Sebby's 1st Birthday Party/1 year update

October 20, 2017

Hey everyone! Happy friday! Hope you had an awesome week.

Last week was super hectic preparing for Seb's 1st bday party and then heading out 3 days later for vaca! I knew the timing wasn't going to be ideal but with our work schedules is was really the only weekend that worked.

I decided to do a Peter Rabbit theme after seeing some supplies on zulily and thought they were super cute. He has a Peter Rabbit themed nursery so I thought it would kind of come full circle.

The weather has actually been really amazing lately so we had it outside at our house. Menu included your party favorites: veggie tray, snacks, pizza, subs, cake, and ice cream. I feel like its hard enough to prepare for a party but to cook too for it is really stretching it with 2 little ones so we just ordered out.

I got some really awesome Etsy decorations: center pieces, high chair "I'm one" decoration, a Peter Rabbit crown, Peter Rabbit water bottle stickers, Peter Rabbit, garland, paper plates, napkins, cups, a Peter Rabbit onesie, and my mom made some super cute descriptive food labels with Peter Rabbit on them. Etsy is literally the shit. They have everything you could want. Oh. and the cake. was. seriously. amazing.

We had a decent day but the wind was blowing at 20 + mph in the morning which made setup really tough. The table cloths were blowing everywhere and it made setup slightly stressful haha. The party was super fun all in all and the kids all had a great time.

Remember...when planning kids birthday parties:
1. ETSY and PInterest all the way for theme ideas, invites, and for specialized party supplies.
2. Dollar store for basic supplies, balloons, etc.
3. Plan and order early, early, early. For instance, I ordered Seb's onesie and they sent a green one...so thankfully I had enough time to send it back and have them send a new one in baby blue!

&nbs… — This cake though....Had to post an up close photo.

My one year old:

As for Seb, he is a full blown toddler now! He is super mobile, walking everywhere (and trying to run), eating everything in sight and exploring and getting into everything. Unlike his brother, he could care less where I am and just takes off running! I'm gonna be that mom that has their kid on a leash at Disney next time haha. He's also started to be super crazy with screaming. Max never really did that so this is new...he screams to get attention, when he doesn't get what he wants. I don't even understand it and it drives me crazy. His brother will then start screaming at the same time to be funny so...our house is super loud ! Also he is starting to stomp his feet. Soooo like I said, a toddler ((yikes)). The good thing is he's still pretty goofy and happy most of the time so hopefully this is just a phase he's going through until he learns how to talk.

SLEEP He's still up once a night but every now and again he will sleep through the night( he's done it twice while we have been on vacation...score!)Part of me wants to just completely night wean him but I think I'm holding on a little because I'm not sure we will have another. So for now its okay, I think he will wean himself on his own time.

Nursing Still nursing before naps (so morning and afternoon), when he wakes for the day and before bed. If he wakes in the night he will nurse then and sometimes that takes the place of his morning nurse. So 4 times a day usually. I haven't tried to give him milk yet and I haven't really decided if I'm going to. Max hated it so we just give him yogurt and lots of cheese. So we will see I guess.

Brother It amazes me how much he learns from his brother and how he feeds off energy from his brother! The next year will be tough but I think when Seb is around 2 yo they will be able to play more together :)

Likes:

-trucks, cars
-balls
-food!
-screaming

Dislikes:
-face being cleaned
-nose being wiped
-being confined anywhere
-the word NO. lol
-sitting still

Hope you guys have a great weekend :)

Alex

Max's 3rd Birthday Party...and 6 tips for your first kiddo party

June 15, 2017

Happy Birthday to my big boy Max who is now three...where has the time gone?!

I know a lot of people go really overboard with parties and invite tons of people including kids from their child's preschool class but I just can't get my head around that right now. For Max's first birthday I felt so CRAZED and last minute with everything and it was just a family party with 25 people. Last year I felt the same. So this year I vowed to be ORGANIZED. There is nothing worse than being super stressed trying to get ready for a party. I honestly tried to keep it really simple this year by repeating last years theme! I had some leftover supplies from last year ...and With the baby, work, and Max loving the farm theme last year I thought..hey, why not. Let's take the load off!

