I had a lot of fun planning Nathan's first birthday party. Really, it was more fun than I expected. I wanted his first birthday to be special, but I also didn't want to go overboard spending a ton of money for a party he won't remember and being stressed out and overwhelmed trying to get everything done instead of playing with him. I think this party was a good balance. I genuinely enjoyed everything I did: searching pinterest for party ideas, making banners and folding paper airplanes at night while watching TV, taking pictures for his invitations, baking and decorating cookies, cakes, and cupcakes, they were all things I enjoyed, and I loved getting to do it all in honor of my sweet boy! I think everything turned out super cute and everyone that celebrated with us had a great time.
I ordered his invitations from Shutterfly, and Matt took a great picture of him at our neighborhood park for the invitation. I'm definitely a fan of Shutterfly. I used their site for his birth announcements too. These invitations were on sale, so we got a good deal, and they fit his theme perfectly!
We rearranged our living room for the party and pushed our coffee table against the wall. I put framed pictures I had of Nathan on the table along with his baby book for people to read.
For party favors, I made and decorated sugar cookies. I did them while Nathan was at school one day, so I had a few uninterrupted hours alone to complete the project. I really loved how they turned out. I tried a new cookie and icing recipe that might be my new favorite.
I bagged them up and tied them with ribbon for our guests to take home.
I also bought Nathan a copy of Dr. Seuss' Happy Birthday to You book and had all our guests sign it. I'm hoping to make it a tradition to read this book every year on his birthday, and he can look back and see all the people that came to his very first birthday party.
I wanted to have cute decorations without spending a fortune on them, and everything turned out just as I thought it would. Everything was made out of paper and ribbon. I made the Happy Birthday banner that we hung above the fireplace. I also folded and strung paper airplanes, and Matt hung them all around the living room. It looked so festive!
This banner was another one of my favorite things about the party. I picked out some of my favorite pictures of Nathan, glued them on scrapbook paper and strung them on ribbon along with signs that said, "Nathan's first year flew by!" It's still hanging in our kitchen and I don't want to take it down. I look at it all the time. Such precious memories from this past year!
I wanted to find Nathan a cute birthday shirt to wear and planned on ordering him one, when my mom told me about one of her friends from church who liked to sew and had and embroidery machine. She made Nathan a darling onesie, shorts, and party hat. So, so cute!
The party was in the middle of the afternoon, so we just had snacks and cake. Keeping with the airplane theme, I served some snacks that are commonly served on airplanes: pretzels, peanuts, gold fish and cheez-its.
I made some chocolate covered pretzel rods too.
I saw an idea on the Internet for making an airplane watermelon bowl, and I fell in love with it. My mom and I worked on it together and she cut up all the fruit the day of the party.
We had chocolate cupcakes:
And an airplane cake:
Nathan had his very own smash cake. My mom and I decorated both of the cakes on Friday night. It was fun getting to practice what we learned in our cake decorating classes.
The food table.
I didn't get any pictures of the drinks. We had "jet fuel" (a lemonade punch) and water.
I still can't get over how much fun I had planning and celebrating my precious boy. More pictures to come soon!
You are 12 months old... ONE whole year old! I can't believe it. You
have been a part of our lives for a full year. Every holiday,
celebration, weekend, special occasion, milestone, you have been a part
of it! And it has been such a wonderful year. You have brought your
Daddy and I so much JOY. We love you more than we ever thought we could
and are cherishing getting to know you better and better every single
day. We were talking the other day that we couldn't really remember life
without you in it. You are such an integral part of our lives, and we
wouldn't have it any other way. We were a family before you came along,
but your presence has strengthened our family and brought us closer
together. We have a common goal in raising you and find such excitement
and honor in being your parents. You are such a precious gift to us.
Life is a great adventure with you in it.
This month, although it's hard to admit, you are most definitely turning into a toddler. There's not a lot of baby left in you, but life with you is oh so fun right now, it's hard to get too sad about you growing up.
This month you started walking! We are documenting that you took your first steps on April 19. We had caught you taking one or two a few days prior to that, but the real significant ones came on that day.
We took this video on the 19th:
Since then you have been improving everyday. Walking still isn't quite your main way of getting around. We still catch you crawling some and you usually look for something to hold onto while you're walking. You've reached up and grabbed my hand a few times to help you walk (so sweet). We've seen you take about 20 steps at one time so far, and I know it won't be long at all until you are running everywhere. You are still trying to get your balance, so when you walk you always hold your hands out in front of you and you look like you are imitating a monster walking. It is adorable!
