I can hardly believe that Hayes’s second birthday is coming up. He will be two years old on May 5! How is that even possible?

Last year, we planned a big First Fiesta for him and had such a wonderful time embracing the fact that he was born on Cinco de Mayo.

Hudson will be four years old on June 5. Now that is a tough one to take. Ouch.

We threw a Green Eggs and Ham first birthday party and Sesame Street second birthday party for him, but we went to the beach as a family for his third birthday and enjoyed a quiet, low-fuss day as a family.

This year, because Hudson has such good buddies and because so many of them have siblings that are also Hayes’s buddies, we decided to go ahead and do another birthday party.

The boys have birthdays that are exactly one month apart, so we decided to do a joint birthday party for them right in the middle. So many of the same families will be there for Hudson and for Hayes, so it just made sense.

Hudson and Hayes are plain old obsessed with Peter Pan these days. They love everything about it. Tick Tock the crocodile, the pirates, the Indian braves, Peter Pan, the lost boys, John and Michael, even the mermaids and fairies. It stood out as the perfect party theme for them.

Todd’s parents graciously agreed to let us host it at their home since we don’t have our own home right now. They have a play set in their backyard and a great set up for a party.

I’ve been pinning away and I’m so excited to see it all come together!

I’ll be focusing on green, yellow, and red. We plan to have a mermaid lagoon, a secret plan to make the kids “fly,” a pirate ship, and a tee pee– all from things we already have!

The fabulous Heidi and Beverly from Sweet Birdie’s Nest have been working hard on creating adorable items for the party! They are the absolute best.

I thought I’d show some of my inspiration…

Have you ever planned a joint birthday party? I’m planning to have each boy blow out candles separately, and have their own “happy birthday” song.

We’ll also be taking each boy out for a special family celebration on his actual birthday.

Any other tips to make it special?

We survived this week! I’m sorry I’ve been so absent from my blog, but this is pretty much my busiest week of the year.

For eight months we prayed for our house to sell. And then we just laughed at God’s timing and His sense of humor. Because we close on our house the week of my 30th birthday, the week before we took a Thanksgiving trip to Colorado, and two weeks before Holiday Market week, aka my busiest week of the year.

I’m so glad that Todd’s mom helped me with the boys in the afternoons so I could spend the day decorating. It’s so much fun for me to be able to use some of the creativity I’ve kind of tucked away, and it makes me feel so much better knowing the boys are in good hands.

some of the many bows we made this week

But now that it’s all behind us, I feel like we could conquer the world. It was a great week.

Through the Junior League of Columbia, my placement (committee assignment) is Holiday Market Decorations. This is my second year to chair this committee, and I love it. I have 10 other fantastic, creative, hard-working gals on the committee with me and it’s just so much fun to decorate such a massive space and watch it become a Christmas wonderland.

Almost all of the decorations were found this summer at America’s Mart in Atlanta when I went with my mom and Nina.

I thought I’d share a bunch of photos of the space. We had 20 Christmas trees, 9 small wreaths, 1 huge wreath, 27 centerpieces, 50 bows… and a partridge in a pear tree! And then there’s the larger than life Christmas tree.

the big tree- covered in wrapped packages (attached using lots of floral wire) and large flat ornaments

We started decorating last Sunday night and spent all day Monday and Tuesday decorating. We put the finishing touches on everything on Wednesday morning. And tomorrow night we’ll take it all down– and sell it if you’re in the Columbia area and are interested in coming by to shop!

sweet little mistletoe trees on the entry tables, and the beautiful table cloth my awesome committee member sewed

the outside tent and the gorgeous drum chandeliers and huge red ornaments

we had 18 round tables in the dining area in the tent that had lanterns, ornaments, and cute chevron table toppers

We had two trees in the tent this year 

At the entrance to the building, there were 5 white trees showcasing various Junior League projects and philanthropies. These were decorated and created by this year’s provisional class

There was a very large wreath hanging over the stage area

This picture was taken during the decorating process, but I had to show the gorgeous ribbon on the trees around the dance floor

The entry area had six trees and four benches for shoppers to sit

Three large lattices hung from the ceiling and we swagged fabric and hung large red and green finials to lower the ceiling

We had 3 additional trees near the staircase, and of course garland and bows along the staircases and the balcony

One of the 9 centerpieces like this for cocktail tables

A peek down the aisle at the big tree

The theme this year was “Merry and Bright” and the two chairs of the committee and the whole Holiday Market committee did an amazing job pulling together a massive event and fundraiser.

Last night, Todd and I took the boys to the PJs with Santa event at Holiday Market. Santa Claus comes every year and there is also an opportunity for kids to do a fun Christmas craft, watch a Christmas movie, read Christmas stories, get their faces painted, tumble with The Little Gym, and even meet Cocky!

Hudson and Hayes absolutely loved it and they looked so cute in their pajamas that Hillary made!

It was a great week! But now I’m looking forward to relaxing for the rest of the season, and possibly getting a tree up at Todd’s grandmother’s house for us to enjoy!

*Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more updates!

This weekend, my friends and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Allison and her sweet baby boy on the way. We had it at our house and it was fun to have everyone here. And to have an excuse to get my house as clean as possible!

When Allison told us that she was using navy, green, madras, and alligators in the baby’s nursery, we decided to use that as inspiration for her baby shower.

We decided on a “See You Later, My Little Alligator” theme.

We called on the talented girls at Sweet Birdie’s Nest to help us make the theme come to life. They created party circles, cupcake toppers, a banner, a welcome sign, and a great set of prints for us to frame for Allison. I love these colors and think they’re just so fun and happy!

This fun little set of prints (excuse the horrible glare) was framed on the welcome table. We also had fun little note cards with a number on them for months 1-12. The guests were asked to write advice and encouragement to Allison for each of those months.

Also on the welcome table, we had these delicious and oh-so-cute cookie favors from Holly at Doughmestic Housewife. Holly’s cookies are so soft and yummy and I’ll say it again…. they are little works of art! (Holly ships and takes custom orders!)

My friend Caroline brought delicious chicken salad sandwiches on croissants.

My friend Tina made pimento cheese sandwiches. Goodness, this is making me hungry!

Allison said she has been craving fruit, so I made my friend Emily’s pineapple pretzel salad recipe that I’ve posted before. Yummy!

My friend Allyson put together a pretty vegetable platter.

And of course no shower is complete without fluffy cupcakes from Publix and sweet cupcake toppers.

My friend Julie brought these delicious chocolate cookies.

I made these baked brie bites. I found the recipe on Pizzazzerie, and I will definitely be making these again.

My friend Caroline brought this wonderful spinach dip, and I think it looks so pretty!

The banner said “See You Later My Lil Alligator.”

And all the hostesses with Allison. She allowed us to touch her belly– we did ask permission! Ha!

Me, Allyson, Julie, Allison, Tina, and Caroline

I love these girls!