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.

fun with poladroid

Well I know I’m way late jumping on the bandwagon, but I finally got a chance to play with the poladroid application. The results are so beautiful and nostalgic, and the process is fun in and of itself. Ah, one more irresistible time waster, just what I need in my life!

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.

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.

6 month monkey

Today is Henry’s half birthday, which happens to fall on a Friday, just like the sweet day he was born.

Looking back over the past 6 months its funny how awkward and nervous we both were with our new little man. The first few months were a mix of elation and a little fear; amazed at this little person we created and worrying if he was breathing/ eating/sleeping/pooping normally, but not really understanding what normal even was. We were sleep deprived zombies just trying to figure it all out. While I will cherish every memory of those days, I’m so happy to say that we’re finally getting the hang of it. We have a routine down, balancing working and time at home as a family. We have regularly scheduled feedings, baths and bedtime; and we sleep. Most of all we are just having so much fun.

Henry has such a personality now. He wakes every morning with a big gummy toothless smile. He rolls and scoots around on the floor and reaches for his toys. He has discovered he has feet. He is a little flirt. He is eating and enjoying solid food. He smiles and kicks his feet in excitement when we get home and loves to be held. Plus he does not object to being kissed 500 times a day, which is my favorite part.

The first 6 months of Henry’s life have been the craziest, busiest, happiest time of mine. Happy half-birthday sweet boy.

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

farewell 2008

Its been way too long since I’ve posted on the blog and so I couldn’t let 2008 come to an end without looking back on what a year its been. Consider this my little online version of a holiday update letter.

Its strange for me to think that this time last December I didn’t even know we’d be parents this year. We went out to ring in 2008 with friends and family and later that week Tim left for a business trip and was gone for our 3 year anniversary. January flew by and then in early February I spent a week in Mexico City for work while Tim was off to Vegas for another convention. After that we celebrated Valentine’s Day and my promotion at work and by the end of the month we knew our life was changed forever. We kept our secret for a few weeks and then only told close family.  At that point we didn’t know if Henry would be a boy or girl, what he would look like, or if he would be healthy, we only knew that we loved him with all our hearts and that if all went well we’d be a family in late fall.

In March, my sister and I surprised our brother with a visit to Notre Dame for St.Patrick’s day and then spent a couple days in Chicago. In April we got to see teeny tiny peanut-sized Henry for the first time, welcomed my cousin’s son Jacob, and shared our news with everyone. In May it was back to ND for my brother’s graduation and in June I was back in Mexico. However this time was not for work but rather a (mostly) sunny cruise to celebrate Dad’s 60th. A couple weeks later we learned we were having a healthy baby boy! July was a bunch of summer fun and working on the house. In August Tim’s family had a beautiful baby shower for us and over labor day weeekend my sister got engaged! September brought another beautiful shower, this time elegantly thrown by my mom and sister. At the end of September I went back to Chicago with my mom to visit my brother and do some shopping for the nursery. By the time October began, we were so excited and counting down the days to Henry’s arrival, and a few weeks before the big day, my coworkers had a wonderful surprise baby shower. Before we knew it, two weeks before in fact, Henry decided to come racing into our arms.

Since then, life has been a blur of diapers, tiny clothes, teeny fingers and toes and tons of snuggly baby kisses. Henry arrived just in time for Halloween so he has celebrated just about every major holiday by visiting friends and family. We love being parents and are getting quite used to functioning on very little sleep. I can happily say that 2008 has been one of the best years for our family and I’m looking forward to 2009. I plan on continuing to blog about our family and post countless pictures of our little Henry, plus its a resolution of mine to include a bit more about art and design. Look for one recurring theme to be the design of my sister’s wedding and invitations – she has a bunch of great ideas so it should be plenty fun.

I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!