This month we have also noticed that you are starting to climb. Daddy says it's a good thing we don't have any trees in our yard, because you are a fearless little man! You climbed up both steps of our step stool the other day all by yourself. We've caught you trying to climb on the window sill and our chairs and couch too. I have a feeling you don't have many months left in your crib until you start figuring out how to get out of there.
You continue to be very vocal, but we haven't noticed many new words
this month. Grammy swears you say "kitty," but I've never heard it. You
say "mmmm" a lot when you're eating. I think you like your food. Right
now you have figured out how to communicate with us by pointing. If
we're holding you, you will point where you want to go. You almost
always lead us to the front door and want us to take you outside, but
the other day you led me from our room, to the hall, the kitchen and
then pointed straight to your high chair. I think you wanted some
breakfast!
Your little brain amazes me so much. It's
clear you are understanding a lot more than we think you are. If you
find a hair brush, you start brushing your hair. If I hand you a sock or
a shoe, you will try and put it on your foot, and if you get a hold of a
phone (real or a toy phone), you hold it up to your ear. If you find a
remote, you point it at the TV and start pushing buttons. You are
definitely paying attention to what we do.
Rhapsody is becoming a great friend to you. If you find one of her
toys you'll laugh and wave it in the air. You learned how to throw this
month, so you've started throwing her balls for her too. You like to
feed her too. You laugh the whole time you do it. I think you two will
have some great adventures in the years to come.
Outside
is always your favorite place to go. You love to go on walks and for us
to carry you outside and let you see and touch everything. We have
plans to be outside a lot this summer, and I know we are both looking
forward to it.
Your favorite toys right now are your dump truck and books. You have
been really into books lately too. If we are playing in your room,
you'll grab a book and hand it to me. I'll start reading it, and you'll
flip the pages for a few seconds, and then scurry away to find another
one to bring to me. This process could go on all day. We can't tell if
you like hearing us read, looking at the pictures, or getting to flip
the pages, probably a combination of all of those. We hope you develop a
love for reading as you get older.
We've been
transitioning you off of formula this month. You have been doing great
drinking whole milk, but you like it much better if it is warmed a bit.
You have never liked to drink anything cold. We are also trying to
transition you off of the bottle ( tear :( ). You're protesting some,
but that's okay because I think I am protesting too. You will drink
water or juice all day out of a sippy cup, but if I put formula or milk
in it, you'll take a sip, give me a weird look, and let the milk dribble
out of your mouth. You have improved a lot and for the most part you
only take a bottle in the morning and at bedtime and drink your milk or
formula out of a sippy cup the rest of the day. I think I'll give us a
few more weeks before we take your bottle totally away. I don't think
either of us is quite ready yet.
12 months is definitely an age of transition, because you
are also transitioning off of baby food and starting to eat more and more
table food. For the most part, you are eating the same thing we eat at
dinner time, and we all eat together as a family (love that!). I'll
usually supplement your food a little with some extra fruit or baby food
to make sure you are getting everything you need. You are a great
eater, and we haven't run into anything that you'll just refuse to eat.
We had ravioli for dinner the other night and you went crazy for it. I
know it's one of your new favorites along with macaroni and cheese and
grilled cheese sandwiches. You still love your yogurt and fruit for
breakfast and blueberries, bananas and cheese remain your favorite
foods. A couple of weeks ago, I bought some baby food pouches that come
with sort of a straw spout. You can eat them all by yourself without
making a mess. You and I both love them! You light up whenever I open
one for you. I like giving you those at meal times too because then I
know that you got some nutrition. You are a pretty messy eater and
unless I am spoon feeding you, it's hard to tell what actually went into
you mouth as opposed to what ended up in your high chair, clothes,
hair,floor, etc. When you get full, you will spit out bites we give you
or start throwing your food on the floor.
You weight 22lbs, 6oz (50%) and are 29 inches (24%) long. Your head circumference is 18.5inches (50%). You are wearing 12 month and 12-18 month clothes and a size 4 diaper.
You are sleeping from about 7:30-8:00 at night to 6:30 or so in the morning and still take two naps a day. For the last week or so, I've had trouble getting you to nap in the afternoon. I'm hoping it's just a phase and that you're not ready to drop a nap. I thought I had a couple more months before that transition.
Nathan Wilson, I wish you could understand how much you are loved and
how special you have made this last year of our lives. Thanks for the
cuddles, the giggles, and the milestones. You are our precious baby boy!
This weekend is the 10 year anniversary of Matt and my first date! It was such a special date that turned into many other special dates that have since turned into a proposal, a wedding, a marriage, a move, a mortgage, a dog, and a baby. I know neither of us were thinking that far in the future on that day, but it's so fun to look back now at that very special date!
