Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

 Well...it has come and gone. Our first big together birthday bash was a fabulous success! They came, they played, they ate...and they didn't want to leave!! 

Check out my tissue puffs! Erin made them for me. There's even a goldfish hanging on the left. They were beautiful and better than I even expected!  They are actually still hanging in my kitchen because I don't want to take them down!!

We decorated with bright colors that matched the Eric Carle book Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see? I added pink owls for Aspen's theme. There are no owls in Brown Bear...but I wanted owls, so owls we did! The circles hanging in the background, the buckets, and the tablecloth were all borrowed from our sweet friend, Jenn Rice. I made the cupcake toppers and food tents all by myself! And the invitations, I think I posted those here already. 

Isn't this pretty? Brown bear, goldfish, pink owl, blue horse, purple cat, green frog, red bird. The cupcakes and two smash cakes were from Alex Bell, of course. You can see her website here. I must say her cakes are fabulously delicious!!  We ordered 36 cupcakes and two smash cakes so each of the kids could have their own. We only ended up with 6 cupcakes left over! 

Lincoln's Brown Bear cake...I think it's fabulous!

Aspen had her pink owl cake with chevron on top! Love it!

I must say they both LOVED their cakes. Lincoln didn't want a fork and had already leaned in and taken his first bite before we had even finished singing Happy Birthday! He really enjoyed eating the bear piece by piece. 

Aspen was very happy to put handful after handful of delicious cake in her mouth!!

She shoved her mouth so full she couldn't even chew! She had cake boogies, too! We actually had to cut her off. I think she would've eaten the whole thing!

Cheesing it up! He loved his cake. 

I used an idea from Pinterest and made a bubble station out of an old detergent bottle. It worked like magic! Jeromy actually sat down there and filled up the tiny bubble bottles. The kids had fun and took their bubbles home as part of their favors.

The birthday boy getting some bubble action.

Our happy family, post cake. They were both covered and we didn't really want to touch them! Aspen had cake in her ears, her nose, her hair...a whole wardrobe change was necessary! 

We had a great time. We don't actually know how many people came. All we know is we went through 3 gallons of lemonade, 30 cupcakes, 21 hamburgers, and 30 hotdogs. The party was scheduled to be from 11-1 but we put both the tuckered out birthday babies to nap and still had people here around 4. My mother in law says that's the sign of a good party, when people don't want to leave. We noted that gifts were not necessary but of course they got WAY more than they needed. Fortunately, several friends and family members blessed them with a monetary gift so we will put that in their college funds for later. I must say that I could not have pulled this party off without the help of some fabulous friends. Erin and Anna were so incredibly helpful. EE made the tissue puffs and hung them. She and Anna helped with anything and everything that was needed. From tying up balloons, to cleaning the kitchen they were instrumental in the success of the party. 

This is who I remember for sure:

Erin Leonard

Jeromy, Anna, & Ian Fitzwater

Kelly, David, Will, Elise & Benjamin Wortman

Betty Bostain & Faith

Collin, Faith & Corbin Delp

Gina & Joey Lindsey

Jenn & Carter Rice

Kaleb, Leslie, Zane & Zoey Taylor

Marci & Rocky Taylor (Nana & Papaw)

Toni & Carroll Vance (Grammy & Dadaw)

Carol Hamby (Mamaw Carol)

Molly & Micah Rice

Carmen, Doug, & Landon Suttles

James, Jan, Daniel & Jace Barnhill

Stephanie Pelliccione

If I missed someone it was inadvertent! We were so busy and the kids played outside the whole time. Everyone had a fabulous time and we can't wait to do it again! The double deck worked out perfectly and people could sit upstairs or downstairs. There was a place for everyone to sit and eat and Nana got Aspen and Lincoln a sweet picnic table with umbrella and the kids loved it. 

We can't wait to have another cookout. Anthony said that was the whole reason he built the decks and the play set. So we'd be the place to hang out. It will definitely be a regular thing. :) Just don't always expect such pretty decorations!

I must say that my babies had a fabulous time and really seemed to enjoy themselves. They sure were tuckered out at the end of the day. It's incredible to think that I have a one and three year old. Every day they amaze me.

At their doctor's appointments on April 4 here were their birthday stats:

Lincoln

 31 pounds - 25%ile

38 inches - 50-75%ile

He got two shots...so sad.

Wearing 2T & 3T shirts, 3T pants with adjustable waist, 2T shorts with adjustable waist, size 9 shoes.

Aspen

20 pounds 3 ozs - 30%ile

20 1/2 inches - 60%ile

Head 44.5 cms - 60%ile

She got 4 shots...even more sad.

Wearing 12-18 month clothes, size 4 shoes (Stride Rite)

I can't believe he's THREE!

Just a few fun pictures from Lincoln's birthday. More fun pics to come later...

The morning started with french toast for breakfast.

We visited My Local Bakery in Morganton and let him pick his very own cupcake. 

Needless to say..his lips, teeth, mouth, fingers....were all blue! :)

And no "BIG BOY" birthday would be complete without getting a big boy bed! 

"Great things"

I don't even know where to begin. I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life.. I had just posted my facebook status: More tears tonight as I tucked my 2 year old into bed for the very last time...I can't believe we've been entrusted with this amazing, intelligent, talented little person. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for him. I really was crying as I walked away from the computer. Overwhelmed with the fact that tomorrow Lincoln will be 3. That we've been blessed with him for 3 amazing years.

I then went to dry my hair. As I was standing there with the hair dryer in my hand I was completely overcome. There was this resounding voice/presence/words in my mind and in my ears. It wasn't like a sound you hear, or a voice that spoke to me audibly but it was so overwhelming that it was undeniable. "Great things." It just kept repeating and repeating in my mind. So much so that I had to put down the hair dryer and kneal. I was so overcome. "Great things." Over and over. Tears streamed down my face and all I could do was pray. Father God is telling me that Lincoln is going to do "great things." How amazing is that. It was such an overwhelming realization that I didn't know what to pray or what to say. I just asked God to help me to raise Lincoln in the way He sees fit. That I praise him, correct him, love him, encourage him, teach him, and guide him in the way the Lord wants me to. Then all I could ask was 'how?' How can I raise a man who is destined to do great things? How do you parent that? How can I ever be good enough to lead him into what he's going to become?

My entire being felt this message from the Lord. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that He was speaking directly to me and giving me a glimpse into the future..to tell me Lincoln is going to be "great." 

I am so scared of what that means. President? Doctor? Scientist? Preacher? Evangelist? 

How can I be prepared for that? How can we, as parents, foster what God wants to grow? Please be in prayer with me that we can teach Lincoln in the way God wants us to. If he's to be 'great' we need to raise him and treat him that way. Please pray for us to be the parents we need to be.