The Birthday Party!!

If I learned anything from planning Logan's birthday party, it's this...I need to take more photos!! I had visions in my head of doing an artistic blog entry which would showcase all of the hardwork I put in to planning Logan's party - it would show picture after picture of each and every detail I had thought about...too bad that didn't happen! I did get 3 good pictures of each of the tables and in those you can see what was going on for the most part - but, it's not really the decorations that matter...its all of the people that came out to the party to celebrate Logan! it meant a LOT to Jason and I to be surrounded by so many loved ones from near and far on our sons big day!! I'm just going to post a million pictures, so sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

This is my favorite photo...all of the sweets lined up looking scrumptious!

This photo makes me cringe! I wish I'd moved all of that junk from under the table, or used the 2nd table cloth I had to cover everything we were storing underneath...oh well! There's always next year!
This is where the food line started - there's a frame that says "Eats", the sweet table has a frame that says "Sweets" and I made another one to hang on the beverage tubs that says "Drinks"...but that sign got lost along the way!
In my original vision, we had 2 long tables and a large portion of one of those tables was going to house the water bottles that I spent endless hours making labels for (With Jason & Lisette's help!) but the way things ended up going on the day of the party, I just put a few out- I think they still look nice, but in my head they look stellar!

The birthday boy entering his oasis!

Mommy & her baby Laubster!

Grandma, Mama & Baby

My 2 favorite Laubsters (Seriously, how great are the balloons?!)

Love this one!

Mom...I'm all burned out on fun...can we not have another birthday party until next year?

Birthday Breakfast!

Birthdays were always a big deal for me growing up...HUGE! In my family, whoever's birthday it was always got to choose what they wanted for breakfast (we ALWAYS chose German Pancakes!), we got a foil crown (custom fitted, of course) and we got a banner made (The other members of the family would help decorate it the night before)...with my friends growing up (especially in high school) we would always do something special - and "something special" most always meant bringing a bunch of balloons to school for the birthday girl to carry around all day - I want Logan to grow up feeling just as special about birthdays- they are a great time to celebrate YOU!

We started Logan's actual birthday out with a pancake breakfast...we're trying to keep Logan as organic and healthy as possible, so I'd heard about a whole wheat pancake mix that I wanted to try out- while I didn't actually eat any of the pancakes I made for Logan, I did take a nibble out of one and it was delicious! I mean, he ate them in about 3 seconds flat...but this kid eats anything in front of him, so I wouldn't take that as an indication of the taste level of anything!

I remembered growing up that my Mom would make specific shapes out of pancakes - she would make the first initial of mine and my brothers' names, she would even make a bear head out of pancakes - complete with a black nose! I decided to try my hand at this tradition and make Logan an "L" pancake and a "1" pancake...easier said than done! I'm glad he's only a baby and doesn't eat THAT much because I must have gone through 8 DUDS before finally figuring out how to make these shapes...but the little man didn't mind one iota about how the pancakes looked, he just wanted to scarf them down! And boy did he ever!

A visit from friends!

In preparation for the big birthday party, my BFF Lindsey flew down to LA for a mini vacation! She brought her baby boy Brock and her Mom to help out on the trip. I cannot express in words how great it was to have Lindsey around for this milestone - Lindsey is one of those friends that you just can't get enough of. I love that we both were pregnant at the same time, and that we now both have sons - its been so amazing to have a friend like Lindsey to lean o n over this past year when there have been many times I've been unsure of myself and this new role of MOTHERHOOD! Here are a few shots of our boys playing together - it's crazy how Brock and Logan play with one another. From the very first time they met, when Logan was 6 months and Brock was just 3 months old, they've had some sort of a connection - they hold hands, the jibber/jabber and they SMILE those beautiful smiles whenever they are together. It's the best!

How sweet is he?! You're not too bad either Linds!

Coming soon to a venue near you: Brown Laubster Rock Band!

Soaking up the SoCal sun...keeping our boys protected of course!

He's happiest when he's eating...

And THIS is why they make outlet covers...

Boys will be boys eh?

Swim Lessons with DaDa

We've only gone to two swim lessons thus far in the summer...we've signed up for a 6 week session, but to be honest, the swim lessons seem kind of a waste of time. I hate saying that, but after talking to Moms in other areas who's kids are in swim lessons I Kind of feel like we're getting the shaft! Logan is fine in the water, so maybe that's why we're not getting the attention I had expected - but I think my biggest issue with the "lessons" is that there's no structure. I'm not expecting these babies to walk out of the water after 6 weeks of lessons competing with Michael Phelps, but the "teacher" doesn't even call the class to order to begin - there is no singing, there is no instruction - she just kind of swims around and stops in and talks to you saying "Kick-kick-kick"...really? Awesome.

Well, at the very least it gives Jas and I an excuse to get some super cute shots of Mr. Logan in a swim suit! Ha!

Forever Eugela

Jason's coworker, Angela, got married to her sweetheart Eugene a couple of weeks ago (Angela + Eugene = Eugela...CLASSIC!).

The wedding was amazing - from the location (High up in the Malibu hills), to the decor, to the intimacy and the food - we had an absolute blast!

