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!

what a year!

So here I sit less than a week away from my little peanut's first birthday. I can't help but get emotional as I remember his birth day.  It's amazing to me how fast this first year has flown by.  When I was pregnant I remember feeling like the weeks were dragging by.  I was constantly in a state of wonder about when our little guy would arrive, who he would look like, and what life with a newborn would be like.  Then he arrived and I looked back at my time being pregnant as a blip in time.  Suddenly those weeks that had seemed endless were a mere moment in the grand scheme of things.  Part of me felt guilty for wishing them away so fast and part of me was glad they were over because I had the end result, a healthy, beautiful baby boy.  Now that his first year is almost over I laugh at what must surely have been sleep induced craziness.   Those 40 weeks of pregnancy may have felt too quick but boy oh boy these past 52 have gone by at the speed of light.  My precious little 9 lb bundle of joy is now an 22 lb walking, babbling, biting maniac.  I always thought my own mother was a little cuckoo when she constantly said time flies by when you have children but I think I might finally understand what she meant and maybe, just maybe she isn't quite as crazy as I thought.

So my baby is almost a year old and this is what he is up to.  He is still breastfeeding much to my surprise and I am delighted we made it a year.   I will continue to let him breastfeed as long as he would like and that's not up for debate.  I think he will wean when he is ready and I certainly am not going to force it upon him. I don't think it will last too much longer though since he is now fully mobile and into 1000 other things.  He has been eating solids for quite some time now, especially since we went the baby led weaning approach.  He loves all fruit, especially blueberries, strawberries and apples.  He tolerates vegetables like peas, carrots and brussels sprouts and seems to loathe meat.  I have tried everything from beef, to chicken and fish and he really has no interest, but loves eggs and peanut butter so we aren't concerned yet.  On the activity front, he is walking and has been since about 10.5 months.  One day he was taking one step at a time and the next day he woke up and walked all the way across the living room.  I wasn't rushing the walking but I have to admit it that it's pretty fun watching him toddle all over the house.  He has definitely progressed quickly and can now stand from sitting without pulling up on something and can squat to pick up something and stand back up without missing a beat.  He is literally into everything baby proofing be damned.  He especially loves opening cabinets and emptying the contents.  The babbling is probably my most favorite change.  He was saying no and hi for awhile but now he talks to his toys and just rambles nonsense.  It's especially funny when you put him on speakerphone with someone.  He will yell and grunt at the phone and he gets so frustrated.  It seems like he gets annoyed because he wants to say something and it just won't come out.  It cracks me up.  Other noteables include hugging around the neck when you pick him up which melts my soul.  Open mouth kissing.  Throwing tantrums when he hears the word no and tapping his foot while standing.  The last is the cutest because it's like he hears an imaginary beat and he's keeping rhythm.  I need to video some of these things because they are too cute for words.

Our lives are so busy right now.  We are planning a first birthday party, going through some career changes (hopefully) and contemplating another baby and a new house.  Although it gets crazy and we get a little cranky I wouldn't trade a moment of it.  This past year has made me happier than I could have ever imagined and I know it will just keep getting better.  I always wished I could have something that I felt I was meant to do for a career and I think it's safe to say I found it.  Being a mother to Nathaniel has fulfilled me in ways I can't explain.  If I do nothing else in this world I only hope that I raise a healthy, happy and special boy.  One who knows how deep my love for him goes and who can appreciate the little things in life.  I know being a mother is probably the most under appreciated job but I'm up for the challenge.  I'll be back soon with some first birthday plans and pictures hopefully.  I'm blogging from our brand new laptop and have no pictures here to share, sorry for the boring post!

Super Sundays

Sundays are probably one of the best days around our house.  Typically the hubs is home from work and my little family can take the time to relax and enjoy some time together.  Our day usually starts with a late wake up time in bed with my two favorite guys, proceeds to a Starbucks run, and ends with a movie night for mom and dad while little bubs crashes out.  Overall a great day.  Since Sundays are super around here I thought I would share 3 random super events of the past week as a way to cap off our lazy day.

1.  Bubba is in full on teething mode, he actually bit his mommy for the first time this week and although it wasn't a highlight of my week seeing him with 2 little teeth just makes me smile.   He looks like a little bum with 2 scraggly teeth and I adore him.  Those little teeth are sharp though and if he gets your finger in there, WATCH OUT!

2.  We got 2 exciting purchases this week.  The first was a surprise from my amazing hubs, a BOB jogging stroller.  I mentioned to him that I saw that they were on sale on Target.com and after asking around to his coworkers who recently bought one and checking various online resources he found out it was an excellent deal and bought it.   It is something I have been lusting over but avoiding buying because the weather hasn't been nice enough to really use it yet so needless to say I just about peed my pants when the UPS man rang the bell with a BOB box!  Score one for hubby!  Second purchase was a new vacuum.  Totally not as exciting as a stroller but definitely a necessary evil.  Ours went kaput randomly this past week and the dog hair has slowly been driving this momma insane.  We finally buckled down and went and bought one yesterday.  We got a pet one and I ran it twice just through our living room yesterday and was baffled and a little disgusted by the amount of hair and dust it picked up.  I guess our 10 year old vacuum was pretty useless.

