Wordless Wednesday: My Little Monster

1st Birthday Smash Cake Photo Session

On Friday before Max's birthday party I took off work to get ready for the party and I knew I wanted to do a smash cake photo session.  I was supposed to have them professionally done, but she canceled last minute so we had to improvise.  Running short for time I just went to Kroger and got a cake.  I added more sprinkles for color and set up a back drop out of blue fabric.  I only got 2 yards and didn't accommodate for the width I wanted so I had to use a colorful blanket that he is sitting on.  I wanted to add balloons to the background, but then I would have needed more fabric lengthwise so I opted to not do that.

Big thanks to my mom and Aunt Kathy (and Kinsley for staying asleep) for helping because it was definitely more than 1 person job.  I thought he might be hesitant, but I didn't think he would get upset (which he did).  He wanted to crawl away and not touch the cake.  The pictures came out cute anyway and we did have to put him in his highchair seat to keep him there.  He looks so cute in his little jeans though with that long hair. 

Mama, I don't want this yucky stuff on my fingers

Mmm cake... oh wait, you didn't see the cheerios my great Aunt bribed me with in the cake.  You might not have noticed them, but it's true, we couldn't get him to eat any of the cake so we buried cheerios inside and it worked!  Just pretend in the rest of the photos that he really did like the cake.

Ooooh I might like cake after all!

He started getting really excited, you can see his feet moving. 

OK Mom, are we done yet?

Seriously, I think I'm done.

Oooh Mooooooom.

Maybe a few more shots are ok.

Waitin' on you Mom... Anytime.

My precious boy.  Thanks for letting Mommy take a ton of photos of you!

ALL DONE!

Sweet Cousins Holding Hands

We had a great weekend with family and at Max's 1st birthday celebration.  I am getting the photos ready from the smash cake session and his party to share soon, but until then I wanted to show you some photos of my sweet niece, Hadley.

She was so smiley and kept making the cutest cooing noises all weekend. 

Max started getting a little jealous whenever I'd pay more attention to her so he wanted to come over to play with her on her play mat.  He layed right down and grabbed her hand to hold.  Isn't this the cutest thing ever?!

He would swing their hands up and down and was being really sweet (the other times he wanted to play rough and eat her so we had to watch him good).  I'll be back this week with all the other fun photos I can finally share about Max's party details.

Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

We have been busy with Max's birthday party prep and getting the house in order for guests! My Aunt Kathy is coming tomorrow from NY and my brother and sister (and their spouses & Hadley) will be coming Friday.  It seems I haven't posted anything substantial in a while, but that's because I can't show you yet or I'd spoil the party!  If you follow me on instagram (jens871) then you got a few sneak peeks.  Since I don't have a lot to say in my personal life right now I thought I'd link up with The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting Wednesday!

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We have a small space in our entry foyer area opposite our stairway that I haven't decided if I'd like to make a little mud room type space.  We do have a small closet close by where I throw my shoes, but this might be nice for a little extra storage. I love the bead board and hardware.

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This strawberry, graham cracker and cool whip no bake cake looked too good not to share! 

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This blog has a lot of great renovation tips on a budget. I am loving what they've done to this bathroom. The shelves are my favorite part. Looks like a whole new space.

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If you've never heard of The Creativity Exchange then you must go now (well after you finish reading my post).  I found her through pinterest as she pins a lot of paint colors.  She has a great pinterest board that she shows painted rooms and names the exact paint color that is used.  This is awesome because you don't just see a paint swatch you can see it utilized in a space.  She recently did a post on finishes for a wall.  I am loving the strie treatment (the blues above) and textured looking walls. It really looks like wall paper but its not!

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Cyndy from the creativity exchange also told me about Jeff Lewis Paint colors coming out.  I am not sure if you are fans of Flipping Out (his show on Bravo) but if you haven't seen it, you need to.  He is a brilliant designer, but his direct and blunt personality is what makes the show.  He is selling them through Dunn Edwards paint and as of right now it's only available in a few states (GA not included).  I love the earthy deep and calming tones.  Cyndy tells me that the price per gallon will be comparable to Sherwin Williams and the other name brands.

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I also found these yard dice for playing Yahtzee via pinterest.  I finally found the proper link to where they sell them and they seem to be sold out.  I thought it was a cool concept though.

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Last, but not least I really love this gallery wall.  Maybe it's because of all the unique pieces they have displayed, but I also like the paint color.  It goes really well with the linen mats they've used. I foresee a navy/blueish wall somewhere in my house one day!

Weekend Wrapup

Max got a birthday present in the mail from my cousin, Nancy and her grand daughter Delilah. 

We let him open it on his birthday since his party isn't for another week.  

He did a great job opening the card and setting the little bits of paper off to the side. 

He got some socks which he was very interested in! 