We went to Kelkenberg Farm last year for his second birthday and he loved it. So many activities (all included in the price): Hay ride for everyone, pony rides for the kids, a farm tour where you see all of the animals, and the chance to milk the goats. Its a great, laid back atmosphere and we just grill out, have some cake and hang out!

Like I said, I had some supplies from last year (plates, cups, silverware) and I had little die cut labels that my mom made for different foods that we offered. I used a farm theme to rename foods such as "pigs in a blanket" (hot dogs), "cow dung" (brownies), silverware were "pitchforks" (forks), "butcher knives" (knives), and "shovels" (spoons), "greens" (salad), and "farm fresh fruit" (assorted fruits ie watermelon, etc.), and "pig tail pasta salad" (tuna salad).

I picked up a majority of my supplies from Birthdayexpress.com online as well as Party city and the dollar store. All in all it was an awesome time! I honestly wish I would have had someone helping me along with Max's first birthday, so here are a few tips I have for anyone embarking on their first "bash" for their child!

1. Pinterest that ish!!!
Start Pinteresting a couple of months before the birthday and get an idea of your theme. There are soo many ideas on there and let your child lead the way! If they're older, you can let them pick or at least help you narrow your ideas down. For 1st birthdays, its a little more fun because mom gets to lead the way because they can't talk yet ;)

2. ETSY THAT ISH!!
Ok guys, once you get your ideas down, check out etsy. Order your child's birthday outfit {yes, birthday outfit. its a "thing" now. just do it. } early incase it doesn't fit, you don't like it, it gets lost in the mail...whatever. Order it, and check it off the list. I also found some awesome things on etsy like Invites. Last year I just got the pdf and went and printed them out. I would totally not do that again and save money elsewhere. It was freaking awesome having them delivered to my house and not having to deal with either lugging my kids to kinkos to print them, or spending probably the same amount of money with hiring a babysitter just to get them printed out! Its just one less thing to do. I guess if you have a great printer you could do it at home but clearly that is not me. You can also find random things on etsy to enhance your party- for example I got farm theme water bottle stickers (see below) for really reasonable prices as well on etsy.

3. Order supplies early:
Like I said, I used birthdayexpress.com. They were great and the prices were decent with free shipping. They have everything you can imagine. I do a lot of online ordering..with the two kids and working I don't get much time to get out on my own and when I'm with the boys I'd rather spend the time outside at the park.

4. DOLLAR STORE GUYS.
yes, yes and yes. You can get kids wrapping paper, bags, treat bags (if you're doing the kid thing), bowls,big utensils, etc. ALSO BALLOONS. Ok so funny story...last year I spent the $40 on the helium tank...pumped a bunch of ballons (which took forever when I didn't have the time #thestress #omg) and they ALL BLEW AWAY IN THE WIND. I literally almost died in that moment.

That was my cue to never blow them up myself again. So anyway I found out the dollar store sells balloons and blows them up for you for a dollar. Oh. and you can call ahead and get them done in advance? sign me up. This year I bought 20 balloons, for 20 dollars. 20 dollars LESS than the stupid helium tank and I spent {zero} minutes on them. I also brought a few farm theme balloons with me I hadn't used from last year and they pumped those up for me for....yup, you guessed it. a buck! So, moral of the story is save your time and money and hit up a dollar tree.

5. get help.

Seriously, get help. Especially if you have a baby. Babies are literally like put on earth to make you unproductive!!!! Have someone come over the day of the party to watch said baby so you can prep. Have others make a simple side dish so you don't need to deal. Remember, It takes a village, mammas. Let's embrace that. Nobody gets a medal for doing it all on their own!!

6. Take it all in ...and remember it is worth the work!
After all..they're only ____ years old once #tear.

Alex