It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!....

Beach Time!

We were so blessed to have my parents come stay with us for a few days before Bella's birthday party! We enjoyed quality beach time.....

....and a relaxing dinner out on the bay!

Bella enjoyed walking around with her daddy and learning about all the fish and sea animals......

Britney and Matt came down for the festivities also....so on Saturday night back to the beach we went! =)

A quick pic snapped while we were finishing our delicious dinner...

Such a fun evening together...

Then we went for a nice walk on the beach...

We love having the opportunity to live so close to the beautiful white sandy beaches on the Gulf! =)

Isabella's Bunny Birthday Party!

This past Saturday we celebrated Isabella's first birthday! We had so much fun throwing her a little "Bunny Birthday Party!" She was born on Easter weekend last year.....so I figured that a bunny themed party would be just perfect! And of course her favorite little stuffed animal is her tiny little white bunny. She hums while rubbing his long floppy ears to soothe herself to sleep. Our little bunny party was just perfect for little our little Bella!

We love this precious girl!

The invitation we sent to our friends...

Our little bunny who guided everyone to the party!

The dessert table...

(I made three bunny cakes, a 3 tiered cake for Bella and some cupcakes.)

We also had muffins in the shape of bunnies! (Chocolate chip, banana & blueberry)

We enjoyed fruit on little bunny toothpicks too!

Of course, we served a bunny's favorite food - carrots on a silver platter!

And for our beverage we had pink lemonade!

Grandaddy took Bella's one year portraits a few weeks ago and they brought a beautiful picture for all our guests to sign! I think our final count was around 45....8 children under the age of 2. =)

All the little ones enjoyed playing on the blanket outside! We had our Peter Rabbit table along with bubble blowing, fun toys to share and bunny ears for everyone to wear!

Grandaddy and She-She also brought this on an easel for everyone to see Bella's one year photo shoot.......

Bella loved opening all the fun gifts from her friends...

Bella was a bit hesitant as she began to taste her very own cake

......then all of sudden she went in to get a bite.......

everyone cheered!....and Bella CRIED! I think she was a bit overwhelmed with emotion! =) I love this sweet girl...

She-She and Mimi love this precious girl!

Uncle Matt, Pappa and Aunt Brit participating in the festivities!

We are all so blessed by sweet Isabella's life and it was a joy to celebrate together! =)

Here's the little thank you note we sent to our family and friends....

"Showering" Linz and Baby Sadie.......and visiitng cousin Madelyn...

Last weekend we traveled up to Huntsville, Alabama to "shower" my sister Linz and her soon to arrive baby girl Sadie! It was such a sweet time for our whole family to be together!

Lindsey introduced Isabella to her 3rd grade class......they all loved seeing her in person. Linz has shown them pics of her online and their background on their projector is a picture of Isabella.....so they were all fascinated to actually meet her in person! She was like a celebrity to not only the 3rd grade class but the school! So fun to meet Lindsey's students and teacher friends!

We had a little birthday celebration for my mom and Isabella since Lindsey is unable to travel for Isabella's b'day party at this point in her pregnancy. Such a fun little celebration with the family!

We loved joining Lindsey's friends and celebrating little Sadie's life!

Isabella enjoyed playing with all the other little babies.....and even decided to give them kisses on their cheeks! =) We're working on teaching her not to kiss boys! Haha

This is Rylan Freeman (Emily and I went to Samford together).....

This is little Elijah Mize (Courtney is one of my dear friends from college)

Come to think of it....Rylan's daddy is a Worship leader and Elijah's daddy is a pastor...so at least Isabella likes the boys who are minister's sons! =)

I enjoyed sewing several little gifts for my first niece! I decided awhile back that I wanted to make some little outfits and special necessities for baby Sadie and Linz. I carefully wrapped each gift and tied them with a typed prayer that I had prayed while sewing the various pieces. I loved every minute of sewing.....here are some pics of the gifts......

Linz's hospital gown...

Pillowcases (to make the hospital room a little more homey)....=)

I made Bella matching peasant dresses...

After the shower, we headed down to Mississippi to visit Jeremy's brother Jordan and his family! Jordan preached and Jeremy led worship on Sunday at their church. We so enjoyed our time with them and the girls loved playing with each other! They are just four months apart so they definitely have fun together! Isabella gave Madelyn a sweet little kiss before heading off to church Sunday morning. =)