And also some flash cards and an alphabet book.  Thank you Nancy!!  Max kept saying "ooooh Ooooh" while opening all the gifts.  It was very cute. 

Mommy and Daddy got Max an iPod Touch (we sold one of our old iPhones and a 3D thingy you look through once you put your iPod in and you can play games.  He's too young for this, but we had fun playing.

We had a great time at the Blue Jean Ball Saturday night.  It was a fundraiser event for the cluster schools that Max will be going to one day.

I'll hopefully get a few more pictures of decor stuff to show you once I see what the photographer took.  I took this while we were helping set up.  They had hanging little mirrors dangling from the ceiling that we spun so when the light hit them it would sparkle more.  Look how cute the "skirt" is on the stage of all the jeans.  It was at Lake Lanier Islands Resort.  Very cool place.  It was also my first night away from the baby!  So thankful my Mom is there to watch Max.

Other Randoms-
-Huge Bummer... Our smash cake photographer canceled on us 2 days before our shoot (it was suppose to be Sunday).  Her family is really sick she said so I am super bummed.  I think we're going to try to do it ourselves Friday before his party Saturday  I really wanted to get his first reactions to cake.
-Max caught a bit of a cold/fever this weekend.  Thankfully it is short lived and he is feeling much better after some Tylenol and a good nights rest.
-This week is full on birthday party prep and cleaning house.  We have my Aunt Kathy coming in on Thursday and then Chris, Marla, James, Michelle and Hadley Friday.

Happy Birthday Max!!

Dear Max,

 As I am writing this I am remembering back to a year ago when you were born.  On February 9th, 2012 Gigi, Auntie Stacey and Cousin Ashley went with me to get a pedicure, then we went to lunch  and grabbed some last minute items at the store.  We then had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa W and did a last minute Walmart run.  Once I got home I showered up as your Dad and Gigi were making t-shirts to wear for your arrival day the next morning via a scheduled c-section. I kept telling them that they were adding last minute nonsense and this wasn't necessary, but they insisted.  You must have been so excited about all the fuss everyone was making of you that day as my water broke around 8:30 PM (I really can't thank you enough for letting me shower and do my hair).

 We rushed around to get to the hospital as you were breech and couldn't come out the normal way so there was no need to wait anything out at home.  They're concern was me not dilating too fast so the labor process wouldn't begin.  One of our favorite Doctors was on call and she said let's do this instead of waiting till the morning. I was a little concerned since I literally had been stuffing my face all day and night, but they assured me it would be fine. Everything happened so quickly and the epidural was inserted and we were wheeled off to the operating room in no time.  Things were going so fast they asked if we wanted you to be born on the 9th or the 10th and we said we'd let you pick and run the show. And you sure have ever since! You were born at 11:59 PM on the 9th of February.

This year has been a whirlwind of experiencing new things.  We learned what a fussy baby was, what a happy giggly baby was and how to wrap a darn good swaddle.

 I also think Mr. Swing was your best friend for the first 6 months.  I did a recap of the past year for New Years if you want to see in detail what went on this past year.

I love looking back at some of the video we took of you for your first bath and your first giggles.  Boy, did you cry a lot.  I wouldn't change a thing although I like it better when you aren't screaming.  You always had a great smile and laugh that continues today.  You are such a happy boy.

  Daddy and I love to watch you play and learn new things.  You are so smart learning how to stack legos and toys and get confidence to walk on your own.  You also LOVE to dance.  You'll start bouncing and wiggling when you hear any music.

Your actual birthday is tomorrow, but we aren't celebrating till the 16th so it will be a week long birthday celebration for you, Buddy.  We can't wait for all your family and friends to come celebrate your 1st birthday.  You have brought so much joy to our whole family.  We love you!

Fun with Max

On Saturday David was itching to get a little yard work done.  There were HUGE pampas grass plants in front of the electrical box in between our yard and the neighbors yard. It was way over sized so David went to trim it, but ended up taking the whole thing out, which was not an easy task.  It involved using chain to wrap around the plant base and using his truck to pull them out.  The neighbors were seriously overjoyed that he was doing it and I forgot to take an after photo so I'll show that to you later. 

Max is all about being outside lately.  I was holding him talking to a neighbor when he just wanted down and held my fingers and was walking around the culdesac.  He was doing great so I went inside to get his cart so he could push it around.

We are trying to get him to wear his shoes since he is still walking a lot on his toes.  He looks like a big boy wearing them.

I can't wait for it to get warmer and him to walk a little more stable.  There are a bunch of kids in our area that are a little older but he LOVES watching them ride bikes and play ball.

He is just the cutest thing and it's so fun to play with him.  Can you believe he will be 1 in 4 days!! It's hard to believe 1 year ago I was about to have a baby. Time really does fly.