it!

It was about 86 degrees but felt pretty hot so we ended our zoo trip with orange and blue slushies for the kids courtesy of my sweet mom. Those tongues! 

They put just about everything they saw in the gift shop "on their birthday lists". So sneaky that they make you exit through there ... parental torture! haha So happy we could give these cute kids a fun Saturday!

Baby Sprinkle

 On Saturday, my mom and sister-in-law hosted a sprinkle for baby and I and it was the sweetest thing ever! Lyla came as my "girl date" and wanted to twirl with me all morning in her new dress. <3 It felt so special to share it with her along with every other family member and friend who came!

Nicole had the cutest balloons installed on my mom's porch as well as a balloon arch inside! There were beautiful flowers everywhere and a stack of thank you notes for guests to write their address on (such a genius idea).  

Isn't the balloon arch amazing?! Nicole also had adorable cookies made as party favors in the shape of bottles, onesies, etc. and sprinkle donuts! Both were Lyla's favorite part. ;) I even took some home to my boys who greatly appreciated it!

Besides the amazing treats, we had yummy quiche and fruit salad made by mom for brunch!

It was so fun to have a couple of my nieces join this time with their grandmas and moms. My sweet neighbor Danica came and my long time friends from high school, Dani and Sidnee, were there too! So lucky to have so many amazing people in my life who love this baby and I so much!

We played a pass the gift game that went with a poem all about the guests in the room. Danica won that one. Everyone also guessed how many "sprinkles" (Mike n' Ikes) were in a jar and Edie won that game.

Lyla was all about playing puppy all morning but accidentally knocked over an end table and got extremely embarrassed about it. She spent the whole time hiding under my arm while I opened gifts and I felt bad I couldn't get her to come around for this part. We were spoiled with so many diapers and wipes, something you can never have enough of, along with a forward facing baby carrier, swaddle sack, new toys for the baby, and even some amazing products to pamper myself postpartum. So grateful!!!

A cute cookie monster!

I didn't take a single picture because I just wanted to soak up the moment so I tried to gather a few my mom took. I just wanted to give an extra special thank you to the woman who has now hosted 3 special baby showers for me over the years. Each one I won't forget! Love you mom! I'm also so grateful to my sister-in-law, Nicole, who went over the top to make this celebration so special for me. I'm so lucky to have both of these women in my life!

Grateful for friends who no matter how busy their lives are or how far away they live, are always there for me. <3

Getting so excited for this baby to arrive!!!