isla turns 1

the last time i updated was almost 6 months ago (oops).  i haven't done very well with blogging, but now that isla is sleeping and i am sleeping, i might actually have a little more time on my hands to sit down at my computer. isla is 14 months old and we celebrated her first birthday with family and some friends.  i wasn't really sure what kind of theme i wanted for her- with ian, i had thought of something pretty quickly, but i was just stumped with isla.  so i took to my best friends google and pinterest to see what ideas i could work with and i found the idea of doing an alice in wonderland (or onederland) party.  i secured invitations, outfits and then got to work with the planning.  ian and i watched alice and wonderland while i took notes of things that would be super cute.  i ended up not totally running with the theme because she's only 1 and i figured a tea party wouldn't be that interesting to a bunch of adults, but i'm still really pleased with how things turned out.  we had a good time!

 this was at home on isla's actual birthday

 birthday cake and smash cake from piece-a-cake bakery!  cake had a fudge filling.  mmm! 

 party favors for the kids.  glass jars that they could fill with candy from tea cups.  the tea cups belonged to dave's grandma.  

 cheshire cat cheese ball.  aka.  the cheese ball that lasts forever.  

 chips/salsa, layered salad and giant cheese ball.  was so nice to have a summer birthday for once, so we grilled out for everyone!  

 the birthday girl.  alice apron dress from lover dovers via etsy. 

 ready for cake!

 nom!

 we had pink flamingos lining the walk + croquet and a little this way/that way/go back sign (not pictured)

after cake we changed isla into this adorable dress (it's alice themed!) from Little LePew Apparel & and her birthday crown from mosey

i'm 1!

happy 1st birthday, isla!

ian turns 2

ian turned 2 on january 20th, and we celebrated by throwing a little party, or 2, or 3, or....  we had a small party at my mom & dad's house while we were visiting for christmas b\c it's a good chance for us to see our friends, and ian to see his friends.  we also had a party at our house the weekend after ian's birthday with family & a few friends.

i went with a yo gabba gabba themed party for celebrate birthday number 2.  gabba is the favorite show around here these days. he loves the characters, the songs, books, etc.  plus, they're so fun and colorful- and i wanted the colors to be my inspiration for the party.  both parties differed a little- the 1st party was a little more on the theme- with themed foods, etc.  the second party was a little more about the food.  yum.

the dj lance cake!!  i wanted a rainbow cake, but when i saw the dj lance cake- i wanted a rainbow dj lance cake!!  making  rainbow cake is easy- just use a white cake mix and mix according to package directions.  take 6 bowls and fill them with mix, gradually adding more mix to each bowl.  put red dye in the smallest and work your way up to violet in the largest mixing the color in to your preference (rinse the whisk between each mix).  with this cake, i did a 9x13, with the second cake i did 2- 9".  starting with the largest- pour into the middle (don't forget to split if you do a layer cake) and give the pan a spin.  then do blue, green, yellow, orange & red- spinning after each color addition.  tent the pan with foil to prevent browning and bake according to the package directions (although you may want to take off 5-10 min. and then go from there).  you can see what it looks like below.  after i let this cake cool completely, i used the dj lance template to cut the cake.  i iced the hat portion with vanilla frosting and i iced his face w\ milk chocolate. i dyed shredded coconut orange for the hat.  i used chocolate twizzlers (i couldn't find licorice) for the glasses and i dyed vanilla frosting red for the mouth since i accidentally bought rainbow fruit roll-ups. turned out pretty nice!

we had some themed snacks at this party "plex" mix, foofa's animal friends (annie's bunnies) & dazzle berry lemonade.  dave & i even painted a brobee game- help all the food to the party in brobee's tummy!  

i also made a muno shirt using nick jr's iron on transfers (wish i had put the name on the back), and muno pretzels (turned out much better at the second party).

 ian had tons of fun running around with his buddies and opening presents!  

 and cake of course (my parents have the brightest kitchen ever)

i can't leave out that ian had a mini-party the night before with his grammie, grampie & great-grammie (they were leaving for arizona in the morning).  ian got a really cool bike- so excited for him to be a rider too!

 

mmm pie, and a cool bike!

 opening presents with mommy and getting just a little bit comfy with uncle bear.

saturday we had our big party- and since it was mostly adults, i focused more on the food than the theme.  i got most of the ideas for our spread from pinterest- seriously, i love pinterest.  such good ideas!  

top (l-r):  the spread, zippy green chile dip, 7-layer greek dip, pizza bites, pimiento cheese sandwiches

bottom (l-r): feta dip, cilantro-lime chickpea salad, italian beef sandwiches, the much improved muno pretzels and baked potato dip. 

so. much. delicious. food.  we still have leftovers- it's been 2 weeks, and that's probably gross, but it's soooo good.  and seriously- look how much better my 2nd batch of muno pretzels turned out!

aren't they so cute.  i had seen the idea for the pretzels here and thought they'd be pretty easy to re-create.  the original recipe calls for candy melts- which is what i used the first time around, but i could never get it red enough, no matter how much i dyed it.  then, when i did the candy melts this time- it burned (maybe b\c of my gas stove?)...  so we scrapped that completely and went with white baker's chocolate.  not only was it yummier, but it colored better and coated better.  the candy eyes were in the baking aisle at the grocery store- dip and dry on wax paper.  so yummy!

the rainbow cake!!

 this cake was so yummy!  since ian has permission from his allergist to eat eggs in baked form- i decided not to do any substitutions in the cake.  i did cotton candy ice cream for extra color (my no-dairy boy got blood orange & pomegranate sorbet)!

that face?  i die.

happy birthday sweet pea!

giveaway!!! cio prints

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!  CHECK BACK TO SEE IF YOU'VE WON!  GOOD LUCK!

i'm so exciting to be hosting my 2nd giveaway ever!  this giveaway comes to you from cio prints!  cio prints is an atlanta-based company (and if you don't know, that's where my heart is) that specializes in diy party invites!  not just any diy party invites- adorable diy party invites.  

