{gender reveal party}

We did a gender reveal party for our sweet little Giuliana back in 2011

It was so much fun! We knew we wanted to do something similar this time around for baby #2

But this time it was a lot more simple. Which we were totally fine with! 

It's funny how different it is the second time around, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying its not as exciting as the first, its just.. different! 

Last time there were soooooo many people in our little house, it was crazy! fun, but crazy! we sent out a special invitation and everything. We put so much work into setting up the party, making sure every little thing was perfect. It was kind of stressful!

This time, we were a lot more relaxed. I sent out a text to our close friends & family inviting them to find out the gender. About 20+ people showed up. We did a simple set up of iced tea, Lemonade, water, & snacks. I made a couple of props & hung some banners i made a while back, & boom! It looked great. Simple & sweet. We really enjoyed ourselves. My sweet friend Jenny took some pics of our intimate event, & i thought i would share them!

{I made these muctache & lips props. I bought felt, traced & cut out the shapes i wanted, & glued them to sticks! Super simple & super cute. Everyone picked one, depending on what they thought baby johnston was}

'

{My hubby & our good friend Dan carrying the "secret box" outside}

We had a blast finding out that baby #2 is a BOY!! woohoo!! We knew it all along! 

G is going to be a big sister :) She is really excited about it too! 

She is finally beginning to grasp what is going on. 

I'll ask her "Where is baby brother?" & she grabs my tummy & says "my baby bruvver {aka brother}, he sleeping"  & gives my belly a big kiss. It just melts my heart! she is going to be the best big sister ever.

Well, i promised in my last post that i would do another post sharing more details, so, i hope you enjoyed reading ;) Oh! & in my last post there is a video, if you want to watch the reveal. It was a lot of fun! 

Happy Tuesday Everyone! 

{Baby Johnston is a......}

BOY! 

We are sooo very excited! I knew it was a boy all along ;) mama always knows! 

We had a small get together with friends & family Last week to reveal the gender.

EVERYONE thought we were having a boy & everyone was right! 

It was a blast finding out such a fun thing with our friends again. 

I'm going to post soon with more pictures from the party & more info on baby johnston, but for now i have a tiny video from the reveal that was taken by one of our friends on their phone.

G was so excited! It was so sweet! 

Enjoy! 

{happy 4th}

Happy 4th of July! From all 4 of us ;) 

We had a blast this year. We spent it with our neighbors, & good friends Kelly & Tyler.

They have a daughter the same age as G & they are best friends! 

It makes it extra fun to get together with them

We went swimming, jumped on the trampoline, Grilled, ate way too much food & set off fireworks. 

It was so much Fun!

{G & her cupcake}

{One of the many fireworks we set off}

{Our neighbor Kelly & Little autumn, G's BFF} 

{G watching the fireworks by me}

{G & autumn with their sparklers!}

What did you do to celebrate your freedom this year?? 

{homemade pasta sauce}

I have always found homemade pasta sauce to be better than store bought 

It tastes so much fresher, its not as heavy, & you know exactly what is in it! 

I made pasta for dinner the other day & thought i would share our favorite sauce recipe with you! 

It's super simple & super yummy!

You will need:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 minced cloves of garlic
1 (12 oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice
just a pinch of fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp freshly chopped basil
1 tbsp freshly chopped oregano
{Recipe taken from the True foods cook book}

 Place oil & garlic in a large sauce pan, & cook for about 2 minutes
add your spices & basil & oregano

 Then add the can of chopped tomatoes & stir

Bring to a boil & lower to medium heat.
boil on medium for about 20 minutes
After 20 minutes, remove it from heat & let it cool for 20 minutes

Then place your cooled sauce into a blender or food precessor & blend until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency .  I like it to be a little chunky ;)

Serve your fresh sauce with freshly cooked pasta & enjoy!

We love this sauce recipe, even our 18 month old daughter loves it!
Its light & simple, perfect for summer :)

In other news, Baby #2 is growing so fast! I am now 16 1/2 weeks along! It has been a lot of fun watching, my belly slowly start to grow :) I missed having a baby bump!
I'm at that awkward stage in my pregnancy right now where, when you look at me, you cant tell if i'm just a little pudgy or if i'm pregnant, which makes it kind of awkward at the pool, which is where we have spent most of the summer so far. But that's ok! Im showing off my bump with pride :)
G is loving the pool this summer. She's learning to swim & is having such a blast!

happy wednesday everyone! 

Stay cool in this horrid heat! {Its 115 here in AZ!!!} 

{a family outing}

Its very rare that our little family gets a whole day to just have fun.

My husband works quite a bit & then when he is home we are working on projects or doing chores.

so when we get a day to just do fun things together,  we really really enjoy it :) 

Yesterday was one of those days.

We took G to Arizona Mills mall to check out the "Sea life Arizona" display.

It's like a mini aquarium.

It was super cute! Definitely geared around little kids.

Giuliana loved it! She had such a blast! 

She loved looking at all the fish, Dancing around to the crazy music in the Jelly fish section, & touching the star fish. If you're in AZ you should definitely check it out with your littles :) 

She wasn't a big fan of the stingrays. She would whine when one swam by. Little goof ;) 

After the aquarium, we went to one of our favorite snack spots, Paletas Betty. 

Its a little shop in Chandler that makes Fresh home made popsicles! 

They are delicious! 

Yummy! Fresh coconut popsicles :) 

Putting a sticker on the "sticker wall" 

We had such a wonderful day. 

I love my little family so much :) 

Our little outings will be so much more fun once baby # 2 gets here! 

I'm 14 weeks & 3 days right now. 

This pregnancy is flying by! 

G still doesn't quite understand that there is a baby in my tummy.. but hopefully soon she will understand. Maybe once i start showing more. 

Well happy Wednesday everyone :) 

Spend time with your families, do fun things! Don't take any moment for granted. 

Kiss & hug them whenever you can. That's my tip for the day ;)