Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Baby Shower Success!!
This is it, after moving into our new house just 3 weeks ago, having Addison's 1st birthday party two weekends ago, and my sister-in-law's baby shower yesterday, Jenn's even planning is closed for the summer! I had so much fun planning both parties, but it was a lot of work to make them each special and unique using the same theme and having them so close to each other and so soon after moving. It will be nice to not make any plans for this weekend and see what happens.
The baby shower was a huge success, and I'm sure the momma to be had a blast. The weather was really nice, not too hot or cold, and my house was just big enough for the 20+ guests that attended. So here's what happened:
The day started out with presents for Addison, Great Grandma Doreen brought a birthday present!
It was so thoughtful for her to bring a gift, unfortunately Addie already has this car, so we'll have to exchange it later.
Decor! Here is the clothesline I made for Jackie, there is so much work involved in getting baby things ready, I helped the momma out by removing all the tags, washing and ironing everything in advance for her.
Here are the prizes for the games. 1st winner gets to pick 1st!
The gift table before all the guests arrived with more presents
This is the diaper cake I made for Jackie
And the back of it
Here is the momma to be and me with the banner I made "Welcome Baby Olivia!"
And just the momma and Olivia
Here's Ryan with his two sisters and Addison before going out for his Addie Daddy day
And with Aunt Nancy and cousin Megan too!
I was so happy it wasn't too crowded for everyone in the livingroom... We need to invest in smaller furniture that fits this room ASAP!
Jackie with her two best friends
The cake! Vanilla and raspberry with raspberry buttercream... YUM!!
Cutting the cake
Jackie with the diaper cake
Presents!
And what's a party without an after party? Here's Addison enjoying the streamer removal
The baby shower was a huge success, and I'm sure the momma to be had a blast. The weather was really nice, not too hot or cold, and my house was just big enough for the 20+ guests that attended. So here's what happened:
The day started out with presents for Addison, Great Grandma Doreen brought a birthday present!
It was so thoughtful for her to bring a gift, unfortunately Addie already has this car, so we'll have to exchange it later.
Decor! Here is the clothesline I made for Jackie, there is so much work involved in getting baby things ready, I helped the momma out by removing all the tags, washing and ironing everything in advance for her.
Here are the prizes for the games. 1st winner gets to pick 1st!
The gift table before all the guests arrived with more presents
This is the diaper cake I made for Jackie
And the back of it
Here is the momma to be and me with the banner I made "Welcome Baby Olivia!"
And just the momma and Olivia
Here's Ryan with his two sisters and Addison before going out for his Addie Daddy day
And with Aunt Nancy and cousin Megan too!
I was so happy it wasn't too crowded for everyone in the livingroom... We need to invest in smaller furniture that fits this room ASAP!
Jackie with her two best friends
The cake! Vanilla and raspberry with raspberry buttercream... YUM!!
Cutting the cake
Jackie with the diaper cake
Presents!
And what's a party without an after party? Here's Addison enjoying the streamer removal
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Birthday and Party!
A larger than life Elmo can only mean one thing... this must be the 1st Birthday post!I take A LOT of pictures.... I mean A LOT! Photography is a huge hobby of mine, and my favorite subject is my family, especially the little Addie girl that is constantly changing and growing! So I decided to document not only her birthday party, but also her birthday. Since I don't want to be here all night, I've shortened the montage substantially for both. Here are just a few of my favorite moments from Addie's actual birthday:
Her birthday morning, before her nap when it was just her and us. Here she is starting her day off right by having breakfast (aka stealing dad's toast (aka licking all the peanut butter off dad's toast)).
And playing with daddy's sunglasses before he left for work. She knows exactly what to do with these and takes turns putting them on and then putting them on daddy.
After daddy left for work, mama had a coffee while Addie had her morning bubba and watched her favorite show: Caillou (yes the TV is on the floor in our room... more on moving into the new house later)
Addie's favorite food right now is cheese, and LOVES those Gerber cheesies. Just because it was her birthday, she had cheesies after her bubba. Here she is shovelling them into her mouth like she had to get as many in as she could before I realized I'd given her cheesies for breakfast.
Later in the day, Grammie and Uncle Josh came over to play, and helped me take a clay imprint of her one year old hand. It took 3 tries, but I eventually settled for one after I realized she was just going to keep digging in the clay when I put her hand in. She LOVED washing her hands in the sink after.