Matt and I were friends in high school. We hung out with the same group of friends and he spent a lot of time over at my house during my junior year (his senior year) of high school, always with a large group of friends. As prom got closer, neither of us were dating anyone, and one of my friends mentioned to him that it would work out well for us to go together. He asked me a few weeks before prom. We both "liked" each other at the time, but mainly were just going as friends.
The day of prom, Matt picked me up that morning and we drove to OKC to spend the day together before prom that evening. I remember telling my mom that I was nervous about the car ride because I was afraid there would be awkward moments of silence, but that day none of that happened. We talked comfortably the whole way. When we got to the city, we spent a few hours at Celebration Station playing the arcade games. I think it was a perfect first date activity. Before we left, Matt wanted to play pool. I hadn't played before, and I think he strategically planned it that way, because as he was teaching me, he casually would put his arms around me and show me how to hit the ball. There are several moments from that day and night that stand out in my memory, and that was one of them. It was one of the first moments when I realized that maybe he did like me and was seeking more than just a friendship. After our time at Celebration Station we headed to lunch at Bricktown. We ate at Zio's and I really don't have any clue what we talked about during lunch, but I remember that I had a really good time with him. We drove back to Weatherford, and went our separate ways for a couple of hours so we could both change and get ready for our big night.
Matt came back over to my house that evening before prom, and when he saw me for the first time in my dress, he immediately said, "You look beautiful." By the look on his face I could tell he really meant it, and I felt so special (another of my favorite moments of the night). We took a ton of pictures together and with friends and family, and then headed off to prom.
Prom was so much fun. We had a big group of friends, both his and mine that we spent time with. We swayed during the slow songs. He reached over and held my hand throughout the night (gives me butterflies just thinking about it). All of those moments were firsts for me, since I hadn't really been in a relationship with anyone prior to prom. It really was a magical night for us. He was so sweet and kind and chivalrous. I thought he was the best guy in the entire world (still do!), and by the end of prom that night, we both knew this was no longer strictly a friendship.
The night didn't end there though. After prom ended, we went back to
each of our houses so we could change out of our formal wear and then
headed back to the ball room for the after prom festivities. They hired a
hypnotist for entertainment and we watched and laughed along with the
group of students who were hypnotized. For one of the activities, the
hypnotist told a girl who was hypnotized to go make out with her
boyfriend. As they were asking for the next set of volunteers, Matt
leaned over and said, "You should volunteer to go up there, so you can
make out with me like that." I though, whoa, that sweet, shy boy, just
said that to me. It was a funny moment and something I still tease him
about today. And by the way, there was no making out that night :)
As
the after prom activities ended, Matt and I both were not ready for the
night to end, and my very trusting mom (she did have a trustworthy
daughter), didn't give me a curfew, so instead of heading home, we went
for breakfast with a big group of our friends at a local diner at 3:00
in the morning. Afterwards, a few of us went back to Matt's house and
watched the movie Office Space. I dozed during the movie. We
finished it about 6:00 that next morning but Matt and I still weren't
ready to part ways, so instead of taking me home, one of his friends,
and he and I went to get some hot chocolate at a gas station at which I
got a concerned phone call from my mom asking where I was. The truth is I
hadn't even thought of her worrying. I guess I was having too much fun
(good, clean fun by the way). That phone conversation was another funny
memory too. She wasn't upset, just concerned. I reminded her that she
hadn't given me a curfew and she said she knew that but still thought I
would have been home before then. I told her where we were and that Matt
was going to bring me home to change for church. We changed and went to
church that morning and out to lunch with Matt's family. I think we
even went to Wal Mart afterward to pick up a few things. Finally about
1:00 Sunday afternoon we decided it was time for the date to come to an
end.
Even today, that first date is still one of the
best nights of my life. We started out as friends who had a little crush
on each other and ended up 27 hours later in a dating relationship that
has since evolved into a precious family.
In celebration of the (almost) end of Matt's crazy work project and all the overtime he has been working, he took this past Monday off, and we all headed to the zoo. Matt and I had been looking forward to taking Nathan for a while. I knew he would have a great time. He loves being with Matt and me, being outside, watching other kids, and seeing new things, so the zoo was a perfect place to visit!
We had such a special day together. It was precious family time with my two favorite people. The weather was perfect too... such a good day!
When we sat Nathan on this turtle he just laughed. Then we showed him
the real turtles and he wanted to hop the fence and sit on those too!
Whenever we got to a new exhibit, he would look at the animals, point at them and smile. He was in heaven
We caught the sea lion taking a nap.