Jason and I made the long drive out to Malibu...when I worked out in Malibu a few years ago, my jobsite was WAAAAAAY out there- past the beachside condo's, past Pepperdine University, past the entrance to Topanga Canyon, past the famous (And overly priced) restaurant Geoffery's (pronounced JAUF-REE's...I know, obnoxious). I didn' think there was any way the wedding would be that far out...but it was! A little ways past my former jobsite, was the church where we would catch a shuttle to take us UP to the wedding site...and by UP I mean waaaay up! The shuttle ride took a total of maybe 10 minutes - we were winding and winding up and up and up the hills of Malibu. At one point, the road we were on ended and our driver stopped for a moment at a construction site - as the bus paused, Jason and I both thought to ourselves "wow, Angela is REALLY into construction! She's even getting married on a construction site!" the girly-girl in me was QUITE relieved that the bus picked up speed and continued up MORE hills leaving the construction site in the far away distance.

When we arrived at the wedding site, I was amazed and knew immediately it was going to be a fabulous night. The setting was breathtaking - from almost every vantage point you could see the ocean. The ceremony was to take place in a small area shaded by trees, and the bride and groom said their vows under an amazing garden arch. I'm calling it a garden arch because I have no idea what else to call it - it was an arch covered in flowers- but not your typical vibrant, fresh from the market flowers- these flowers looked as though they had been hanging on this arch for years, just waiting for Eugela to say their vows underneath them. There even seemed to be a few old bouquets tied up in there- I'm honestly not sure how the florist made these flowers look the way they did, but it was beautiful.

After the ceremony, we headed to the reception site and along the way past the "Wedding Tree" which was an awesome guest book token I'd never seen before (Yet another reason why I think Jason and I should get married again! Ha!) - the Wedding Tree was a framed piece of art that had a picture of a leafless tree with several branches coming off of it. Next to the frame were two ink pads - one in yellow and one in blue (the wedding colors) - an instructional note next to the frame asked every guest to take their thumb print and mark a tree branch and then write their name in the print so that Eugela would have a record of their guests! It was awesome, and such a fun and artistic way to display everyone that was a part of their special day!

As we walked into the reception site, we were all blown away -even though we'd walked past this area moments before in order to get to the ceremony, seeing it up close as we all found our seats just made all of the girls at our table giddy with delight! From the beautiful centerpieces, to the table names and artwork which accompanied them, to the strings of large white lanterns hung across the area, to the dessert table set up next to the fireplace near the bar - there didn't seem to be any detail left untouched - we all knew we were going to have a great time.

Once we were seated, the bride and groom had their first dance and then speeches...I have to say, and I think everyone who attended this wedding would agree, these were some of the best speeches I've EVER heard (And this is coming from the girl who had her Dad SING as part of his speech to her at her wedding!). They were all so personal and thoughtful, I felt honored to get to peer in to this family union because it was obvious that they were a very tight knit group.

As all of the speeches were going on, a few of us at our table kept noticing something happening a little off site from the reception area...something was being constructed...something that was SPINNING...and something that looked like a lot of fun...but what was it?! It was, one of the best things I have EVER seen at a wedding...

A FLIP BOOK STUDIO!

A what? Oh yes, a flip book studio (Not sure if that's what they are officially called, but that's what I'm calling it) - at first, I thought it was a photo booth which I was ecstatic about because I've never been to a wedding with a photo booth! As Jason and I walked up to the scene to pick out our outfits (The spinning thing we saw from our seats was the hat rack), we realized this was NOT a photo booth...there was a large white screen and really bright lights and people dressed in funky costumes dancing for about 6 seconds and then walking away - huh? Were we supposed to make music videos? Express our love for the happy couple? Were we auditioning for a reality TV show (Hey, it WAS Malibu after all) - when we made our way to the camera we were told that we were about to film the contents of our very own flip book and that we would need to make grand gestures for 6 seconds which would be filmed, then printed and formatted into tiny books- of course, Jason and I took some extra time to choreograph an entire 6 seconds sequence and once we felt prepared, we told them to film. The end result was FANTASTIC! The little books were printed out in about 5 minutes and for the rest of the night we kept flipping our book...it was SO FLIPPNCOOL! Great idea for a wedding if anyone is looking for an unconventional way to give a gift at the end of the night and keep the guests entertained!

That's the groom sporting the pink socks - so great!

No wedding is complete without a chicken hat and some deuce's thrown! HOLLA!

All in all it was an awesome night. Angela and Eugene make an amazing couple and Jason and I wish them the best in all that comes their way as husband and wife!

Cheers!

Happy Father's Day!

As we all know, a few weeks ago it was FATHER'S DAY!! Jason's FIRST Father's Day to be exact...last year I think we were 1 week away from giving birth, so I don't think we did much more than high five each other to celebrate....but this year it was an OFFICIAL celebration!

We had stayed out late at Jason's co-worker's wedding the night before Father's Day, so all of Sunday was a pretty relaxed day. I made Jas a nice breakfast when he woke up - eggs, toast, OJ etc...it was great because while Jason and I enjoyed this great meal, Logan got to join in too! He's been eating eggs in the morning for quite some time so I made him some to enjoy alongside "Mommy & Daddy". Great Memory!

After that, we debated on what to do - go to the zoo? The science museum? The beach? It wasn't that warm out and the day was getting later and later the more we procrastinated, so we just decided to walk Logan over to the park and play...as you'll see in the pictures below, we all had a GREAT time!

Happy Father's Day Jas! Logan and I are SO lucky to have you! You are an amazing daddy to Logan and an awesome partner for me - you are setting a great example for Logan as someone who is smart, thorough, respectful, funny, loving and sweet...THANK YOU for all that you do for our family - we are so blessed!!!

And of course, here's a video of Mr. Logan swinging on the swings!