Oh TWO-dles!!

If I use a lot of exclamation points, I'll chalk it up to an overdose of buttercream icing this past weekend.

Y'all, it happened! My first born turned TWO!!

This past weekend, family and friends gathered at our home to celebrate in a very Minnie Mouse kinda way. The first of February, we sent out these adorable invitations designed and printed by KellyJo Studio to let everyone know all the details about her special day!

All the cleaning and food prep started two days before. My mom was here to help get the carpet and the house cleaned while I started working on all the food that would be served. Friday evening, my brother and sister in law flew into town. They helped us, along with my mom and dad, get everything in it's place for everyone's arrival the morning of.

My dad and Terry blew up balloons and we put them in Avery's room. Once she woke up and walked into her room, all she could do was look up and say BALLOONS!! MY BALLOONS! When I snapped this picture, she had just caught a glimpse of the balloons on the mailbox outside!

Before everyone arrived, we took a few photos with her and her cake and cupcakes. Her cake was made by my talented friend, , and the cupcakes were made by Delicious Bakery.

And we had plenty of food for everyone. Since the party was at lunch, I made sure we had enough meat, sandwiches, dips and chips for everyone not to leave hangry!

The kids had their own little table and extra kiddie food to eat with their meal.

Avery had quite a few friends to join her in celebrating her birthday.

And she had lots of family and friends here that love her very much!

She got all kinds of cool birthday gifts!

Her big surprise of the weekend was my brother and sister in law flying in from DC to be here.

Her Ganny and Papa were here a few days prior to spoil her rotten her last days of being one! And the day of her birthday, her papa had donuts for her and even put together all her birthday gifts!

After the party was over and everyone was gone, we finally got a picture with the big TWO year old!

We can't believe you are already two, but we are so happy and thankful that you are our spunky and healthy little girl!

Birthday Celebrations in Mississippi

If you follow me on any of my social media, it's no secret that we were in Mississippi this past weekend visiting family and friends. We went to visit for a couple of reasons, but one of them was to celebrate our oldest niece, Hannah, and the Mr's dad's birthdays. Since Pops doesn't like pictures, you won't see any of him celebrating... but, for the record, we did.

Hannah is playing basketball on the school team at RCA, so she got a basketball cake with cupcakes!

Turning twelve is a BIG deal. So we got her a purse, some sparkle perfume spray and hand sanitizer for cold and flu season! (Trying to be responsible adults and keep everyone germ free around AC!)

Since we don't see this side of the family very much, the girls enjoying playing with AC now that she's older and a little more playful. And Judy had all her Halloween decorations out, and most of them play music so they had to show AC how they work.

We had a good visit with the Mr's side of the family. The girls loved spending time playing with their little cousin, and the adults had a good time catching up while we celebrated the birthdays!

Unfortunately, AC was a little bit out of her element on Saturday. We've never seen her cry so many tears in her entire lifetime. We think teething had a little bit to do with it, but we also know that she's not used to being around so many people in a small room at one time. She's used to being with her mommy and daddy only, and sometimes her Ganny and Papa, too. We keep a calm atmosphere here at home and she doesn't like loud noises or people talking loudly around her. She knows her routine, and having people watch her eat, take her bottle and trying to go to sleep was very different for her and she just didn't understand. We know this is a phase, but it was sure heart breaking to see her crying so much, because she rarely cries. So I was extremely pleased to get a few pictures of her actually smiling.  

We probably won't see his side of the family again until after Thanksgiving unless they come over for a visit, and I can only imagine what AC will be a pro at to show them next! 

Wordless Wednesday — Mr's Birthday Recap

Happy Birthday to the Mr

We love to celebrated birthdays. That's probably why we've been celebrating the Mr's birthday since last Friday. We headed out to Mississippi last weekend to celebrate with our families. We kicked it off with dinner at Ole Farm Beef House with my family. It's one of our favorite places to eat in Meridian. If you are ever there for dinner, go!

Saturday night we celebrated with the Mr's family at Outback and then headed back to his parent's house for cake and ice cream.

We took lunch to him at his office today, and even though he was in a rush we enjoyed visiting with him for a few minutes. And he got a lot of cute smiles from AC.

Tonight we will celebrate the Mr's birthday as a family of three, for the first time. We've planned an evening at Long Horn Steakhouse, and AC and I got him his favorite cake and ice cream for dessert. He opened his gift from us Friday night, so he'll just get cards tonight.

We are so thankful that God placed him on this earth! I can't imagine my life without him... he is my best friend, my soul mate, the best daddy and the funniest man I know.

Happy Birthday!! We love you!!

Saying Goodbye to Thirty-Two...

Today is my last day as a thirty-two year old. Tomorrow I wake up another year older. But it's hard to say goodbye to thirty-two, because this year has been the best year of my life, with the exception of losing my sweet papaw.

We kicked off the start of thirty-two by meeting Stephanie (aka Plain Chicken) and Tadd for the first time at Chuys. It began the start of a great friendship, and it was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday. And little did I know, I was pregnant with AC.

