Baby Gift Showcase

*I'm trying to find time to type up the twinbies' birth story (and it's a good one!), but so far it hasn't happened. I'm hoping to have it finished soon!*

When we first found out we were expecting twins, my initial reaction was shock and happiness. I remember just grinning and smiling the whole way back home from the ultrasound. When I told Chris the news, he was thrilled, but he also pretty quickly started thinking about all the stuff we'd need. Of course, we had a lot of baby things already, but some of it was worn out, some of it we needed to get a second of, and some of it was still being used by our older kiddos. After making a list of the things we'd need to get, I'll admit that it was a little overwhelming. However, we soon began receiving all kinds of gifts from our family and friends. We were actually still really overwhelmed, but this time it was by the generosity of the people in our lives. 

Many of the gifts we received are handmade and very special. I'll be showcasing those here, along with many other fun and necessary things we were gifted. 

To start, my mom made both Brooke and Brecklyn a crocheted blanket. I do allow my babies to sleep with a blanket beginning about the time they are 9 to 10 months old, but ONLY a crocheted blanket in case they cover their face with it. My mom knows this and has made a blanket for each of my kiddos (the darker on will be Brooke's while the lighter one is Brecklyn's). 

My sister has a little shop where she sells the most adorable handmade goods. She specializes in minky blankets and custom embroidered shirts (although she does make other things, as well). She made Brecklyn and Brooke each one of these adorable personalized minky blankets. We use these mainly for their car seats.

Close-up shot of Brecklyn's personalization:

Up-close shot of Brooke's personalization (love, love their names in this font!):

My grandpa (my dad's dad) has a house in Kansas, but lives in southern Texas (like right on the Mexico border) about six months out of the year. I rarely get to see or communicate much with him, but he sent us these precious dresses for the girls in the mail. So sweet!

These onesies and matching booties are another product that my sister made. She is so talented! She actually gave these to the girls for Christmas.

My brother and his family live in Tennessee and are big Vols fans. Much to Chris's dismay, they have purchased Tennessee gear for each of our babies. So, I wasn't too surprised when the babies received these little outfits for Christmas from them :-).

A lady from church, Ms. Patti, is a very talented knitter and crocheter. She made each of us (except Chris) a pair of booties. My pair, Brianna's pair, and the babies' pairs are all pink with purple pom-poms. Brenson's slippers are orange and blue. They are the cutest little things!

She also made each baby a blanket. This is Brooke:

And Brecklyn:

Ms. Patti's daughter, Alicia, made this sweet diaper cake for a small shower they had for us at church. So cute.

There is a group of ladies at church that get together and sew for people once a week. They call themselves the Sewing Sisters. They made each baby a blanket, as well.

Miss Brooke:

Miss Brecklyn:

Enjoying a blanket together (Brecklyn, Brooke):

Another lady at church, Ms. Dicie, made the girls these darling crocheted dresses, headbands, and diaper covers. They are dark purple, even though they don't look like it in the photo.

My Mom has made each of her grandchildren a special little quilt. Brooke and Brecklyn are her 9th and 10th grandbabies! Brecklyn's quilt is the pink one, while Brooke's quilt is purple. These photos distort the colors a bit (they aren't so bright in person), but they are both beautiful!

Close-up view of Brecklyn's quilt:

Close-up view of Brooke's quilt (it's much more purple and less blue looking in person):

She also made these pillows to match the quilts. The color is more accurate in this photo.

My Mom has been a busy woman! She also made us some receiving blankets and burp cloths. The burp cloths she makes are the best because she covers a white diaper in a strip of flannel, so they really soak up a ton. My babies have always spit up a lot, so this is perfect for us! She also makes extra large receiving blankets which are wonderful. I didn't showcase them all in this photo . . . we have two of the the gray and teal polka dot receiving blankets and two more of the pink striped burp cloths as well.

Another thing my Mom makes are these awesome hooded towels. The thing that makes them so great is that they are full sized towels with hoods sewn on them. She made each of the babies a cute princess towel,

and one of these sweet bug towels. Love them!

This awesome gift basket was brought to us by a family friend, Cynthia, at church one Sunday. She and her parents are very generous people and went together to get this for us. Cynthia actually made the elephants that are on the basket! So, so cute! We are now using the basket for books in the babies' room.