We took Nathan over to the children's petting zoo, and he had a great
time there. We saw rabbits, piglets, and goats. I think Nathan thought
he wasn't supposed to touch the animals, because he just looked at them
and smiled. When I grabbed his hand and helped him pet them, he got so
excited.
"Come on Mom, there are more animals over here."
After the petting zoo, we stopped to wash our hands. I think this was
another highlight of his day. That kid loves playing in water.
No zoo trip would be complete without a ride on Daddy's shoulders
I love that little monkey!
Matt and I were both in agreement that the best part of Nathan's day was a ride on the carousel. He seemed to be having a lot of fun just sitting on the elephant, and then when it started moving he went nuts! I seriously think he was laughing through at least 75% of the ride. He had so much fun.
I felt bad because Matt missed out on Nathan's excitement. He stayed back and
took pictures of the ride. We'll have to go back so Daddy can share
that fun with him.
We didn't quite make it through the entire zoo, before we were entering the danger zone of an upcoming meltdown because of a missed nap, and since we bought a zoo friends membership, we decided to call it a day and come back another time. Nathan was asleep before we made it out of the parking lot. His fun day wore him out. I can't wait to go back again!
We had a fantastic weekend celebrating Easter with our family and friends. As a believer, it is such a special time of year to reflect and praise the Lord for his goodness and grace that our Savior has saved us from our sin and conquered death.
Matt's parents came up for the weekend to celebrate with us. We all went over to Mom and Barry's on Saturday evening for dinner. Nathan got to play with his Easter basket from them. Instead of an Easter basket, Nathan got a dump truck filled with fun eggs. The dump truck converts to a little car he can ride. He loved it. He can get on and off it all by himself and loves to ride it!
I tried to focus this weekend on the reason we celebrate Easter and not get too worked up in the plans we had made to celebrate. I prayed that I wouldn't get anxious or upset if plans didn't work out perfectly (because with a little one, things rarely work out the way they are supposed to). It didn't matter if Nathan spit up on his adorable Easter outfit, or if he didn't sleep well the night before and was grouchy that morning, or if he missed his morning nap and slept through Easter lunch, or if we got the perfect family Easter photo. What mattered that day was that we worshiped our Savior and reflected on Him throughout the day.
The Lord reminded me though that He is good in all things and is present even in the littlest details of our lives. He blessed us with a perfect day. Nathan slept great that night and was in a great mood Sunday morning. We got adorable photos. He played great at church and fell asleep on the way home and napped at home right up until we were ready to eat lunch. I couldn't have asked for anything to work out better.
All I think about when I look at this picture is how blessed I am. Seriously blessed.
Five years ago, Matt and I started the tradition of hosting Easter lunch at our home. I took a break last year and let my mom host since I was 40 weeks pregnant at the time, but I always look forward to the holiday. I remember the first year we hosted in our little duplex in Stillwater, I thought to myself that someday we'd have little ones to celebrate with. How fun it was to have our sweet baby with us this year to celebrate! I'm looking forward to teaching Him all about the meaning of Easter in the years to come.
We attended our church's early worship service Sunday morning. It was a great time of worshiping with our church family and a powerful Easter message. Afterward we came home and finished preparations for Easter lunch.
We had ham, potato casserole, asparagus, fruit salad, deviled eggs, rolls, and a strawberry trifle for lunch.
Nathan enjoyed his first Easter lunch
We invited a new couple from church to join us for lunch. They just moved here from Iowa and we had a great time visiting with them. They built a house just about a mile from us, and we are so excited to have them join our Sunday school class.
We got Nathan a small Easter basket this year. He's still too little to understand, but I wanted to do something special for his first Easter.
No chocolate bunnies or candy for him this year, but he did enjoy some bunny graham snacks and bunny shaped marshmallows. Those are a rare treat for him.
It was a special weekend for our family. We had been praying for weeks that Matt would get to celebrate Easter with us. There was a good chance he would have had to be in China over Easter for a work project, but once again the Lord answered our prayers and allowed him to be home to celebrate with us. He did have to go into work Sunday afternoon for a few hours and was on the phone with coworkers in China most of Sunday morning but he was home and we were together and our Savior is alive and that is what matters!
You are 11 months old and just 30 short days away from being a whole year old! You are growing so quickly and transforming from a baby into a little boy right before our eyes. Your daddy and I were talking the other day about how much fun you are right now. We are loving how interactive you are and seeing how you are understanding and communicating with us more and more.