On July 1st, we found out I was pregnant! Talk about the best birthday gift, ever. I'm not sure any gift could ever top that!

We celebrated the Mr's birthday with my parents in the Smoky Mountains.

We got to share with the world in August that Baby Sowell was due to join our family in March of 2014.

We found out our baby was a GIRL in October. And we were convinced she was a boy until the day before our ultrasound.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with family and friends, our last with my papaw.

We got baby gifts (that we asked for) for Christmas, visited my grandmother and spent most of our week in Meridian at the hospital visiting my papaw.

We began 2014 laying my sweet papaw to rest.

We celebrated the upcoming birth of AC with a huge baby shower at my home church in Meridian with family and friends.

And in February, yep, not March... we welcomed the most perfect, precious, and biggest blessing of our life so far into the world.

We celebrated our first Easter as a family of three.

I had a Mother's Day I'll never forget with the dedication of AC.

And we celebrated the Mr's first Father's Day.

Thirty-two was more than I could have ever asked for. And I'm so thankful to have all these memories of such a special year. I'm praying thirty-three is another wonderful year for our family.

Our Weekend In Review...

I'm slowly (or vastly — I'm not sure which one honestly) starting to realize that the Mr and I only have a few more weekends as a family of two. While we love our lazy weekends of nothing, and sleeping in, of course... we know all of that is about to change. I'm excited and nervous about it.

We always knew we wanted to be parents, and that dream is becoming a reality. We can't take the credit though... it's all in His plan. So while we wait for our little girl to make her arrival, we are enjoying the remaining days of just being husband and wife.

Friday nights at home usually look like this... cook, watch Undercover Boss, Shark Tank, and get in the bed to watch Blue Bloods. I can only imagine what it will look like in a couple of months. =)

This Saturday we had some friends come over from Meridian to see us. When we moved to Bham, we vowed to not let our friendships back home be forgotten. And we haven't, but when both parties are extremely busy living life — sometimes it's hard to find a time when both are free. So, this weekend Abby and her man came to visit us for lunch. We decided on the Cheesecake Factory because I had a craving for red velvet cheesecake. We laughed through lunch with stories of each others lives, and talked about what the future would hold. When we said our see ya laters, Abby said, the next time I see y'all you'll have her!! Wow. No more asking for a table for 2 or 4. A table for 3 or 5 is about to happen!  =)

While we visited, we also celebrated Aboritos birthday! It's VDay, so we figured we would kick off her birthday week while she was here.

And she brought little AC a gift. She has her first pearls, y'all. So now she is truly a Southern Belle!

FYI, Old Navy is having a huge baby sale — I'm talking 30-50% off. We had a few minutes to kill before meeting up for lunch so we stopped in to browse. Well, we came out with this little onesie. We're counting on her being here for this day!! (And we got it for $3.50)

We're now over 35 weeks. Wow! And it's funny when we go out in public. I've been told twice now by complete strangers that she's coming before her due date. And, people in general just seem to be nicer because of the big belly. And then we hear from the ladies who just had their babies... their words are always the same — I was just where you are, and trust me, it won't be much longer. Ha!

Sunday was a day of rest for me. I napped a good bit during the afternoon, and woke up with the worst heartburn, yet. Seriously, Tums are becoming a necessity around the clock!
 
How was your weekend?

Friday Five — link up #51

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the Sowell life's Friday five... 

1) {Happy Birthday Darby!} Today, little mama Darby is celebrating a birthday. Y'all head over to her blog and wish her a wonderful day!

2) {Monogram Cuteness} I realized last weekend that AC didn't have anything monogrammed. Yes, we have a little under three months before she is due to arrive, but January is so busy, and I know Feb will be, too. Anyway, AC's sweet cousin, Susanna, sent her a package and you will just love these cute bibs. This was the first time I've seen her initials or name monogrammed on anything and I fell in love with it instantly.

3) {AC's 1st Christmas Present} Our sweet friends Stephanie and Tadd sent AC her 1st Christmas present this season. It's something that we knew we would be needing, and we know that she is going to love spending time in it once she arrives! The Mr put it together once he got home last night, and it's perfect!

4) {Prayers} I'd appreciate y'all lifting up my papaw in your prayers this weekend. He will have heart surgery on Monday. I'm actually out of town visiting with him in the hospital. Of course we don't like that he is having to have this surgery, especially here at Christmas, but we are thankful for his Dr's and surgeon who believe this will fix his problem. He is 84, but he has a long life ahead of him. This picture was emailed to me by my dad Tuesday morning. He has his guitar in the hospital with him and he is playing Christmas music for everyone on his hall! 

5) {Next Week} I won't be having the link up next week. Actually the blog will probably be very quiet next week. We will be spending time with family and friends celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. And, I hope y'all will be enjoying your time with your loved ones. So if I don't get a chance to tell you before next Wednesday...

Now, who's ready to link up?!! I appreciate y'all spreading the word more than you'll ever know!! Please stop by and visit with the other bloggers who link up. It's a great way to find new bloggers to follow! And who doesn't love comments, right? =) Enjoy your weekend, y'all!