Oliver's Our Little Duckling Adoption Party

Eight months have passed since Oliver was born.  Eight glorious, precious, life changing, beautiful (okay and unbelievably hard) months have passed since our curly headed, dimple faced baby boy bounced into our world, our lives, our hearts.  And it was high time we celebrated him!!!!  We threw a double celebration for Oliver commemorating both his adoption and his baby dedication.  It was a semi-small (our families are huge, so small never really happens) event held at the grandparents house.  It was a beautiful day!  And we had the sweetest of times.

For obvious reasons, the dessert table is my favorite part of any celebration.  And for other sweets lovers, it's your favorite as well; hopefully you exercise more than I do though.  THE CAKE:  I have this obsession with icing and two tiered cakes and Kathi (My Sweet Things) knew just how to make me swoon.  Look at those perfect vertical ruffles, that darling shade of soft yellow, and the yellow ombre layers.  THE CAKE POPS:  Little duckling cake pops.  Um, need I say more?  Have you ever seen anything so precious as those that Nicole (Bella's Bakery) made for us?  I am still crying sad little tears over the fact that I didn't get to taste a single cake pop!  While I was busy hostessing, every single one of those cake pops vanished.  THE COOKIES:  If you have seen some of our other parties, you will remember seeing cookies from Nicole (Crumbles) before.  Now with Nicole's cookies, I have wised up and I always stash away one or two for me to have after the celebration.  To say that her cookies taste good is a serious understatement; they are incredible!!!!  This year I discovered that Nicole also makes macarons; and well, macarons, are an indulgence that I don't get very often, so I knew I wanted to include those as well.  THE MARSHMALLOWS:  I have followed Autumn (Sparkling Sweets Boutique) on Instagram for a long time, and I just swoon at all of her yummy desserts.  When I asked for some light yellow marshmallow pops, Autumn created exactly what I wanted.  Aren't they beautiful?  THE FONDANT DUCKLINGS:  Make sure you oogle those itty, bitty fondant ducks topping the petit fours.  Brittany (Edible Details) crafted the most darling little ducklings; check out the little details she etched into them.  So precious!  THE CUPCAKES:  I'm not sure why I can't throw a party without cupcakes, but I just can't.  It's an impossibility.  And cupcakes need decorations too.  I fell in love with the cupcake toppers and wrappers (Loralee Lewis) that matched perfectly with our party invitation, so that was a must have for Mr. Oliver's first Mommy-thrown party.  THE DRINKS:  And, finally, it's not dessert, but it's an essential pairing to sweets.  Milk!  I am in love with those vintage glass milk bottles from Kate Aspen.  They were simply perfect for the children at our celebration, and I even caught a few adults sipping them down as well.

Since we celebrated outside, I wanted to make sure that all of our guests had places to sit and enjoy being together.  I created the centerpieces (Sweet Georgia Sweet) and offset them on either side with white flowers and greenery (Bloomfield Plantation.)  Each guests place was set with darling, whimsical polka dot cups and napkins (The TomKat Studio.)  Make sure you check out the detail on the straws (More Sprinkled Joy.)  I also hand crafted a wreath (Sweet Georgia Sweet) from yellow seersucker for Ollie's special celebration.  There are few things that say "Southern summer" quite like seersucker.  Lastly, Walker is always asking to match with his baby brother.  Their darling matching yellow gingham outfits were so sweet and blended beautifully with the party.

Photography

Lisa Housman of Party of 7 Photography

Party Styling

Bethany Farrar of Sweet Georgia Sweet

Desserts

Cake - My Sweet Things

Cookies and Macarons - Crumbles

Cake Pops - Bella's Bakery and Bowtique

Marshmallow Pops - Sparkling Sweets Boutique

Fondant duck toppers - Edible Details

Bubblegum balls - The TomKat Studio

Cupcake toppers - Loralee Lewis

Decor

Invitation - Loralee Lewis

Wreath and Topiary Centerpieces - Sweet Georgia Sweet

Milk Glass Bottles - Kate Aspen

Fringe Garland, Cups, Napkins - The TomKat Studio

Paper Fans - Kara's Party Ideas the shop

Honeycomb Balls - DecoPoms

Straws - More Sprinkled Joy

Flowers - Bloomfield Plantation

Support the Proudfoots! Adoption Fundraiser from Sweet Georgia Sweet.

Meet the Proudfoot Family!  Tiana & Michael are adopting a special needs little boy from China, and it is my pleasure to help support them in their efforts to bring home this sweet little one.  From now until next Monday, 25% of all proceeds from the SGS Etsy shop will be donated to the Proudfoot Family adoption.

Proudfoot Family Bio -  

Michael and Tiana knew before they were even married that they wanted to grow their family through adoption. After falling in love with Africa through a few trips to Tanzania, they began their first adoption process. Nadia, now four, joined their family from Uganda in 2012. She is so excited to be a big sister now as the family begins their next adoption journey - this time from China. They have been matched with a three year old boy with spina bifida.

The Proudfoots live in Virginia where Michael is full-time youth pastor. They are excited (and a little terrified) to take on this new adventure, and are so grateful for the support of their family and friends.

Order something for yourself or a friend & know that you are helping a child have a chance at life, love, and family!  ♥  Thank you for helping!

Happy Birthday, Walker!!!!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY to my baby love! 

You are loud, you are wild, you are crazy. You are sweet, you are kind, you are precious. You are always moving, always talking, always opinionated. You are my little student, my eager reader, my dance partner. You are my Starbucks drinker, my craft lover, my taco eater. 

You are my first child. I am your forever Mommy.

You are my fairy tale. I am your dream come true.

I am yours. You are mine. WE ARE HIS!!!

Rejoicing on this wonderful day & celebrating the faithfulness of the Lord. He has restored our hearts & our lives! And we are thankful!

Happy Birthday, Mr. King!

I know this post is late.  8 days late to be exact.  

My excuse?

I have a husband in a wheelchair (temporarily) and a 6 year old boy - both of whom are Bermuda triangles of time.  It is amazing that I even remember to shave my legs!  But last week we took time to pause & explain to our son the special significance of the day at hand.  

On Monday, January 20th, our nation stopped to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. (born Jan. 15, 1929....... obviously all good birthdays are nationally recognized on Mondays, so as to give everyone a good 4 days to revel in the eating of the ice cream & the inhaling of the birthday cake.........amen?)  In years past, this day never really meant a whole lot to me {shame on me!}  I wouldn't say that the day went by unnoticed, but it certainly didn't bring tears to my eyes.  And it certainly didn't grasp my soul & shake it hard.  Hard enough to make me cry out in utter thankfulness to Almighty God.  

A cry of thanksgiving for His putting into the hearts of brave men & women (like MLK, Jr. & many others) the truth of who we are & the strength and courage to fight-like-the-dickens against the sin and wrong doing in the world.  The Bible tells us {Genesis 1:27} that mankind was created in God's image.  And His image is worthy of respect.  As the children's song says "red & yellow, black & white they are precious in His sight - Jesus loves the little children of the world." 

The biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. shows us how deep the Father's love for us is - how passionate, how strong, how fierce, how right.  It also shows us of His faithfulness to deliver His children from injustice and sin and wrong doing.

And I am so very, very thankful!  Without the lives of brave men & women, my sweet, little family may not even exist........... and that is an unbearable thought.

So, next time the country stops to honor the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.......... won't you stop, too - regardless of the color of your skin?  And be thankful?  Thankful that we serve a great and mighty God!