You are getting really good at playing patty cake. You will almost always imitate me if I start clapping. We play it a lot. You learned to point this month too. When I get you out of your crib in the mornings, you will point at your door. I think you're telling me not to even think about rocking you back to sleep. You want to get up and play! You'll point at Rhapsody a lot too and when you see other babies or children you'll point at them and laugh. You have figured out how to open and close doors (as long as they aren't latched). and it's another one of your favorite games. You seem to really enjoy opening and closing things likes doors and drawers. You also like to "put things away." I'm not sure how to describe it, but you will take your toys out of your basket or bag or whatever and then pick them up and put them back in it. I'm not sure what that says about your personality, maybe you like things organized and neat? You absolutely love to play on our bed. You start giggling as soon as we plop you down on it and you crawl up to the head of the bed to climb up the pillows.
You also pat us when we are holding you. I think it's Grammy's favorite thing about you right now. She always tells you thank you when she's holding you and you pat her shoulder. You are a busy boy and unless you are sleeping, you are on the go constantly. No matter how short of a time I turn my back, when I turn around, you are always in a different spot playing with a new toy. As busy and active as you are though, you are still sweet and cuddly when you are tired. As soon as we sit down together in the rocking chair in your room, you will cuddle up and lay your head on my chest. Life doesn't get any better than that.
You are interacting with Rhapsody more and more. You will grab one of her toys and just laugh and laugh. You'll hold it out for her to take (she is very gentle with you), or I'll help you throw her ball. I'm pretty sure playing with her is one of your favorite things. You've started feeding her too. I gave you a piece of waffle yesterday morning while I was eating breakfast, and instead of eating it you reached right over to Rhapsody's mouth, held out your hand, and waited for her to eat it.
You are getting closer and closer to walking. This month we've noticed that you have begun to realize that walking is the best way to move. When you are trying to get somewhere, you will crawl until you find something to pull up on, and you will hold on and walk as long as you can before you drop down to crawl again. You pull up on everything and everyone including any furniture, toys, the wall, doors, our legs, other kids.You still will rarely let go and stand by yourself, but you are barely hanging on. I will be surprised if you are not walking by your birthday.
Your cart is one of your favorite toys right now along with your music table, shape sorter, and anything that rattles when you shake it. I took this video about three weeks ago. You walk so fast with your cart. Now you just need to learn how to steer :).
You started saying mama this month. It's the sweetest sound you make! You'll look at me when you say and you usually say it while you're eating too. I'm not sure what that's about. You also can say "dada" and "hi."
You still take four (six oz) bottles a day- one around each mealtime, and a bedtime bottle. I can't believe we're just a month away from being done with bottles and formula! You are eating a lot more table food this month. Outside of foods associated with common allergies and sweets, we'll let you eat almost anything, and you are a great eater, no matter what we throw at you. Your independence shows up strong at mealtimes. You prefer to feed yourself finger food, than us spoon feed you. As much as you detest pureed peas and spit them out of your mouth, you will happily gobble up whole peas if I let you feed yourself. When you are done eating whatever we are feeding you, you just spit out the bites we give you. You are a messy boy sometimes.
For breakfast, you like to eat yogurt, rice cereal or oatmeal and fresh fruit. Bananas are one of your favorites, and I'll let you hold a big hunk of banana in your hand and eat it. You'll eat almost a whole banana with breakfast. At lunch I usually give you a pureed vegetable and more fruit. For supper I'll usually give you a jar of baby food with meat in it, a cheese stick and some of whatever we are eating for dinner. Your favorite snacks are goldfish, crunchies and fruit. Your favorite foods right now are blueberries, bananas, and cheese.
You go to sleep around 8:00 at night and usually sleep until 7:00 in the morning. The last couple of weeks you have started waking up early (5:30-6:00). I'm associating it with teething, but you're going to need to stop that soon. Your momma is worn out! You are a great napper if we are at home during the day and take a morning nap that usually lasts about 1.5 hours and a 2 hour afternoon nap. If we are out and about (which we are a lot of the time), you adapt really well to shorter naps, or naps that are off your schedule.
Your favorite place to be is outside, and now that the weather is warming up, you are able to be out more and more. Walks are a favorite past time for you. You are very content to sit and ride in your stroller. You look all around and talk and babble while we walk. You also love to swing. Your face lights up as soon as we start pushing you in it. I'm looking forward to a fun summer with you.
Bath time is another highlight of your day. As soon as you hear the water running in the bath tub, you scurry all the way across the house straight to the bath tub.
You finally got some teeth this month. Your two bottom ones just recently came in.
I'm
guessing you weigh around 22 pounds. I took you to the doctor to check
your ears on March 16 and you weighed 21 lbs 4 oz. You'll be close to
tripling your birth weight by one year! You wear 9-12, 12 and 12-18
month clothes and a size 4 diaper.
Life gets better and better everyday with you, Little One. We love you oh so much!
