Pre-Party Relaxation

James and Mattie Rose's birthday party was Saturday, but before that, we were able to spend some relaxing time with out-of-town family who were so sweet to come celebrate with us. 

Kyle's cousin Jessica came to visit with her six month old Sawyer, as well as his Aunt Carol, Uncle John, and Mamaw. We had a yummy breakfast with them Friday morning over at the McShans. 

{sweet cheeks}

{he loved me. just sayin' :)}

{and he loved james and mattie rose. when they weren't crawling all over him.}

After a good, long nap, we headed to our neighborhood pool with Grandpa and Bebe (my dad and stepmom, Kim.) This was the babies' first time in the pool. The water was freezing, but we got accustomed to it after a while. And James and Mattie Rose loved it!  They love being outside and for that I am so grateful, because I tend to get a little claustrophobic inside my house at times. We packed a few snacks and spent a few hours catching some rays and soaking up some vitamin D. 

{mattie rose sporting her new swimsuit from meme. with milk and snack in hand. duh.}

{eating some strawberries with our bebe}

{just a-floatin'}

{it's so bright}

{hangin' out with daddy}

Before we even pulled out of the parking lot at the pool, these two were out like a light!

After this, it was time to get busy getting ready for the party!

Party With Auntie Am

I hope one day James and Mattie Rose thoroughly understand how many people love them! One of them being one of my best friends, Amber. Or to James and Mattie Rose, Auntie Am! 

Kyle was out of town the weekend following their birthday, so Auntie Am came to stay have a slumber party for the weekend! While Daddy was away, we definitely played :)

The weekend was started off right with breakfast on the patio.

{all of this did wonders for my soul. my kiddos, my sista, fruit tea from bread & co, and a yummy breakfast. yum!}

After breakfast, we did a little shopping including the best $20 purchase of the summer. A huge inflatable pool from Wal-mart. Ha! It's huge. It could easily fit four adults... How could I not purchase it? Because let's be honest, I'm not going to watch my kiddos have fun in the pool. Mommy needs to stay cool and catch some rays too :)

{post-swim pic}

{auntie am came bearing birthday gifts - these cute swimsuits on two cute babes}

We spent the rest of night lounging around, working on some birthday party decorations, laughing at Pitch Perfect for the eleventh time, and enjoying some mommy drinks. My how our Saturday nights have changed...

After church on Sunday morning, we ate a little lunch followed by the usual post-church photo shoot.

{my girls}

{james loved flirting with auntie am all weekend}

{lots of smiles}

{this makes my heart happy}

{and just because an instagram filter makes everything better...}

Am, can't tell you how much you mean to me and the babies. Life has taken us through so many different stages so far, and I can't wait to see how our friendship continues to grow and change over the next 100 years. I have a good feeling you'll still be doing my hair, I'll be cooking dinner, and we'll both be drinking wine. I love you!

Beginning of the Birthday Celebrations

Whewwwww.... It has been a busy two weeks! Celebrating the twins' big first birthday, that is!!!

It's been a blast, and I finally have time to upload pictures and blog. So get ready for a flood of posts and pictures :)

James and Mattie Rose turned one on May 30. The morning started out with fun FaceTime with Grandpa (my dad) and then with MeMe (my mom). 

{my dad is crazy silly. what i love most about him.}

{catching a chat with meme before she heads to tennis}

Then we played around for a bit in our cute birthday shirts made by Nicole at lil threadz clothing. Check out her Etsy shop if you need some adorable stuff for your kiddos. She was super easy to work with, and I think the shirts turned out great! Incredibly soft and fit them well! 

{big girl}

{my little man was too busy playing to appease his mommy with a picture}

We headed to Cookeville to meet Kyle for a birthday lunch at the always safe Chick-fil-A. I cannot tell y'all enough how much I love this place. Not because of the delicious waffle fries and yummy chicken, but because of the service. It's like they practically tell you, "It's my pleasure to pick your children's food up off the floor." There's no judgement in this place and I like it! Ha! James and Mattie Rose love to meet Daddy in the middle of the day, and even more so on their birthday. We even scored free ice cream. Which ended up in Kyle's belly :)

{my loves}

{my chill little buddy}

{gah, that smile...gets me every time.}

Even though we had planned the birthday party for a couple of weeks after their birthday, there was no way we weren't eating cake! The Siscos and McShans came over for pizza and cupcakes. And boy did the babies love it!

{being ever so delicate}

{smashed}

{sweet girl}

{so silly that boy}

{get pull him away from food long enough to take a picture}

{mmm...mmm...mmm....}

{"excuse me, i'm trying to eat cake here"}

{the sisco men}

{always trying to steal from her brother}

{success...}

{stealing kisses}

{don't know what we would without these special friends of ours}

{my three favorite people}

{dayay and momma mc}

The babies had a sugar crash and were done not too long after this....

Still so hard to believe it's been a whole year! Can't wait to see how much more life will change with each passing year!

Stay tuned for more birthday fun....

Best Mother's Day Yet...

...and that's because it was my first one!!!

And because we gave our babies back to the Lord yesterday. Not that we hadn't already. But our church had the baby dedication ceremony.

I can't think of a better way to say "thank you" to God for our two huge blessings, than by saying "they are Yours, and I will do my best to show You to them and teach them how to follow You." So that's what we did publicly in front our of families, friends, and church body.

Mom and Mike came to visit to celebrate the babies dedication and Mother's day. It was a quick trip, but better than nothing!

{these are my people}

{mom and mike}

{me and my little buddy. and my pretty flowers from kyle.}

{two crazy girls. mattie rose and her meme.}

{praying over these two sweet things. notice how we did not come unprepared. pacis and a bird. anything to prevent a meltdown.}

{pastor roland giving us a few instructions. that's my friend jennifer next to me with her sweet baby anslee kate. anslee kept wanting to smell my flowers ha!} 

{our sweet sisco friends came to celebrate with us. love them so.}

{mamas and their babies. sweet maeve just a'growing inside kayla's belly}

{mattie rose was more interested in meme's necklace than smiling for the camera. james looks over it.}

{grandmothers and their favorite grandchildren}

{the mcshans}

{couldn't navigate life without these two}

{near impossible for everyone to look in the same direction, but i'll take it}

We also had verses that we chose to pray over the two of them. I always want Mattie Rose to know that internal beauty and integrity are for more important to the Lord than external beauty. So for her we chose 1 Peter 3:3-4 which says, "Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." And for James, we wanted him to have a verse to carry with him throughout life's challenges and trials that he will face as a boy, teenager, and man. We chose James 1:12 which reads, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

Mattie Rose and James, Mommy and Daddy are so proud to call you ours. We pray daily and fervently that you would come to know the Lord at a very early age, and hold on for dear life to Him all your days. We pray that we would always be aware of teachable moments to show you God's love, grace, and glory. And that we would be able to model Christ's love for you and others as we follow Him. We love you so much and cannot wait to continue to see what the Lord has in store for your lives!