Friday, September 19, 2014

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles

With summer coming to an end (sniff, sniff) I had to write about the twins favorite activity! BUBBLES! These two love the bubble machine. It has been the best purchase we made for the twins all summer. Every morning we head out front, add some bubbles, and play time begins. I purchased the Hurricane version for $9.99 at Walmart, they had a cyclone version too. Seriously awesome bubbles and mommy does not have to sit there blowing bubbles all morning!!!  It is the perfect way to start off the day and end it sometimes. The twins love when the big boys are around to join us and we have even had neighbors stop by to run around in the bubbles with the twins. Everyone needs to stop to take time to play in bubbles :)





















Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Twins First Birthday

For the twins first birthday I knew I wanted to do something sweet but also find a way to thank all of our friends for helping us survive the first year! I decided to go with a sweet treats party theme. A perfect party to not only celebrate our sweet twins but as a way of thanking all of our friends and family for helping us survive our first year!

I started by collecting candy right after Easter. The blue and pink candy was perfect to go along with the color scheme. I found plain white bags at Michaels and labeled them with little Thank You circles. I then filled 8 different jars with pastel colored candy. As our guests left they stopped by our Twins Sweet Shop and filled their bags with yummy candy.

Streamers and banners! I used 12x12 cardstock paper to make all the banners. Streamers were used for the backgrounds for the twins highchairs and the dessert table

My favorite decorations were the twins pictures. We took one year pictures that we used for the invitations, which I ordered from Shutterfly. I also had monthly pictures enlarged into a 10x13 collage for the fireplace mantle. I then placed more pictures of the twins on each of the tables in the house.

It would not be a party without balloons everywhere. I picked up the 99cent packs from Walmart for balloon streamers outside. We also ordered some helium balloons from Party City.

Baby Girl had a new party dress that said Birthday Princess I ordered online from Kohls and Baby Boy wore a matching polo shirt I found at Marshalls. The birthday girl and boy shirts were also from Kohls but I was able to find those in the store.

I ordered individual cakes for each of the twins from Target and cupcakes from BJ's. I had them leave the top of the cupcakes plain so I could add my own decorations.

The twins party turned out great! They had fun running around and visiting with all of our friends. We loved having the opportunity to thank everyone for loving on our family so much the past year.

Twins Sweet Shop








Marshmallows, M&M's, Skittles, Jelly beans, chocolates, animal crackers, Hershey kisses, peanut M&M's


Thank you bags





Food Table




Dessert Table


Cupcake Time


Monthly Pictures






More fun from the party......















Our picks for favorite baby products!

With twins baby products can add up REALLY quickly! Thinking back to the first year these  products are the ones we could not live without!

1. Two car seats. We ended up using the Graco Snugride while they were infants then purchased the Britax Marathon G4 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx.  


2. Baby Trend Snap N Go Double Stroller. I loved how light weight this stroller was and how easy it was to snap in the car seats.  Bonus- as soon as the twins out grew it we sold it at our local children's consignment shop. They are always looking for double strollers.

3.  High Chairs. With a house full of kids we didn't want anything bulky in the kitchen instead we went for the Fisher-Price SpaceSaver High Chair.
4. Dr. Brown Bottles and Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with On the Go Tote .  While I had some difficulties nursing this pump was great to help get my milk supply going. I was also able to pump extra milk for those times when hubby would feed the twins and I would sleep :)
5. My favorite product--Boppy Newborn Lounger. Seriously, I am so glad I registered for two of these. I was told by another twin mom about these and she was right! It was a the perfect place for the twins to hang out and watch everything that was going on. They were also perfect when a little one had a cold, it was a great place to prop them up so they could breathe a little easier.  Once the twins started to roll over I put them away until they were big enough to use them to sit on. They still love sitting on them during reading time. Another amazing thing, you can throw them in the wash!! YAY for making life easier. I can't count how many times I had to throw them in for a quick wash and they would come out looking brand new. I recommend these to anyone looking for a great gift for a baby shower. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!




 6. My splurge item--Bob double jogging stroller. Oh my! This one is perfect if you spend a lot of time outside. It is bulky but we use it everyday. Our family lives on the soccer field and this stroller has been the biggest blessing. It goes up hills, great cover for the twins, each side can lay back (should you be lucky enough they fall asleep:), and it moves so easily. I can not say enough. The twins love it, we love it!! If you are outdoors a lot I recommend this one. I just wish I could use it in stores, a little too big so we are always switching out strollers before heading out the door.