Noah & Olivia's Birthday Party

When I started thinking about Noah & Olivia's birthday a few months ago, it was pretty easy to come up with a theme for the party. I shared about the origin and meaning of Olivia's name after she was born.....

Many people have asked the significance of Olivia's name. We actually chose the name when I was pregnant with Erik over 8 years ago as it was a name we loved and felt that it went along great with our other girls names. When we were pregnant with Noah, if he had been a girl, we again wanted to use the name. So this time, we felt even more of a draw to use the name Olivia because the name was tied into Noah's story. Both because he would've been named this, as well as what else I discovered during my pregnancy as I dug deeper into the meaning of this name. Olivia means olive branch. In the Bible, an olive branch signifies peace. After the great flood, the dove flew to Noah and gave him an olive branch to show him that it was the end of the flood, giving him a sign of peace. Our Olivia is the olive branch from God and even Noah (and her being miraculously born on his birthday is proof of that!) In the world of baby loss, she is also known as a "rainbow baby". Just like Noah in the Bible was given a rainbow after the flood, so were we given our rainbow....


So all things considering, it was easy for me to decide on Noah's Ark & Rainbows for the theme. Not only did it include a specific theme for each Noah & Olivia but both ideas went together so well.

I admit I didn't sleep well the night before their birthdays. I kept waking up with a pit in my stomach and just wasn't feeling well. As my morning went on, I was flooded with texts, emails and facebook messages from so many people that said they were thinking of and praying for me. It truly helped as I could feel the prayers and I started feeling a lot better. I am so thankful for the many precious friends who took the time to encourage me, it meant a lot!

The day was spent finishing up party prep as we were having their birthday party that evening. I figured being surrounded by dear friends on their exact birthday was the perfect way to celebrate Noah & Olivia.

I made my own animal nacho chips to go with my homemade salsa.


A rainbow jello mold. Lot's of fun but it takes time to make the 12 layers.

I carved an "ark" out of watermelon to serve fruit in.

This is a glimpse of one of the areas that had food & decorations. I made a timeline taking one picture from each of Olivia's 12 months to display. There were also Noah's Ark items scattered around (such as that puzzle in the back that Susan had made & glued together).


Olivia's cake......looks pretty simple.......

.........until you cut it open! This was fun to make!

 (I also made homemade ice cream to go along with the cakes.)

Of course Noah also got his own cake as well. I decided to do chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter icing. It was simple compared to his cake I did last year. 

Singing Happy Birthday to Noah & Olivia. She didn't want to put down that smooshed cup or ball. lol And I love that she is still wearing her "Noah's baby sister" shirt that a friend gave her when she was born. Yes she still fits into it!

All in all, it was a great party. Hard to believe that this was the first time in 3 years I wasn't in the hospital having a baby on this day. Olivia was a bit shy since there were so many people around. I am thankful for everyone who made it a memorable day (and we missed those of you who weren't able to be here). Olivia enjoyed opening her gifts (when she wasn't busy eating ice cream lol) We were even blessed to get many cards for Noah, not only from those who were at the party but from many other friends as well. We also received a few special items in his memory. I can't tell you how much it meant to us to have SO many people remembering and celebrating both Noah & Olivia!!! THANK YOU!!!!! Thank you for remembering we had 2 babies born on this day who both deserve celebrating!!! That alone was the best gift!

Despite what this road has entailed, we are so incredibly thankful & blessed to have been given both Noah & Olivia, on the same day even! What a miracle their lives are! I look forward to the coming years and seeing how God will continue to use both Noah & Olivia's lives and stories for His glory.

This photo was a challenge for me to take as she kept wanting to walk around & chase the animals. lol

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

5 comments

  1. What a wonderful theme!! So perfect! Love all of the rainbow food!!

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  2. a beautiful celebration for them both!

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  3. love the cake...happy birthday to your babies!

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  4. You did a wonderful job at celebrating Noah and Olivia's birthdays! Very cute. Olivia is beautiful!

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  5. Love the theme! The rainbow cake is amazing:) Happy Birthday to Noah and Olivia

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