It's a Par-TEE!

I now have a four year old and a one year old.

Excuse me while I uncurl myself from the fetal position.

 

What a wonderful whirlwind of a week it's been.

 

On Wednesday, Baker turned FOUR!

We had a fabulous celebration of all things HIM!

 

If anybody knows how to celebrate, it's Baker Bell.

 

Boy knows how to party.

 

And yes, that's a brownie for breakfast.

But I did slather natural peanut butter on it, because everybody knows we need protein for breakfast.

And chocolate comes from cocoa, which is a tree, that makes it a plant.

Chocolate is a salad.

So even though it was his birthday, he had salad topped with extra protein.

 

Because, Mom of the Year.

 

We also celebrated his teacher, Mrs. Nicole, who shares his special day!

We love her fiercely!

Then, despite all my pleas and begs, Barrett turned ONE on Sunday!

 

Talk about hitting a momma where it hurts.

Two birthdays in four days.

Ouch.

 

I still remember my ninth grade Biology teacher telling me it was a woman's perogative to change her mind. And by golly, I am all woman and put this to the test every single day.

 

It still baffles my ever-loving crazy mom mind that this idea stuck.

 

On May 17, 2015, we were released from the hospital to bring Barrett home.

On the way home, I said these exact words to Brian,

"Next year, we can totally have their parties together and even though I don't know the first thing about golf, let's do a golf theme.

Barrett's hole in ONE and Baker is FORE.

We can call it a Par-Tee, you know, "par" "tee.

Get it?

We can have Arnold Palmers to drink and club sandwedges,

and chips and mac and tees.

It's gonna be so fun."

 

I really amazed myself at all of the golf puns my sleep-deprived-hopped-up-on-new-baby-hormones  brain was producing. I would have high fived myself and done a little skip if all my nether regions didn't feel like they had just been run over by a Mack truck after delivering every single delectable ounce of a nine pound juicy baby boy.

Instead, I think I cried. "But I don't want him to turn one. And Baker, I'm not letting him turn four.

Why do they have to grow up? Why does time have to go so fast. It seems like he was just born yesterday."

 

Mind you, this was two days after he was born.

I still had 364 days to come to grip with this. 

Praise all things good and holy for Leap Years. 

 

My precious husband didn't know what to do.

Calm the screaming baby in the backseat,

throw me some Xanax,

or leap from the moving vehicle and sacrifice scratches and scars for sanity.

 

Fortunately, he didn't jump and I survived birthdays one and four.

 

And a whole year later, we did just that.

We had a Golf Par-TEE for our boys.

 

Baker is FORE and Barrett's hole in ONE!

 

It was perfect.

or PARfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

    

 

 

Caddy Buffet:

Cupcakes - Vanilla Cupcakes with Toppers

Chip Shots - Bags of Chips

Club Sandwedges - Ham and Turkey Club Sandwiches

Par-Faits - Key Lime Parfaits

Birdie Nuggets - Chick-fil-A Nuggets Platter 

 

Party Favors:

Thank you for Playing a Round with Us tags on bagged personalized cookies

 

Printables: Amy Tippins at One Good Name 

Cookies: Cookies by Caley

Photographer: Corey Morrison

Birthday Outfits: Sew Whimsy

Cupcakes and Smashcakes: Publix

Location: The Rise School

 

 

Barrett meets Baker - Barrett's Birth Story (Part Two)

There are few days in my life that stand out above the rest.

 

The day I was saved by His great grace.

 

The day I wound up in Bryant Denny stadium sitting beside a cute freshman, 

with a beard that would make a grown man jealous

and hair so wavy it made all the girls swoon, 

 and our Roll Tide romance began.

Let me just pause for a moment of silence over that hunk of a creature.

Hubba. Hubba.

 

The day that same good looking fella met me at the end of the aisle and

 put a ring on my finger. Feeling like the happiest girl in the world,

I said I Do to my best friend and got me a forever date.

 

The day we welcomed our Baker Boy into our hearts and first experienced the consuming love of a mother and a father.

 

On the third Friday in May, we met Barrett.

When he was placed on my chest, and I peered into his slate gray eyes,

I knew my life would never be the same.

If the day had stopped there, I would have gone to sleep an incredibly blessed woman, the mother of two precious gifts, and the wife of their adoring daddy.

 

But it didn't.

God, in his infinite goodness, had even greater plans for our day.

Ones that left us praising Him alone. 

 

I had dreamed of this day.

Brian and I had discussed a baby with Baker.

Against his daddy's wishes, we got him a baby doll, Baxter.

Instinctively, he nurtured, and loved, and fed, and diapered, and dressed him.

We talked about the baby growing in mommy's tummy.

We sat in Barrett's rocking chair and dreamed of the day my lap would hold another.

Baker couldn't wait to for the day he could read Little Blue Truck to his little brother and watch me wipe the predictable tears as I read Love You Forever for the billionth time. 

 

Dreams come true.

That's what we hope for.

 

But this time, the dream fell far short.

When Baker first laid his eyes on Barrett, it was more perfect than any dream foretold.

 

 

 

It was love at first sight.

 

This video melts my heart every single time I watch it.

So pure.

So sweet.

So full of love.

Oh my heart, be still.

 

 

 

 

The boys mimicked my goofy grin that threatened to be washed away in the flood spilling down my cheeks.

 

 

  

And my heart threatened to overflow watching the bond between these brothers begin.
 



As we sat in the bed together for the first time as a family of four,

Baker's and Barrett's futures flashed before my eyes.

 

 

 

 

I saw Baker and Barrett playing together,

 

 

 

protecting each other,

 

 

 

scheming against us,

 

 

 

standing up for each other,

  

 

 

 

picking fights and sharing jokes.

 

 

 

 

Loving and laughing and doing life together as brothers. As friends.

 

The celebration continued with a birthday party.

We clapped and sang and ate cupcakes to our hearts delight.

After Baker helped blow out Barrett's candle, we looked around the room and all nodded and smiled the same silly smiles,

agreeing that we just witnessed one of the most spectacular things this side of heaven.

 

God made Baker special, with a heart and a love that knows no boundaries.

Of all the things I hope he teaches his little brother, this one is the greatest.

 

 

 

 

Full.

 

Our home.

Our hands.

Our laps.

Our hearts.

His glory.

 

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,

the whole earth is full of His glory."

Isaiah 6:3