`It`s a Daddy`s job to buy flowers for his little girl on her birthday`-Addison`s Daddy (I loved the rubber boot planter... soo cute for a little girl)
And the actual 1st Birthday Party Pictures!
Her birthday morning, before her nap when it was just her and us. Here she is starting her day off right by having breakfast (aka stealing dad's toast (aka licking all the peanut butter off dad's toast)).
And playing with daddy's sunglasses before he left for work. She knows exactly what to do with these and takes turns putting them on and then putting them on daddy.
After daddy left for work, mama had a coffee while Addie had her morning bubba and watched her favorite show: Caillou (yes the TV is on the floor in our room... more on moving into the new house later)
Addie's favorite food right now is cheese, and LOVES those Gerber cheesies. Just because it was her birthday, she had cheesies after her bubba. Here she is shovelling them into her mouth like she had to get as many in as she could before I realized I'd given her cheesies for breakfast.
Later in the day, Grammie and Uncle Josh came over to play, and helped me take a clay imprint of her one year old hand. It took 3 tries, but I eventually settled for one after I realized she was just going to keep digging in the clay when I put her hand in. She LOVED washing her hands in the sink after.
`It`s a Daddy`s job to buy flowers for his little girl on her birthday`-Addison`s Daddy (I loved the rubber boot planter... soo cute for a little girl)
And the actual 1st Birthday Party Pictures! Here is the banner I made for her
We only had 5 kids at the party, and they were all babies, so I made them each a baby friendly favor bag. Here is what was in them: a juice box board book, alphabet flash cards, hopping frogs, patterned personal size kleenex, a peach and yogurt Gerber granola bar, a pouch of specialty organic baby food (vanilla raspberry risotto or mango, banana berry) and some tootsie pops (for the mamas)
It was always tradition in my family that we got to open one birthday present in the morning, and then we got the rest of our gifts after supper (on weekdays) so when Ryan said Addie had to wait to open her gifts from us on her actual birthday, I pleaded the case to open just one before he went to work. Here is the gift daddy suggested..... Addie could not have cared less about her new plate, even though she has used it plenty since she got it.
This was her reaction to the gifts that Grammie brought over later in the day....
She could not stay away from that present table all day.... the kid knows exactly what a present is, and she knows if she sees one, it is for her
Here she is opening her gifts at her party
And just to confuse you some more, here is a segment from her actual birthday. Because we were having her cake and cupcakes the next day at her party, I decided to give her a new treat for her actual birthday. I bought her miniature hagendaas bars. They were a big hit!
So generous offering to share with Aunt Nikki!
The Birthday Party cupcakes! I loved the cookie monsters!
The smash cake
At first she wasnt sure what to think of it....
So she tore little pieces of the fondant off and tasted it....
But the fondant was very thick, so I tore that off to help her out, and she figured the rest out on her own...
And after the party, when everyone else had left, our friends stayed with their little guy Xavier, whom Addie has known since they were weeks old, and the two of them got to play for awhile alone. I should mention this is the sweetest and most adorable baby boy I have ever met, he is only a month older than Addie and they absolutely love each other. They recognize each other right away and play really well together (unless Addie is feeling a little aggressive and then she bullies him a little. But he is a real gentleman and lets her get away with it). I think we have a winner here, Addison is officially betrothed, but dont tell Daddy).
It was always tradition in my family that we got to open one birthday present in the morning, and then we got the rest of our gifts after supper (on weekdays) so when Ryan said Addie had to wait to open her gifts from us on her actual birthday, I pleaded the case to open just one before he went to work. Here is the gift daddy suggested..... Addie could not have cared less about her new plate, even though she has used it plenty since she got it.
This was her reaction to the gifts that Grammie brought over later in the day....
She could not stay away from that present table all day.... the kid knows exactly what a present is, and she knows if she sees one, it is for her
Here she is opening her gifts at her party
And just to confuse you some more, here is a segment from her actual birthday. Because we were having her cake and cupcakes the next day at her party, I decided to give her a new treat for her actual birthday. I bought her miniature hagendaas bars. They were a big hit!
So generous offering to share with Aunt Nikki!
The Birthday Party cupcakes! I loved the cookie monsters!
The smash cake
At first she wasnt sure what to think of it....
So she tore little pieces of the fondant off and tasted it....
But the fondant was very thick, so I tore that off to help her out, and she figured the rest out on her own...
