HELLO
Mom to Iris. Wife to Todd. Our little family lives at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Fayetteville, Arkansas. We love it here and I love sharing little bits of our life.

© 2014 sarahfortune.

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Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Let me first get out the obligatory “I CAN’T BELIEVE MY BABY IS TWO YEARS OLD!” screech that all mothers do. Yes, I’m a little sad that every time I blink she grows an inch, but truth be told – I’m loving the toddler stage. Iris is starting to say clever things, she’s already potty trained, and there’s just so much more we can get out and experience with her.

We celebrated Iris’ big day on a Sunday afternoon. Perfect October weather, surrounded by the perfect mix of family and friends. Iris has been obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba since she was about one (or “Gah Gah” as she calls it), so there was no question about what kind of theme we would have. My plan was to keep it simple, but thanks to Pinterest and a few ideas of my own, I went a little Yo Crazy Crazy. Here’s a look the party and all the planning…

To make all the signage I found a blank Yo Gabba Gabba sign on this blog and a Gabbaland font here.

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

I made snacks or drinks for each of the characters. The Plex Mix, Dazzleberry Lemonade, and Muno cup ideas I found on Pinterest, but the Bronuts, Pink and Happy, Toodee Fruitee, and DJ Lance Rocks are courtesy of yours truly.

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

❤️

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

I used print-outs from Nick Jr. to make a coloring station and Pinterest led me to this blog to print out the boomboxes for the animal crackers.

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

To save on costs I used left over tissue paper from the tassel garland and sticks from my front yard to make matching flowers.

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

I found the cutest little Muno dress on Pinterest, which inspired me to make one for Iris (Muno is her current favorite).

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Yo Gabba Gabba favors from Party City.

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

More party details.

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Party fun!

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Iris' Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

Tomorrow is Iris' actual birthday, but I'll be out of town on a work trip. The life of a working mom can be a tough one, but I know I'm doing what's best for my little family. Sooo I'll just be over here overgraming photos from her party to make myself fe

You wouldn't know it, but she's actually having a blast.

Necessary.

Happy 2nd birthday my little Iris Adella Gill!

Friends!   @taylorsutton

The aftermath.

Messy room + balloons.

To quote DJ Lance, “Thanks for coming… We’ll see you next time!”

New House!

We lived in our old house longer than I’ve lived in any other house in my life. But after nearly 8 amazing years, we sold our house on N. Maxwell Drive and bought a home with a little more room for our family. It’s so strange how your priorities in a house change once you have a child. Growing up in Memphis, I lived mostly in historic bungalows and to this day those are still my favorite kind of homes. Sadly, they are much harder to come by here in the Ozarks (unless you want to pay around the $500,000 mark). Plus, once we had Iris I realized that we needed more practical things checked off our list instead of historic charm. That said, we ended up buying a 1969 ranch style home that has been updated, but still holds a little of the older character. I can’t tell you how excited I was for a double car garage, two living spaces, a bathroom off the master bedroom, fireplace, tons of storage, neighborhood friends for Iris, etc. There are still some things we want to do to truly make it our own, but thanks to Todd we’ve already started doing little projects to make it just right.

Since it’s been a while since I’ve blogged (like, months and months.. sheesh), here are some photos of our life as we transitioned into our new home.

It's gonna be a long night.

Iris peeking out her new window during our final walk-through.

We close tomorrow on the new place! #cantwait

Already in love with our new neighborhood!

☀

Walking over to see Baby Gus & do some baby shower planning.

#latergram

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We live on the sweetest street.

Just a good, old fashion Instagram photo.

New house spam.

☀

Taking photos for a guest blog post for @shopriffraff's state love shirts! (Representing my home state - Tennessee ❤)

Fingerpaint soap. ❤

Watching the rain.

I love making her cozy.

Running through the sprinkler.

Freshly painted chandelier & wall. {thanks to @jtoddgill}

Bath LOVE

Iris loves bath time.
I mean REALLY loves it.

She can be in the worst of moods, and all I have to say is:
BATH!

She makes a beeline to the tub, grabs the bubble bath container and hands it over.

Watching her in the bath, I can tell that her imagination is really growing. Her bad mood washed away, she plays, makes little sounds, and occasionally tries to sneak a sip of bath water.

Nothing better than a silly, clean, naked baby.

Bath LOVE

Bath LOVE

Bath LOVE

Bath LOVE

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Baby Blog: The One-Year-Old Update

So I’m about six months behind on posting an update of what Iris has been up to. The last time I updated, she was just starting to walk on the day she turned nine months old. Now at nearly 15 months, Iris is a full-on toddler. She’s not just walking – she’s running, climbing on things, and learning new words daily. Below are some random things that I want to make sure to document so that I’ll never forget them.

Talking:
● Iris’ first legit word was “uh oh.” To this day, it’s still her favorite, most used word.
● She also knows a handful of people’s names. Right now she does: Dada, Mama, Bama (“bah bah”), Nana, Poppy (“pah pah”), and even tried Dustin a few times (“dus tahhh”).
● “Bah bah” also works for baby. “Mah” is more. “Tah” is cat. “Dah” is dog. “Buh buh” is bye bye. Her “Hi” is spot on. She’s to the stage now where she will try to repeat lots of different words. Her speaking skills are getting cuter by the day.
● At Montessori they use sign language. She signs mostly for more, please, and water.

Foods:
● We let her try nearly everything, but she’s definitely a picky eater. Her favorite thing ever is pasta & cheese (can you blame her?). She also loves fruit – primarily bananas & the Cutie oranges. I always do a little cheer when I discover a vegetable that she likes, but then it seems like the next day she hates it. Currently in: Lima beans & corn. Out: Peas & kale.
● As you can tell from her belly, she LOVES to eat. She will let you know when she’s ready to eat by going to her highchair and trying to climb in. Like every hour.

Fun:
● Iris likes to play outside, color and paint, go down the slide a million times, play peek-a-boo, and go “bye bye”.
● One of her favorite times of the day is when her daddy comes home from work. She squeals so loud he can hear it from outside.
● She’s still at the stage where she’s fascinated in the most average things around the house. This can be trouble when it’s a mug of the morning’s coffee and opening (and shutting) drawers on tiny fingers. We have to keep a close eye on her.
● Bath time is another favorite. She loves pouring water in and out of cups, but hates having her hair washed.
● Iris loves to laugh. It’s contagious too.

Facts:
● At a year, she wears mostly 18 month clothes, but a lot of 24 months & 2T things as well.
● She has started evening out and is in the 60% percentile for height & weight, but still 90% for her head.
● She’s in the 700% for hair. (hah). And no I still haven’t cut it yet.
● Iris still goes to bed early (about 7 or 7:30 each night) and often asks to go to bed by going to her crib, pointing, and saying “mah” for more.
● Iris recently had to go to the emergency room AGAIN because she had Croupe. It was pretty scary for about 36 hours, but thankfully she’s just fine now.
● Iris was early to do almost everything, except get teeth. She now has four on the top and four on the bottom. She even has a little gap between her top front ones. I don’t know what’s cuter – that or the dimple on her chin.

Some recent photos…


Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris

Iris