Here are the contents of the basket:

Chris's supervisor at work was so sweet to bring these boxes to him one day not long after the babies were born. Her husband made them! They are just beautiful and will be a keepsake for the girls. 

I love that he put their names on the lids.

The craftsmanship is superb.

AND, both names are spelled correctly! Ha.

My Granny T has 30 (plus?) great-grandchildren. She has given them each a coin book that includes all the state quarters and a coin book that includes the presidential dollars. Since the presidential dollars are still being released, she will mail the newly released dollar to the great-grandchildren several times a year for them to put in their book. She sent each of the babies a completed quarter book and a partially completed presidential dollar book.

My Aunt Cindy sent each of the babies one of these frames as well as a little memory box. They match their nursery perfectly!

Another aunt of mine, my Aunt Suzie, made each of the girls a taggie blanket. We love the taggies and love that they are personalized with the girls'  names (can you tell that I adore personalized items?) I'm sure we'll get a ton of use out of these!

One of my cousins, Terra, has always been so sweet and supportive throughout our long journey to babies. She has also been wonderful to send a package each time we've brought a baby home. I absolutely love these personalized stuffed animals that she sent for the girls! She has an embroidery machine and personalized each animal herself. The colors are perfect, and the animals are so precious!

My friend, Antha, has a sister named Jill that I've met a few times. I was pleasantly surprised one day when I received a box in the mail from Jill! She made each of the babies a hat, diaper cover, and pair of booties. So thoughtful!

In addition all the gifts above, we have also been given a LOAD of diapers. Just check out this stack!!! I mean really, we truly have the most generous people in our lives! And most people also gave us wipes to go with all these diapers!

Another special gift we are still in the process of receiving is from my friend, Joy Lin, and her husband, Brant. Instead of purchasing us something tangible, they are giving us the gift of food and service. For SIX weeks, they are coming over on Thursday evenings, bringing us dinner, and doing chores around our house while we eat. Joy Lin even made up these adorable cards for each week. As you can see, she put the date in the upper right corner, along with what is on the menu for that week (and they truly make the meals SO easy on us by bringing us paper plates, plasticware, solo cups, etc . . . no washing or returning of dishes required!). Then, we get to check off the chores that we need done. As an added bonus, she put a bible verse at the bottom of each card, as well.

On the menu is/was Taco Soup, Chicken Pot Pie, Taco Salad, BBQ Chicken, Chicken & Rice Casserole, and Lime Chicken Tacos. I told Joy Lin that this is more than a gift . . . it's a commitment! We have appreciated this more than we can say! Here is a close-up of what the cards look like:

Joy Lin and Brant aren't the only ones who have brought us food. Several other friends have also brought us food (Angie, Tia), and I know several others have mentioned that they plan to bring something. We've also received several cute outfits from friends and family that I don't have pictured here (Ms. Kim, The Smiths, Christie, Sasha). The outpouring of love and generosity has been unbelievable.

I definitely couldn't close this post without mentioning ALL of the stuff that we've been given by our dear friends, Wes and Kendall. They have twin girls who are two years old and have been beyond generous by gifting us so much of their baby goods. This has included two car seats in like-new condition, 

tubs and tubs and tubs of matching baby and toddler clothes,

a stroller frame to hold the infant car seats,

as well as a rock-n-play, a bouncy seat, a "my brest friend double nursing pillow", infant toys, tons of baby shoes, a bottle drying rack, and several other little baby things. Seriously, SO generous! Our friends, Ross & Tia, have also passed a ton of stuff to us including maternity clothes (I needed a bigger size so they would fit over my massive belly!), a couple packages of Aden & Anais swaddle blankets, burp cloths, a Beaba baby food processor, car seat covers, diapers, wipes, clothes, etc.

I'm sure I've left some things out (please forgive me if it was something you gifted us!), but can you see why we've been overwhelmed (in a GOOD way) by the generosity of our family and friends?!? It fills our hearts to have people in our lives who love us and our babies so much (and show it so well!) We thank God constantly for the example of love, kindness, generosity, and service that is shown to us by those who bless our lives.