My first Mothers Day

On January 28th, 2015 at 9:02 pm I gave birth to my son West Louis and at 9:04 pm my beautiful daughter Lily Sophia. My life has forever changed for the better and I have never known this kind of  love. It took us quite sometime to become pregnant with heart breakes along the way. So now looking at my twins at the tender age of 3 and a half months makes it that much sweeter. I am a mother, guardian, teacher, friend, caregiver and the list goes on and on! It's a great responsibility, to raise two precious lives. I now sleep with one eye open, if I even sleep and my mind moves a mile a minute thinking constantly of my babies! Being a first time mother is a lot, but being a first time mother with twins is like having dessert after an amazing four course meal!

Many people offered unsolicited advice upon hearing the news of our impending twins. Their eyes would widen and they would roar "TWINS?! Oh, you are in for it, two infants crying, two car seats, two of everything. I wish you luck,wowza" Or something along those incredibly asinine words. Now as a mother of twins, my response is just the opposite. It's the best thing in the world! I finally got pregnant, I have two babies and even better a son and daughter. I am in heaven, I don't know anything other than twins. So in a way my naivety works in my favor. As a wise person told me "double the blessings double the love." There is nothing in the world sweeter than my son and daughter exchanging sweet gurgles and coos with each other.

I am more fulfilled in this chapter of my life. In my twenties I earned my degree, achieved success as a model that afforded me world travel and an independent lifestyle. Then I met my husband and we were married within a year. I was able to enjoy three years as a wife, and now my husband and I are parents together, we are a family. It feels so complete. It is a magnificent time for me as a woman, wife and now drum roll please….. Mommy!

Happy Mothers Day.

"I didn't lose myself when I became a Mother I found myself."~

The sky is the limit for my babies! Photo was taken in our LA home twins were 8.5 weeks old.

West and Lily at 25 days old, this was taken in our home in NYC. Lily came home from NICU at day 22, so this was their reunion photo. She literally hugged her brother it was the best moment captured!

I Loved this moment, my son is such a charmer. Photo taken 8 weeks old in LA.

Following in daddy's footsteps, Go Stanford!

Baby Shower Details

I pride myself on being a fabulous hostess. I enjoy throwing, organizing & theming a party right down to the color of the napkin rings. I literally become giddy with excitement and anticipation! So my baby shower would be no exception. My best friend Sabrina was throwing it for me, in my new Beverly Hills  home. Sabrina speaks five languages, grew up in two countries, has three kids at the age of 33, is realtor to the stars & knows how to throw a fabulous affair.

The flurry of calls, texts and endless emails began between the two of us, me in NYC and Sabrina in LA. The colors, the theme, catering, photography, times, table cloths, chairs, games, dessert table... it goes on & on. We connected with amazing event planner Mimi and she helped bring the party to a perfect 10. Mimi knew all the best vendors! We had a vision, we wanted it to feel regal so the theme a "Royal Shower" came to fruition. Fit for a Prince and Princess. We incorporated blue for the boy, pink for the girl and of course my favorite color gold as the accent for the crowns.

The spectacular Dessert Bar

The beatiful floral arrangements

Fun accent pieces from the shower.

On a perfect sunny and 75 degree day my baby shower was finally here. I walked outside into my backyard and it was a fairy tale come true! I stepped into a giant white draped tent with crystal chandeliers hanging, flowers everywhere huge pink, blue and white hydrangea, pink and blue balloons floating in my pool, a dessert table to die for and a make your own Mimosa bar. The centerpiece was one long table for all 35 guests flooded with gold chargers, gold chiavri chairs, crown cookies and place cards. The table cloths were handmade satin blush color and the dessert table and mimosa bar had three tiered ruffles in pink, blue and white. It was truly a "Royal Shower"!

I wanted a real glamour retro look look thanks Frani & Evey and Herve Leger!

Soon to be Stage Mama for my twins!

My Baby Shower

Dessert Buffet & tablecloth by my Gloria

Mommy & Daddy to be place cards!

The Bar, tablecloth handmade by Gloria

Close up of the table setting with balloons in the background

The signage was amazing

My backyard transformed into my beautiful baby shower!

