Hostess with the Mostess

I am so excited I just have to brag a little. Today Henry’s Wild Rumpus birthday party is being featured on the Hostess with the Mostess blog!! Its basically THE place to go for everything party and entertaining and I’m incredibly honored to be featured as a “Real Party”.  Thanks Jen!!

A Wild Rumpus for Henry

It seems like just yesterday that our little man made his speedy entrance into our lives, but its already been a whole year! Saturday we celebrated Henry’s first birthday which was definitely bittersweet for me. I’ve been looking forward to and dreading that day for months, knowing that while I’ve loved watching him grown and learn so much it has gone by way too fast. So, while I know that Henry’s first birthday party isn’t something he will remember, I wanted the day to be as full of joy and celebration as I possibly could. As I’ve mentioned previously, Tim and I decided to go with a Where the Wild Things are theme and give Henry his very own Wild Rumpus.

Being one week before Halloween, I decided to give the theme an autumn spin so I incorporated predominantly orange and yellow color scheme and used a lot of fall leaves. I did my own illustrations of Max and Moishe (or Carol if you’ve seen the movie) for the invitations and some of the decorations, then used puzzles, stuffed animals and toys to bring in more elements from the book. I also found a cute Max costume and a hand painted onesie on Etsy and made him a crown and bib. To top it all off, Tim designed and built the most wonderful one-of-a-kind boat to fit on top of Henry’s new red wagon. The bonus is that we’ll be using it to pull our Wild Thing around on Halloween.

The weather ended up being wonderful and we enjoyed every minute with our great family and friends, and their little ones too. Henry seemed to love all the attention and activity (and his cupcake!) so I would say it was a success. Tons of pictures from the big day below.

Happy birthday sweet little boy.

Wild Things Fever!

As I’m sure many of you are, I am SO excited for the new Where the Wild Things Are movie. It comes out in theaters in two weeks and the trailers are just stunning, not to mention the soundtrack which I’ve been listening to and loving (Karen O from the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs). Well with the timing of the movie and our little guy’s 1st birthday one week later, we’ve decided a Wild Rumpus would be the perfect theme. I’ve found a bunch of cute ideas online, especially here, here and here and all the parts are starting to come together. I found a cute Max costume on Etsy and some great party favor gifts for the kiddies. Plus Tim and I even got some shirts for the theme over at UO. To top it all off, there are plans in the work for Henry to even have his own replica of Max’s private boat – on wheels!

Here’s a sneak peek of the invitation and stay tuned for pics after the big event.

lovely, beautiful, wonderful day

Yesterday was just one of those days that makes you feel great. It was sunny and in the mid 70s and I was able to spend half the day outside at a ballpark for a photoshoot. The shoot started at 2pm and was nearby my husband’s place of work, which is about an hour from our house and my office, so I had the rare opportunity to meet him for lunch. It was just the two of us and we sat outside which made it so relaxing and enjoyable. After that we stopped into Starbucks where I learned that my FAVORITE DRINK EVER, pumpkin spice lattes have just arrived for the season.

The photoshoot went very well and it was the first time I’ve had the pleasure of working with my neighbor, who is a very talented photographer I may add. We wrapped up an hour earlier than predicted, which meant I made it home shortly after Tim and the little guy. We decided that we’d put the kid in a sweater and eat dinner on our relatively new and under-used patio. The dog played in the yard while we ate, the cat lounged on the back porch and Henry ate dinner happily without even a fuss (which is rare).

Oh, and I also forgot to mention that the little man has been having some tummy troubles as of late and just when we’ve decided to have tests run, he seems to have turned the corner and is getting better. This is a big weight off my mind.

So, although nothing about the day was extraordinary in itself, it was a lovely mix of little things and quality time with my family that made the day nearly perfect.

on the move

I can’t believe its been nearly a month and a half since my last post – darn facebook. Well although I have many things I’d love to post about, such as my sister’s wedding, my recent trip to visit friends in Nebraska, my addiction to watching LOST, etc., today I just want to share a little mommy brag…

My little man is FINALLY crawling!

I know that crawling is not truly a milestone because babies start to crawl at a variety of ages and some not at all, however that knowledge didn’t make me any less stressed out when I read what my baby “should be doing” by now in all the parenting books/websites. For the past few months we’ve been watching him roll around and scoot on his back and reach so far forward when sitting that we thought it would be any day, but he just didn’t quite put it all together.

Despite my worries, when we were staying at the home of a friend out of town, I actually remarked that it was nice he wasn’t moving yet because we didn’t have to worry about her house being babyproofed. Well that must have done the trick. No sooner had the words left my mouth that we put him down on her soft, carped floor and he was on the move…straight for her dog’s ball. Luckily my dear friend is expecting her first child and her house is halfway to baby proof already, so we only needed worry about a few outlets and doggie toys. Once we were back home, his newfound mobility had not lost its appeal and he was on a mission. He crawled right out of his room and straight for the dog’s bed, then the dog’s toy, then the cat, etc.

