Annie's 1st Birthday Party

Annie had a really special and fun 1st birthday party.  Family and close friends were there to help celebrate and overall we kept it fairly simple and laid back.  I love party planning so here is how it went down!

The invitation

I decided 11 am would be an ideal time as Annie normally goes down for a nap around 8:30/9am and is up around 10:30.  We ended up waking her up that morning so she wouldn't sleep in and stick to schedule and like a charm, between 10:30 and 11 she woke up from a good nap which was a relief to know we would have a happy baby for the party.

Given my 11 am start, I knew we needed to serve lunch.  I was so undecided on what to do for lunch,  I'm not an indecisive person at all!  Grilling in March with the weather is too unknown.  Plus it creates work for Aaron, more of a mess to clean up, and takes Aaron away from enjoying the party.  I thought about doing pastas, but decided a little heavy for lunch.  So I ended up with a HyVee platter of deli sandwiches and I was very happy with them.  They were served on cibatta bread with a toothpick on top with a cherry tomato. They presented well and tasted fabulous!  With that I served a Ceasar salad and given macaroni and cheese is Annie's favorite, I made up a batch of that the night before and all I had to do was bake it before the party started.  Easy peasy and it seemed to go over well with everyone.  I know the guest of honor was putting the mac and cheese down so we pleased the most important {little} person of the day!

Annie and her Dadda (heart melting!)

Love this little girl -- who does she look more like?  I think she is a good mix of both of us.

Poor Charley, she is such a good dog but when guests are over, we struggle getting her to listen and calm down, I wish she wouldn't get so excited when guests are over, for most of the party we had to detain her at the bottom of the stairs.  At least it's because she is 75 lbs too friendly, could be worst! 

Grandma, Annie, Nana and Cousin Eli.  Eli is so good with Annie!   He is no longer the only grandchild and he shares and is amazingly sweet with Annie

Annie with Uncle Cody

Grandpa Hyde getting his cuddles 

Lots of smiles with Grandma Hyde

How many 1 yr olds have a true best friend?  Alaina and Annie are! 

Lots of playtime was had

These two play pretty well... most of the time.  We are getting a glimpse of the struggle to come with sharing toys!

After lunch, we opened gifts.  When guests asked what Annie wanted for her birthday, we replied with outdoor toys.  We are running out of room for indoor toys so I thought outdoor gifts would be the most useful.  We got some great outdoor gifts that I'm looking forward to seeing her play with this summer.  I was stumped on what Aaron and I were going to get for her.  We wanted something a little special given it's the first birthday.  At daycare they had a play kitchen that Annie seemed to really like, although a little too tall for her, it would be a gift she could grow into so a play kitchen it was!  It's pretty cute seeing her open the doors and hide toys in the oven and reopen to check they are still there.

Annie still doesn't get opening gifts yet, next birthday will be a different story I'm sure! 

After gifts we went straight into cake as Annie was starting to show she was wearing down a little and likely not far from her 2nd nap of the day.  I had a pretty good feeling the cake smash would not go over the best and I was right.  Surprisingly she didn't cry while we sang happy birthday to her but had zero interest in the cake and when I tried to put a little frosting on her lips, she started to give me that look and arch her back as if she was close to a meltdown.  I know this look and know what happens here, there isn't a chance at this point we will get her interested so rather than continually trying, the cake smash ended and we let her run the last bit of her energy out before going down for her next nap.

Cutest 1 Yr Old I know!

One taste and that was it! 

First birthday party is a wrap!  Good memories, great company, yummy food, new toys, 2 naps... what more could a one year old ask for?!

Now for some "behind the scenes" details...

When I was planning the party, I saw so many cute decorations to buy and personalize on Etsy.  When I added up all my favorite items, it was going to cost hundreds of dollars.  That just didn't make sense!  So rather I figured out how to replicate and make my own and you know what... my own turned out better than what I liked on Etsy.  I may show some tutorials in coming posts but for now, let me show you what we did!

Upon finding this sweet little outfit on Etsy, it was how I came up with our birthday theme.. which was simply the colors of gold and light pink.  LOVE!

Made all on my own!  The ones on Etsy are going for $30... mine is $5 made from scratch. 

DIY at it's finest!  Less than $5 -- a little scrapbooking paper , stickers and colored string. 

Another DIY project, making good use out of those stressful monthly photo shoots

A-N-N-I-E! 

Aaron's coworkers wife was able to make this for me, how nice was that! 

Since Annie's birth, I have spent hours documenting her life in 2 book. Left one is a memory book, right one my mom made to collect picture.  Both are full of the 1st year's memories! 