 

see, i told you they were adorable..

here's how it works, and it's so easy.  1.  purchase a listing on etsy.  2.  leave detailed information during the checkout project (who, what, when, where, etc), plus you can modify colors!  3.  wait 24-48 hours for your proof.  4.  make changes or approve.  5.  receive your digital file to print your invites from your home!  basically, they're as customizable as you want!  

don't have a birthday coming up?  throwing another bash- say a baby shower or 4th of july blowout- cio prints has you covered.  they have tons of cute designs to choose from- you can even include a photo with some designs.  they don't stop at invitations though- they also specialize in little details to make the party extra special- goody bag labels, cupcake toppers & birthday banners.  besides the cute invites, one of my favorite items are the mommy calling cards- adorbs!

so you wanna win?  one (1) winner will receive a (from within the shop) diy digital download.  you can customize colors, arrangement and party info.  you receive your file and print at home!  printing services are available, but must be purchased separately.

also cio prints is offering EVERYONE will receive a 25% discount on their purchase!  ohbabyitsababy readers can receive a discount through the end of the YEAR(!) just by entering PARTYTIME at checkout!

winner must respond within a week after winning or i will have to draw someone else.  after that, winners have 30 days to claim or reserve (for a later date) their prize.  winners drawn via random.org

there are a few ways to win:

1.  you must be a follower of ohbabyitsababy- so leave a comment with your follower name thru gfc or bloglovin' (mandatory)

2.  visit cio prints on etsy- tell me what your favorite item is (optional- but recommended!)

3.  heart them on etsy, like them on facebook or follow on twitter (or do all  3!)  (optional)

4.  tweet or share this giveaway on facebook (optional).  sample tweet:  enter to win a customizable diy digital download for print-at-home invites from @cioprints hosted by @mcmellll 

so there you have it, 4 simple ways to enter & win!!  this giveaway will be open until 11:59 pm tuesday night (5.31).  i will announce a winner next wednesday (6.01)!  

good luck!

1st Birthday Party!

i originally wasn't sure if i was going to do a theme for ian's birthday party- but i found the perfect invitations and it all fell into place!  i think things turned out splendidly!  lucky little guy had not 1, but 2 1st birthday parties!  first we celebrate with our friends and family in georgia, and then we celelbrated with our friends and family here in illniois!

enjoy!

invites from paperheart press- etsy!

baseball themed party fare- top (l-r) popcorn, chocolate and vanilla "ice cream" funfetti cupcakes, peanuts, animal crackers & goldfish.  bottom (l-r) ice cream cupcake, ian's baseball smash cake (with homemade banana frosting), cracker jack. we also grilled hotdogs!

atlanta party:

a few of our party friends, including my buddy ryan, opening gifts with mommy & daddy, and then checking them out for myself.  ian's first birthday cake- he definitely wasn't sure about it.  birthday crown from betterthannormal - etsy!

ian was supposed to have a raglan baseball tee with his name and "1" on the back, but it's so difficult to find infant-sized baseball shirts.  it just wasn't meant to be.  

chicago party:

photos (click collage to enlarge) top (l to r) daddy & ian w\ cousins jason & christian, checking out presents, face full of frosting, reading a book upside down.  middle (l to r) grammy trying to entertain me as i get restless, more frosting face, riding in my brand new wagon w\ jason, my party baby friends!  bottom (l to r) checking out gifts w\ jason, opening gifts with mommy & daddy.

embroidered birthday bib: ginghambunny - etsy!

happy birthday!

we're baaaaack (trip to atlanta pt. 1- friday)

well, our weekend in Georgia was just as i expected it to be- wonderful, and too short. i can't say i'm glad to be home, but after sharing ian with everyone all weekend, and hardly holding him- it's nice to have him all to myself again!! it was almost like i didn't have a baby for a few days!

the drive down went really well. i had mostly everything in the car by the time Dave was home from work, so i fed ian, while he went and gassed up the car. we left around 4:45, which was still later than expected. we had to make 5 stops total- 2 for feedings, which only took 45 minutes a piece (we also got gas both times, and had dinner during one stop), 1 for a husband bathroom break, and for me to drive (i drove from nashville to ringgold), 1 for gas and to switch driving again, and the requisite chick-fil-a stop once we were in conyers.

ian still slept through the night, falling asleep at his usual time, and waking up at his usual time (although both times were technically an hour earlier because of time zone change). we got to my parents' house around 7 am (only a 14 hour trip total) and we set ian's bed up and put it in my parents' room- i fed him, and they put ian down (after some long-awaited snuggles, of course) while dave & i took a much-needed nap. my mom brought ian to me for his next feeding, which we of course fell asleep during! when we finally finished, we threw some clothes on and went to eat at mad dog's. mmm. mad dog's was the first job i ever had besides babysitting, and i still love to eat there, and visit. we got to show ian off to jerry & pat, and wendy & kenny showed up while we were eating too. once we got back home, i fed ian again, and it was time to get ready for our party!

my parents threw us a party so that all my friends (and family too) could meet ian! my grandparents and my dad's cousin, jimmie were staying with us for the weekend and they arrived early to see ian. we had a really good crowd- probably about 40 people. and lots of babies too! 6 total, with the oldest being 6 months, and the youngest being ian, at nearly 3 months. it was really nice! ian was held by just about everyone, and i got to hold all the other babies too- it was a preview of what was to come for ian- and he is going to get heavy!!

as the crowd thinned out we sat around and chatted with friends and just caught up, it was a wonderful evening!! i hope to have some pictures up tomorrow!!