And after the party, when everyone else had left, our friends stayed with their little guy Xavier, whom Addie has known since they were weeks old, and the two of them got to play for awhile alone. I should mention this is the sweetest and most adorable baby boy I have ever met, he is only a month older than Addie and they absolutely love each other. They recognize each other right away and play really well together (unless Addie is feeling a little aggressive and then she bullies him a little. But he is a real gentleman and lets her get away with it). I think we have a winner here, Addison is officially betrothed, but dont tell Daddy).
It was a wonderful birthday, an amazing party, the birthday girl was happy and energetic for the whole event, and was extremely social and happy that everyone was there. We couldnt have asked for a better turn out. Oh, and the weather was perfect!
Im keeping the 12 month letter between Addie and her mama, but I will update her stats after her Dr. appt this week for those who are interested. I do know that she is now 18lbs which is a long way from the 6lb 3oz peanut we brought home from the hospital this time last year.
What a difference a year makes!
We've gone from this:
To this:
To this:
In one short year.
The pregnancy picture was taken just three days before Addison graced us with her presence on May 20th, 2010. The sweet little pout that she gave us was just minutes after being born and came with the quote from the Dr. "goodluck saying no to that one Daddy" as the nurse passed her to Ryan to hold for the first time. The Dr was right... we both have a hard time saying no to that little pout that she still uses when she wants something. And the beautiful little toddler we have now, that so generously gives all her animals and babies hugs and kisses every day..... how did she get so big in just one year?
So much has changed for our family during Addison's first year. We brought her home and she made us the couple into us the family instantly. She makes us feel like a family, she makes us feel happy and blessed and she makes us laugh constantly. She has given us a true understanding of the words "grateful (to God for sending her to us) and precious (which she most certainly is). She makes Ryan rush home from work as early as he can so he doesn't miss her after bedtime, she makes me more emotional and sentimental, and she makes both of us feel like if she can bring so much joy into our lives, then we can only imagine the joy more children will bring also. She makes us slow down and enjoy every single minute, because she makes us realize how fast time goes, and how important it is to be there for the little things, like story time, bedtime and playtime. Addison has changed our lives entirely in the one year she has been here, and we wouldn't trade any of it for an instant. Not even the sleepless nights.
Addison is the reason I got a new job this year, a job that I love and a job that pays very well and also gives me the freedom to make my own hours so that I can be there for her more than most working moms are able to be. It is so difficult for families these days to be able to exist on one income that it is a complete luxury to stay home and raise your own children. Although I am not able to do that at this point (I so badly wish I could) this new job is the closest I can come right now and is a great compromise in being able to contribute to the household income but still have a lot of time with my daughter.
Because of my new job, it changed our family finances enough to allow us to finally save enough money for our new home! A year ago that wasn't more than a daydream for us, and not only were we able to buy a house, but we built a beautiful house that is very close to our dream house, and we will be very happy here for many years.
Yep, this has been a big year for us. And it all started with Addison's birth. Of course the most beautiful things were happening in between all the life changes.... our little Addie girl was growing and learning so much so fast. Every milestone of hers, from the first smile during her first month, to the first time she stood on her own (just yesterday!) these are the events that I have looked most forward to and have given me the most joy.
We cannot predict what the next year will bring, (and we're happy for the surprises) but we do know that it will be another year of love and laughter and joy with our beautiful, happy, healthy and hilarious toddler.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
MIA
Wow, I am so behind in my blogging! Between moving, trying to get unpacked and settled, dealing with a teething baby who also has a cold, increasing my work hours as well as planning and preparing for Addie's first birthday party and my sister in law's baby shower, I have had NO TIME to do anything else.
The upside? of all of this, the first birthday party is my top priority so everything will be unpacked and cleaned by Saturday, and the party should be over by Sunday morning (being May 24, I can expect the party to go on long after the birthday girl goes to bed), so next week I only have to go to work, play with my TODDLER and finish planning the baby shower. No need to decorate because the birthday party decorations are doing double duty!
I'll update on Y3W on Friday!
The upside? of all of this, the first birthday party is my top priority so everything will be unpacked and cleaned by Saturday, and the party should be over by Sunday morning (being May 24, I can expect the party to go on long after the birthday girl goes to bed), so next week I only have to go to work, play with my TODDLER and finish planning the baby shower. No need to decorate because the birthday party decorations are doing double duty!
I'll update on Y3W on Friday!
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