CT Birthday Party Update (Not Cancelled Yet!)

I guess bringing the boys home in a blizzard should have tipped me off to the fact that we might have some trouble planning birthday parties for these dudes.  Maybe I shouldn't have called them my "Blizzard Babies" last year...I may have set things in motion with that name!

As you many of you know, New England and New York is on course to get our first major snowstorm of the season.  On Saturday.  When the boys turn one, and when the first of their birthday parties is scheduled.  Of course.  We've been watching the weather with baited breath, hoping the storm breaks up in time for us to celebrate with our CT and NY family and friends.   We'll make the decision on Friday afternoon and will be in touch with those attending.  If the storm does hit, it looks like the original snow date of 1/24 won't work out either.  If we have to reschedule, we'll update you on the new date too.

That said, earlier in the week Boston was supposed to get pummeled, and now they're saying it will most likely miss us.  Cross your fingers and say a prayer that it misses CT and NY too and we can still party like rockstars on Saturday!

In other news, I've been anxiously waiting for the boys to wake up from their last nap of the day because I have this set up:

We may have a small space, but we can still make it a fun space!  (It collapses.)  WAKE UP BABIES!

One Year Photo Shoot & Birthday Party Time!

I can't believe it.  In a week and a half, our boys will be turning one.  ONE!  How the heck did that happen?  Parenthood is truly the biggest time warp I've ever experienced.  That saying, "The days are long and the years are short" is totally 100% true.  I really can't believe it's been almost a year...

We're in the thick of it now, planning two birthday bashes**-one in CT, and one in MA.  Lots of craft projects and menu planning.  And this past weekend, a one year photo shoot.

Anyone who's ever paid a photographer for studio time knows it's not cheap.  In fact, most of the photographers I've looked at want no less than $250 to take photos of our family for us. They're gorgeous, yes, but we just don't have that kind of money floating around right now.  Because we really wanted formal pictures though, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  Instead of paying a professional photographer hundreds of dollars, I hired my niece Mariah for A LOT less to spend a couple of hours snapping pics for us.  I bought (on black Friday) a few yards of white fleece and a few strands of white lights.  I made a banner out of card stock, twine and duct tape and bought a bunch of balloons.  And then then we just spent some time taking tons of pictures to ensure we'd have a handful of keepers.  The results, while not professional grade, are amazing.  And I feel proud that I saved our family a butt-load of money (for diapers) and that my niece did such a wonderful job. It was a lot of work (we were all sweaty after the shoot was over!), but well worth it.  Take a look at the results:

 

 

 

**Jack & Bobby's wishlist can be found HERE.