I did not make this.  Let's be clear, I do not sew and never will.  My Aunt/Uncle/Cousins sent this early for us to open.  How cute!  Loved it! And to have a hat and balloons on the bib to match the set up -- it was too perfect! 

Again... let's be clear -- I did NOT make this cake.  It was the same cake vendor we used for our wedding, so it was something special we wanted for Annie's 1st birthday.  The cake turned out exactly as I asked for it to look.  So cute!

Cake display, simple but cute

Smash cake -- again by our cake vendor.  Perfect for the purpose intended.  Although I just ended up eating all of it later that week since our little Annie wanted nothing to do with it! 

Annie's 12 Month Update

Holy Cannoli, we got a 1 year old folks!  Happy, Happy Birthday Sweets!  Lots of fun stuff happened last month worth blogging about.

This picture took multiple days and hours each day of begging for cooperation! 

Blowing kisses!  She is learning how to do it on command and it is super cute.  We are still working on it but if you ask her to blow kisses, she has been able to do so without me doing it first; same with waving bye-bye.  I love that she is understanding what we tell her, she really seems to be comprehending a lot of words lately and it’s pretty cool when she picks up on one.  She has also learned how to hold her finger up to show you she is one years old when asked how old she is. Although this one is a little more tricky for her to want to do and we get her to do it about 50% of the time. 

One thing I’ve noticed that is so sweet is when she is studying a book or an item and finds something new about that item.  Example, we have a book with flaps that we’ve never opened, one day I opened the flap and her eyebrow rose and she starred like ‘Whoa…I didn’t know this book we read every single day does that.”  Her reaction is always the same; she slightly raises her eyebrows and stares in surprise, completely intrigued and taking it all in.  And then that stinker never forgets her knew found knowledge either, I think all the flaps are torn out of that book now!

One struggle I have never talked about is that for months now this girl just hates getting her diaper changed.  Screams, kicks, cries and fights it so hard!  And there is nothing about this that gives warnings signs to us that something is wrong other than she just flats out hates being pinned down on the changing table.  This has been going on for months now and we just try to get thru a diaper change as fast as possible!  Same goes for the car seat, we’ve tried 3 different seats, made sure the straps aren’t too tight… but doesn’t matter; we’ve ruled everything else out, it’s all about being strapped down, she hates it and screams like mad.  We purposely plan trips in the car around her naps or else it’s her screaming and us with a massive headache.

This month we weaned her off the bottle warmer in preparation for her to switch to cold whole milk, surprisingly it has gone way easier than I expected it too.  We just stopped warming her bottles one weekend and never have turned back.   May have been the easiest transition we’ve had thus far in this whole parenting journey!  Whoo hoo Annie!  {#winning!}

I am beyond happy to made it thru 12 months of these dreadful photo shoots.  Please remind me to never commit to such posts ever again.  I’ll still post on Annie, but don’t count on a monthly post as that stops here!   Way too stressful and not enough time on the weekends to make for picture perfect blog posts.  

Look for Annie’s 1^st birthday party post very soon!  Can’t wait to share!!

Happy Birthday Annie, A Love Letter From Your Mom & Dad

To My Precious Annie,

Today we celebrate your first birthday, what a sweet, sweet day it is!  You bring smiles and joy in the most awesome of ways.  Your twinkle and vigor for life is unmatched.  You are truly a one-of-a-kind…we love you SO much!  What a year your first has been…

You came into this world teaching your Daddy and me to have lots of patience and to love and to nurture in the toughest of times.  You suffered from colic for 4 months, there were a lot of trials trying to comfort you when you were in a lot of pain and would scream for hours on end!  It was heartbreaking and exhausting; we learned that patience, love and nurturing were what you needed most in those first few months.

When happier days were upon us, you wanted to be on the move constantly, you never cease to amaze me by how determined and tenacious you really are!  You are a go-getter, you are so driven, life with you is clear cut - you either like something or you don’t.  We’ve grown to love that so much about you, although you know how to put up quite a fight and are very bold in what you want… we see your strong personality as a positive and we truly think you will become a force to be reckoned with some day.  I pray that you use your strong willingness to bring good in this life and to others.  I’m beyond excited to see that tenacity of yours continue to grow!  

You are so fearless; you definitely don’t get that from your Mama!  You try and do things that make you seem so invincible.  It’s scary as your Mama to watch you be so adventurous at times.  There is not much that frightens you, your love and curiosity for life is without boundaries in your mind. Never forget that my sweet Annie, you can do ANYTHING!  Continue to live without fear. 

You have such a cute way of knowing when you are being ornery.  Most of the time it entails you running off with something you know you shouldn’t and squealing loudly as you pitter patter away, turning around as you run to flash me a mischievous smile.  You might just be the cutest when you are the orneriest! 