I loath the typical baby shower game nonsense and wanted my shower to be an elegant lunch while being FUN! We played two games and the winners were given a bottle of Vodka as their prize. The games were very intimate; the first was "He said/She said" a series of quotes from me and my husband and guests have to know who said it. This games is hilarious, I highly recommend it. The second was titled "Who Know Mamma Best" a series of my personal trivia. Both games were won by different sorority sisters of mine!

Guests hard at work on the baby shower games!

I am so blessed with my pregnancy and wonderful friends and family whom came out to celebrate my growing family. I wanted to share with all of you the wonderful vendors that made my baby shower so exquisite.
Love,
Kaki

This table was perfect, thanks Sarah for the cookies :)

Party Planner: Mimi Events

Catering: Rutt's Hawaiian Cafe

Florist: Ninfa's Flowers

Cake & Dessert Buffet: Vienna Pastry

Photography: Chris Schmitt Photography

Tenting/ Tables/Chairs: Star Event Productions

Photo-Booth: Peek A Booth

Signage: Itsy Belle

Balloons: Cabrera's Balloons

Linens: Handmade by my Gloria!

Oh Baby, Baby!

I have a black-belt in shopping! However when it comes to everything baby I was overwhelmed to say the least. I am a step-mom to grown middle schoolers. So newborns are completely foreign territory for me. My big sister came to NYC for the weekend and happily led the way for all things baby. My eyes glazed over with fear at Giggles (the "it" baby store) and she quickly trotted me outside for air. We detoured and ended up at Baltazaar for a fabulous lunch. I am lucky to have such an understanding big sister!

Two weeks later after spending days online researching every baby product and necessity for my twins. I set out again, this time with my husband. My husband is already an amazing father, a native New Yorker and a shrewd financier who would have his eye on the clock as a NY Giants game would be on later. Somehow his resume put me at ease much more than my super mom big sisters. If I fumbled his type A efficiency would kick in and I could skate by. But that was not the case at all, who knew a little thing called Mama Bear would finally emerge from inside of me.

I was armed with my manilla folder full of papers on every product under the sun. But we were on a  mission to do the big ticket items. AKA the Twins nursery, we are having a boy and a girl. We designed the room a beautiful cream with white chandelier and cream and gold curtains. I always envisioned my babies nursery to feel like an elegant sanctuary not a Disneyland ride. We arrived at Albee Baby and began shopping for the next 3 hours and never had to go elsewhere!

Photo Credit: Snap Studios this was taken at 8 weeks, for a gender reveal, only turns out I was having twins boy & girl! #fate

Cribs: 2 cream and gold cribs from Newport Cottages, they fit perfectly into our room scheme and are classic yet simple.

Dresser & Changing table: A Newport Cottages dresser matching in gold and cream from with a cream changing table on top.

Bedding: We are ordering custom from Bebe Chic Company, but still deciding on the twins colors!

Glider: A modern glider detailer togo we ordered it in a light beige color, it's chic and comfortable.

Bassinets: We live in NYC & wanted nothing frilly for the house. But we care about design and wanted bassinets that wouldn't be eye sores. We found the gorgeous Monte Ninna Nonna Bassients, these are perfect for any room in our home.

High Chairs: Finding 2 high chairs that were safe, functional and design savvy was a task. We hit the jackpot with the Mima moon it's so well made and multi functional.

Car Seats: We have a large SUV in NYC & just like LA you are in a car a lot. As a new mom my only concern was safety. I didn't care about looks, style, color. All I desired was the "tank" of carseats for my twins. I found it in the Cybex aton Q currently the highest rated carseat.

Strollers: Strollers for twins living in NYC was a chore. It took us one hour of test driving, lifting, folding & pushing these beasts to narrow it down! We decided on the Stokee Crusi double in charcoal color. It's sleek for narrow city sidewalks, safe, functional and yes looks good! It also has an amazing winter add on packages which is key for NY winters. And I found an amazing double stroller from Icandy in London. It's extremely versatile and top of the line and just perfect for twins.