If you’ve spent much time with us, you may have noticed the countdown ticker denoting the time remaining until the quads celebrate their first birthday.   As of today, we have exactly two short months remaining.  EEEKS!!!!  That means it’s time to start planning the big bash.  Planning a first birthday times four means we have so many considerations.  Location? Theme? Number of cakes?  It’s enough to make my head spin, but at the same time I’m thrilled!  One of my favorite things about party planning is choosing and creating invitations.  In the age of technology, we are increasingly reliant on electronic means of communication, but there is something nostalgic about receiving a letter in the mail.  Of course, I would gladly do away with most other forms of snail mail such as um, bills.

I lined the babies up in birth order for their 10 month birthday picture today. This is what happened.

And then this happened….both Rylin and Mason decided to show off their pulling up skills.

Finally we got the money shot! Four babies lined up in a crib.   They got out of order, however.  Oh well, I will take what I can get.

I simply adore  how invitations set the tone for a party and help hype guests up for the event.  When we receive an invitation, I proudly hang it on the side of our fridge and anticipate the upcoming event.  At the moment we are displaying two first birthday invitations, which bring a smile to my face when I glance at them.

Skim through our fridge clutter and you’ll spot the two invitations at the top of the fridge..  It is a bit distorted from the picture of a picture thing, but Noah’s invitation is for a little man party and he’s wearing a mustache, bow tie, and suit (swim) for the occasion.  L-O-V-E it!

After receiving these two invitations, I started cruising Tiny Prints  for inspiration.  At first I felt defeated in trying to find a gender neutral invitation that would fit all four babies, but Tiny Prints does not disappoint.  They actually have TONS of trendy design options and many are gender neutral.  As indecisive as I can be, it’s not going to be easy to select just one.   Plus,  all of Tiny Prints invitations and announcements are customizable.  That means I’m not stuck with choosing one of their sample first birthday invitations, which are typically designed for one boy OR one  girl, or at best twins.  They have a wide selection to choose from, and I can pick a design from any category (e.g. baby shower invitations) and then tailor wording to our unique situation.    On top of all the nifty invitation and card design options, Tiny Prints also has coordinating address labels, gift tags, and thank you cards.  Goodness knows I don’t have a lot of spare time to manage separate orders so I’m thinking coordinating labels and thank you notes are fantastic!  It will take me days if not weeks to make my final invitation selection so I might as well order the added accessories.

Since we have a special affinity for sea turtles, this invitation is a contender for me.

Now that we have four sitters, I also wanted to snap a picture of everyone sitting. My little crawlers disagreed with me.

A little persistence and a fast finger finally captured all four babies sitting.  Of course, Mason is not looking but again I will take what I can get.

While we are preparing a first birthday bash, Tiny Prints is currently running a baby campaign for their fresh line of baby shower invitations and baby announcements, which are worth checking out.  It’s hard to believe that just one year ago today I went into hibernation for ten excruciating weeks of bed rest.  At the time, safety and health of me and the babies was uncertain and taken day by day.  Despite my bed rest circumstance, our friends and family helped us prepare for the arrival of four babies.  They lifted my spirits and eased my mind by hosting baby showers.  By the time the quads made their debut, George and I had a decent stockpile of baby essentials thanks to our friends and family.  While on bed rest, I helped pass the time by documenting each baby shower and now I look back at that time in amazement.  I took a stroll down memory lane and pulled up all the old posts about my baby showers.  In all, there were five showers hosted by Bonnie Brae, Springdale, Melissa, Nekedria & Terra, Lindsay & Jennifer, and finally Terri, Kaylie, Kelsey & Courtney.  I’m sure that seems excessive, but we were expecting FOUR babies, and four babies need a lot of gear.

In order to win the giveaway, simply visit:

Tiny Prints baby shower invitations

OR

Tiny Prints birth announcements

Then click:a Rafflecopter giveaway to enter.  The contest closes 5/26/13 at 12:00 am central time.

Good luck!

Amber

Thank you to TinyPrints.com for sponsoring this giveaway! Four to Adore received a gift card in exchange for hosting.   All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.