As your parents, we are your number one fan.  We run to your rescue whenever tears start, when you aren’t feeling well, to cheer you on when you took your first step, to share in the little celebrations, to laugh at all your silliness, to comfort you in the middle of the night… there isn’t anything we wouldn’t do to cherish every moment with you.  You bring joy to our lives, a fresh perspective to life; you are our blessing, our sliver of heaven on earth.    

As your Mama, I have so many hopes and dreams for you!  I pray over you and pray that you will be a child after God’s own heart, that you continue to be prosperous in good health, that your joy for life never fizzles, that your Dadda and I will be the parents we need to be to lead you on the right path. I want so much for you and can’t wait to see what the future holds! 

You came into this life as a handful and a handful you continue to be!  You keep us on our toes, I can’t imagine it any other way… we love you Annie.  So, so incredibly much!  Today is a day to celebrate your life.  What a sweet day it certainly is.  Happy Birthday My Sweets! 

Love,

Mama 

_____________________________________________

Annie,

I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. After hours of anticipation you were finally born. The moment I became a father was a surreal moment for me.

Wanting to be the best parents we could be your mother and I went to several classes, watched videos, and read books. We always have and always will want the very best for you. Nothing can truly prepare you for parenthood. All of the worrying about whether you’re doing this or that right is only relieved with time.

As I write this we are fast approaching your first birthday. It is amazing all of the changes and advances you have made over such a short period of time. I am amazed at how big you are, that you’ve been walking for a couple months already, and how intelligent you are. Your birth has been one of the biggest changes and greatest challenges of my life.

I love to hold you tight and read you stories. I will pick you up when you fall. I will be your cheerleader in the stands and will be there for hugs to make it all better. I am far from perfect but will do the best I can to teach you and protect you.

As you grow older you’ll find out all too soon that the world is a rough and crazy place. But I can already see that you are courageous and persistent. You will be fine. You will fail but that is because you are trying and pushing to be the best that you can be. When you fail now you pick yourself up immediately and try again. I have no doubt that that is how you will approach life.

Be open to new experiences and other cultures. Be the one who doesn’t care as much about clothes as the person wearing them. Be kind, be compassionate and be humble. Love others, as God calls us to love all first and foremost. 

You (and your Mother) are the absolute loves of my life and it’s impossible to fully express the depth of feelings and hopes I have for you. I want so much for you. There is the stuff that’s easy to say: I want you to be happy; I want you to find love; I want you to be smart and ambitious; I want you to be kind; I want you to visit your Mom and me often.

Lastly, you can have whatever you want in life. When you’re younger it is easier to think material possessions and money is important…but it’s not what’s most important. As you get older things will get taken from you and people will pass. The sooner you realize that life is about the people around you and experiences you go through, the happier and more successful you will be.

Love,

Dad

Monster Cookie Dough Bites

Monster cookie dough bites are way out of this world!  So yum.  You could call them energy bites, as I have referred to them at times, but let’s get real…they taste so good because they are full of sugar, they aren’t exactly a healthy energy snack.

 

I am trying to be mindful of my sugar intake recently.  I have always known that I eat way more sugar than the average person but it’s been a real problem for me lately.  I can’t go cold turkey on sugar though.  That’s why these bites are great, I can just have a small nibble without going completely nuts and eating a whole bag of Starbucks jelly beans or 2 sleeves of Chips Ahoy or those devilish boxes of Girl Scout cookies (I may or may not have done all the above recently).  There is something about opening a whole bag of something that makes me out of control versus something that I spent the time making therefore I want to savor it and make it last longer.  These bites are just that.  They really don’t take a lot of effort to throw together either!

Several things come to mind about this recipe.  First, no oven heating required!  Secondly, they are super quick to mix up and enjoy immediately.  Third, I see this recipe as a good one that kids can join in on.  No flour here to make a mess out of!  You could even make it a lesser sugar version easily by cutting back the measurements of the sugary ingredients (kinda wish I would have considered that before I made them!  Will do next time.)   And the best part of all… you can freeze them, hence more control over how many I eat at once.  I don't see a lot of cons here. 

   Monster Cookie Dough Bites  

Yields: 30-36 cookie dough bites, depending on size

3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional, but it adds a distinct "dough" flavor)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini m&m candies

Stir together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda, syrup and vanilla until creamy. Add the oats and stir again. Add the chocolate chips and m&m candies and stir once more. Scoop into 1" balls and smooth with your hands. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Bring to room temperature before serving, if desired. The cookie bites will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for 3-4 months. Enjoy!