3. My baby bubba celebrated his half birthday this week.  6 months old! holy hell where did the time go?  I would be lying if I said I didn't cry a little.  These last few weeks have been overly emotional anyway (anniversary of my dad's passing, anniversary of my pap passing, baby turning 6 months, anxiety of making being a stay at home mommy work) so I think I had a few good cries in there.  Even though it's sad that he really isn't a newborn anymore it's thrilling to watch him grow and change.  He literally does something new and cute everyday and I love it.  Do I want him to slow down and stay little just a while longer? Yes most absolutely but since I know that won't happen I am trying to really relish and enjoy every single one of these moments before they are gone! We had our well baby checkup on Thursday and these are the stats weight 20 lbs 7 oz length 27.5 inches head 45 cm.  He's still in the 90-95% for height and weight and only 75-90% for head size, big bubba!

Just for cuteness sakes here are some of the monthly shots we have taken of him since he was born. Seeing them like this really proves how much he is growing!

Three Things Thursday

Two posts in one day!  Crazy you say! Well yes, yes it is.  In fact you may see two posts a day for the next few days (hopefully) where I catch you up on the past 6 months of my baby boy's life.

Let's jump right into three things Thursday!

1.  The hubby and I are obsessed with pizza lately.  I know that being a new mommy can be exhausting and some days- usually Friday- I just am too tired and frazzled to cook.  Enter Rocco's pizza.  It's a local place and I have no idea how we stumbled upon it but boy am I glad we did.  Their pizza is divine.  They are a  tiny hole in the wall carry out only place but they have been around for 30 years.  That says they are doing it right.  The pizza is thin and has the most delicious sauce.  We always order a large with sliced tomatoes and we can usually eat all but 2 or 3 pieces!  We are gluttons.  The best part about the pizza?  It only costs $8.50. Holy cow you can't even feed 2 people from the dollar menu for that cheap! We love it and had it last night and in fact I will probably eat the last piece for lunch soon!

2. My baby is a jumping bean.  We have a jumperoo and as soon as he gets his little legs in it he starts bobbing up and down sining to me.  He's doing it right now and it is so funny! He has the craziest little voice, I can't wait for him to start talking.  I need to get a video of all the cuteness.   Soon my friends, soon!

3.  I am a lazy slob.  I have not been to the gym in weeks.  Even worse I started P90X and was so sore after the first day I all but gave up.  I keep promising myself to get back to it but I just don't.  I know I need some physical activity in my day and I don;t think hauling around a 20 lb baby is cutting it.  I hope putting it out here will hold me a little more accountable.  Probably not though seeing as how number 1 above established my love of cheesy pizza goodness. Oh boy

Ok folks this child is pretend coughing which is usually his way of getting my attention so we can get out of the bouncer.  I am off! Hope you have a great weekend!

New year, new goals, new life

Wow this year has gotten off to a great start- insert sarcasm here!  Not only have we been blessed with 2 hernias- 1 for The Hubs and 1 for The Baby- but we also failed miserably at keeping our new year's resolutions.  My number 1 was to get on board with blogging at least once a week if not more.  We can all see how that worked out for me!

Let's back the train up for just a minute so we can catch up with where we derailed back in July.  I guess you can assume that I am no longer pregnant and if I still were I would be one cranky B!  Thankfully our little peanut arrived safe and healthy on August 1.  He was a whopping 9 lbs 7 oz and before you ask YES I delivered him naturally and vaginally.  He is growing like a weed (side not I hated when my mom used to say that when we were growing up) and is quickly approaching his half birthday.  Just this past weekend he broke his first tooth! Cue sad faces that my baby is not so baby anymore.  We have been adjusting or trying to adjust to life with a baby and some of it is great and other moments I could skip.  For example I love his precious little face when he first wakes up and he scrunches his nose, too cute for words. However, I could do without that face happening at 5:40 am in my bed every day.  Yes he sleeps in bed with us and no that wasn't my plan.  No I will not let him cry it out and yes I will let him sleep with me until he's 3 if that is what it takes.  Haha can you tell we get asked a lot of the same questions over and over again?  Anyway he is a beautiful, happy, well adjusted little guy and I love spending every minute of my day with him.  So far our days have consisted of hanging out and playing and occasionally leaving the house, although that doesn't happen often and it's usually just to go grocery shopping (BORING).  I still struggle with making it all happen- cleaning the house, cooking dinner, working out etc but I think that I will probably never figure out how to do it all, I'll just learn what's important and what can be left for another day.

This post isn't supposed to catch me up with the last 6 months but I figured I would make an honest effort to post more and I plan on doing a monthly post for the last 6 months catching everything up.  One thing at a time right? I also realized that having this blog be my own voice is important, I think the last few posts I was trying to write what I thought people would want to read.  Let me be clear here I am sarcastic, sometimes bitchy and hopefully funny and if that offends people then they shouldn't read this. I sometimes share too much information but it's me and it's real and when I look back 10 years from now I hope that I have no regrets.

Thanks for reading!

Heres a picture of the cutest baby ever (imo at least)