Swimming day

Since we have been here in Pittsburgh we have laid pretty low.  It's nice to just spend some time with my family and relax.  We have been going out to lunch and hanging out with the boys.  On Tuesday we took the boys to Eat N Park because my nephew Max loves their broccoli soup haha.  Afterwards we all went swimming.  We had both of my nephews and my niece Alyssa, both my sisters, my mom, myself and the baby.  It was fun to get in the pool and play around.  The weather hasn't been great this week so 1 day in the pool for me was better than none.  Today it was only like 70 degrees, which felt great but also meant we didn't want to do anything haha.  Here are some pics from our swim party

we bought the baby this new raft so that I could take it with us to Florida next month.  He doesn't seem crazy about the pool yet

Alyssa is jealous of the baby and wanted us to take him out of the raft so she could get in

cutie pie max

Pete showing off his snorkeling skills

max again

handsome boy

Nathaniel's 1st Birthday Pirate Party

We had Nathaniel's party on Saturday August 4 at the recreation room at my aunt's community.  It's a nice sized room with air conditioning (which was a must for our older guests) and a full kitchen.  It also has an outdoor play area with a basketball court and mini playground for the kids.  We invited between 60-70 people which sounds crazy excessive for a first birthday party but let me explain- my mom is one of 12 and we are close with most of that side of the family and my dad was one of 5.  Hubby doesn't have a huge family but between just our families we were looking at 30 or so guests so we just invited everyone we wanted and figured this is probably the only party that will ever be this big.  I decided on a pirate theme a few months ago and started looking for ideas on the web.  I know that this is probably the only party that I would get complete control since he will be old enough to start making his own decisions in the coming years.  Once I decided that I wanted pirates but not cartoony kids pirates I started ordering things online and having them shipped directly to my moms house.  I wanted to cut down on the amount of stuff we would have to bring with us, especially since we are usually busting at the seams as it is.  The only downfall to ordering and shipping to Pittsburgh was that I never really got a good idea of what I ordered and how it would come together.  It all looked great online but I didn't get to see it in person until it was too late to send it back.  Luckily it all worked out and the only things I bought but didnt use were a ton of red balloons- i think I ordered 70 and still have 40 left and red and black polka dot napkins.  I bought some napkins in Baltimore because I was having a hard time finding them and didn't want to miss my opportunity but ended up finding them in Pittsburgh for $2 less a package.  Those will be returned when I get back home.  Anyway most items were ordered from Amazon since we are Prime customers and get free shipping.  I think I find the best prize on Amazon about 90% of the time so it just worked out best this time.  I ordered the cake from Giant Eagle Market District and they did a lovely job on the smash cake and 2 tiered cake but there was miscommunication about the extra sheet cake I ordered and it wasn't decorated at all which I had asked for.  Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it didn't get to help fill in the cake table like I asked.  The only other thing that I wish I had but didn't do were favors for the older guests.  I had planned on pirate face cake pops that I found on Pinterest but my mother's home doesn't have central ac and chocolate would never have survived the heat.  We had the food catered which cut down on my stress level and overall I think everyone had a good time.  It was hot out that day so we stayed inside but the kids had a blast with the swords, eye patches and hats I bought for them and the pinata.  Oh the pinata, was a cause of stress for all of us.  Lesson learned don't buy it unless it's string pull kind, kids swinging a stick around is scary!

Ok on to pictures since that's the best part anyway!

balloon swag idea from pinterest, above the cake and present table

treasure chest filled with prizes for the kids

birthday cake

another treasure chest filled with the wrapped silverware

different view of the prize treasure chest

my pirate family- my mother in law made the shirts after I found an idea on etsy.  the baby has his name with a number 1 and pirate hat and hubby and I say Nathaniel's Mommy or Daddy

signs I had made to mark the way, they matched the invitations

overall view of the room with the penants that we hung

food table set up with snacks while we waited for food to arrive

all the kids dressed up in their pirate gear. hats, eye patches, tattoos and swords

smash cake pics

Somebody's one!

My baby turned 1 yesterday.  One! Did you read that- 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days.  My beautiful, precious, happy, energetic baby is in fact no longer a baby.  He's a toddler.  That mere word is enough to make me burst into fits of sobbing.  Which I did in fact do, quite a few times these past few days.  I wanted to blame the fact that I was sleep deprived after having woken up at 4 am to go to work for the tears but let's be honest I am a way more emotional person now that I have little guy.  I spent my morning looking at pictures of my almost 10 lb baby the days after I brought him home from the hospital.  Oh those early days.  When I was barely coherent from the lack of sleep but happier than I ever could have imagined, with a heart more full than I thought possible.  In the early days it seemed like we would never get him to sleep on his own, and we would never get him to nurse on a schedule or that we would get him to stop crying during the witching hour but now that we are sitting here at a year those are distant memories.  It's amazing to me how quickly your mind forgets all those hard times, especially when you look into the face of your child.  The one you grew in 10 months.  The one you nurtured, hugged, rocked and fed for 12 months.  Wow.  Just an incredible feeling. Enough sap for today. I'm going to post a load of pictures that I uploaded from my cell phone.  They aren't great quality but they make me smile.

On to other events.  We are currently in Pittsburgh to celebrate his birthday with all of our friends and family.  We drove up from Baltimore on Wednesday and have been running around finalizing decorations and other party stuff.  We have a big pirate party planned and I am so beyond excited.  I love parties and planning this one has been incredibly fun and kinda dangerous thanks to Pinterest!  I'll be back post party with some awesome pictures!