Everyone has warned me that its a mixed blessing because he’ll be getting into everything, but I’ve been waiting for this so long that I’m prepared and ready. I just think its a blessing.

nutty

Remember how back in February I broke out in hives from drinking a soda? Well the strange food reactions are at it again, although this time the reaction isn’t as miserable, just rather annoying.

Yesterday I hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch and so I grabbed a piece of garlic bread out of the fridge as we were headed out the door. Not the healthiest food choice, I know. Anyway, the first bite tasted awful and bitter and I wondered how bread that was only a day old, and tasted delicious the previous day could have spoiled so quickly. I downed a half bottle of water to wash away the taste which only made it worse. As the day went on, everything I tasted left the same strange bitter metallic taste. I thought maybe I was coming down with something.

When I woke up this morning and brushed my teeth, I was startled to find the taste hadn’t gone away. It wasn’t there all the time, but only when I ate or drank something. So I went on with my day, had some coffee which is bitter anyway, but sadly the taste was still there at lunch and dinner. I mentioned to Tim that I was starting to worry that there was something seriously wrong with me. I didn’t have any symptoms of a cold or sore throat or really anything but the taste. My vivid imagination started to get the better of me and I wondered if it was a brain tumor and suddenly I’d start having blackouts and hallucinations ala Izzy Stevens.

Well after trying unsuccessfully to knock out the bitterness with some sweet ice cream, I Googled “bitter taste in mouth” and the third thing I saw said “bitter taste from eating pine nuts”. Are you kidding?! I just snacked on a handful of them right after work! Turns out that spoiled pine nuts can cause a weird taste reaction that shows up 1-3 days after eating them and can last for several days to weeks. There are a TON of sites that tell you all about it… bunches of people with the exact same weird symptoms. Well I love pine nuts and had some left from a recipe, so they’ve been my little high protein snack for a few days now. Little did I know this evening when I was looking for something to get rid of the taste that I was actually making it worse. I’m hoping this weird reaction doesn’t last too long, but given my hives experience, it will probably last the better part of a week.

On the bright side, if everything I eat tastes bitter, this may be just the thing I need to lose those last 5 lbs of baby weight.

teething bites

The little Henry-monster’s cute gummy smile isn’t quite as gummy these days. There are now two little teeth poking out at the bottom. They are cute and tiny and white, and SHARP, and have caused him a world of pain. Which means he has been a pain. Eating, napping, sleeping, playing are all a fussy ordeal and we’re going through teething rings at an alarming rate. I must get to the store for some teething biscuits pronto. However, watching the cuteness of his attempts at brushing his own teeth almost makes up for the fussing. Almost.

Two down, 18 to go.

this post is for Tim

honey, I just know you have something wonderful planned for my first mother’s day, but in case you need any help, here are a few gifts that i would not secretly return when you aren’t looking…

baby birthstone necklace – its extravagant, but i’m sure you think i’m worth it.
adorable little dish – customized with my little man’s moniker of course
new momma tea
gift card for a massage or mani/pedi

oh and here are some more ideas in case you plan to get your own mom a gift for a change. don’t worry I’ll get a backup gift just in case you still forget.

ps. mothers day is sunday, may 10th

solid

Henry enjoyed his first taste of solid food on Saturday, if you call runny rice cereal mixed with milk a solid. He didn’t quite know what to expect when we got out his bowl and spoon, but I think he could tell it was something to eat. He got really excited, started kicking his feet and huffing like he does whenever its time to eat. He even opened wide for the first spoonful, which isn’t that surprising since he likes to put everything in his mouth lately. After that he powered through the whole bowl, smiling after each bite. I think I might have a little foodie on my hands, but we’ll wait and see how vegetables go.

more pics

facebook is killing my blog

Well that’s only half true. Working full-time, caring for an infant, a dog, a cat and a house (and a husband), takes up most of the day. However even with all that, I used to post during my lunch hour at work. Now I split that hour between expressing milk (that’s a whole other story) and facebook.  Initially I fought against joining facebook, thinking at the time that it was just for the kids, but my persistent brother kept on me until I finally caved. Now over a year later it seems like everybody and their brother is on it and very active at that.

I do enjoy the opportunity to keep up with old friends and new ones, share stories and photos with my family and get updates from groups and businesses that I’m interested in. I’ve become as addicted to it as anyone, and it seems that so have my friends. I don’t even get regular emails anymore, only facebook messages. I login to facebook and reply to their message so that they get an email that requires them to login to facebook to reply back. Geez. Its no wonder I can’t find time to blog.

So until facebook has finally run its course and is no longer the favored method of communication amongst my friends next to texting – don’t even get me started on that – it looks like my little blog might be limping along for a while. In the meantime, you know just where to find me.