And speaking of the upstairs remodel ($$$), did I mention this party was on an itty bitty teeny tiny budget? ‘Cuz it was. So much so that all decorations were free (and by ‘all’ I mean both of them).

Decorations:

See my really, really fancy decorations? There were a couple of these taped up around the house, and one on the front door that said “Caution: Birthday Zone”. Hardy har har… I know. I also used these signs to label the different playing ‘stations’.

How to make construction-themed birthday party signs: 

Supplies:

A printer

Painter’s tape

A “stencil” font such as “PortagoITC TT” which came installed on my Mac or download this free one.

Instructions:

In a word document, make signs with a large font size – I think mine was in the 200s – with phrases such as “Happy Birthday!” “Caution: Birthday Zone!” “Hard hats required past this point” and “{Birthday boy’s name} is {age}!”

Print the signs and hang with painter’s tape. The blue painter’s tape is awesome for 3 reasons: 1) it’s easy to remove b) we happened to have some laying around III) it fits the theme and (and the color) of the party.

My mantle, complete with a paint-chip bunting flag, befitting the remodel theme (and also free, made with color scheme paint chips we had from the remodel).

How to make a paint chip bunting flag:

Supplies:

Left over paint chips, either monochromatic or “color scapes” as shown here

Yarn, ribbon, or thick string such as twine

Scotch tape

Instructions:

Measure the distance you would like the banner to span, then times it by 1.75. Cut your ribbon to that length.

Cut paint chips into isosceles triangles. Take a moment to acknowledge the fact that you just used something you learned in high school geometry.

Tape the triangles onto your yarn or ribbon, leaving about a foot of length on the end for hanging. Space the corners out from each other about 1/4 to 1/2 inch to leave room for “swagging” – whatever looks right with your size of triangles. Continue cutting and taping triangles until you have your desired length, again leaving about a foot of length on the end for hanging.

Food:

The party was from 2:00 to 4:00 (after nap and well before bedtime – intentional) so a meal wasn’t necessary, but nobody likes a party without food, either.

We served finger sandwiches (ham & cheese, chicken salad, and “sunflower butter” & jelly – two kiddos in attendance had peanut allergies), fruit salad, a veggie tray, pretzels, Izze sodas, water, juice, and cupcakes.

Most of the food came from Costco. The cupcakes and their frosting were boxed mix/store bought because cupcakes from scratch are against my religion. (Against my religion to make, not to eat. It is very much within my religion to eat cupcakes from scratch, provided they were made by someone else.)

The cupcake toppers are yellow construction hats. I wish I had taken a better picture of them – they were perfect and CHEAP. Ordered from here for less than $4 for a set of 12. On the table there were tool shape cut-outs of paint chips (there they are again!).

O, and cookies.

These came cheap to me because of our awesome house guest – Ms. Ryley of That’s My Cake!. Can you believe that she and her kiddo flew out from Utah for OBoy’s party? She happens to have mad cookie making and decorating skills so these were like, professional grade cookies.

For a while there it was touch and go because the humidity was so ridiculous (as in more humid than the average day in the Amazon Rainforest. Fact.) so the frosting wasn’t hardening, but I think they turned out fabulously. We sent them home as favors and also had some out on the table.

The cookie cutters are from here and were $7 for a set of 5 – screwdriver, saw, wrench, pliers, hammer. After watching Ryley make these sugar cookies with flooded royal icing, well, I think I could *maybe* do it on my own. They wouldn’t look as great, that’s for sure. I also may have taken an easier way out and done regular frosting, because I’m a wuss.

Activities:

Around the house there were three areas for kids to play. This is where the penny pinching really came in handy. OBoy’s birthday present was this hardware store workbench complete with a cash register:

I stole bought it (and most of the tools you see on it) for $10 from a second-hand kids store.

TEN DOLLARS. As in 3 grande chai lattes. SO CHEAP.

{{Thank you, thank you! Here’s my back… would you like to pat it?}}

The store is Once Upon a Child. They are nation wide.  Do you have one in your area? Because if you do you need to go there for things like big play equipment, booster seats, winter boots, and some seriously good prices on clothes. But this is not about Once Upon a Child. This is about OBoy’s birthday.

The hardware store/workbench was not only a birthday gift, it was a ‘station’ at the party.

Do you see that adorable boy in an adorable yellow construction hat and Home Depot tool belt? We had those for every (child) guest and… wait for it… those were cheap too!

The tool belts were literally ¢77 a piece purchased at Home Depot, and I ordered the hats from here for $4.50 for a set of 12.

The next 2 play stations were 100% free to me.

The living room ottomans were moved aside and the main space of the room became a cardboard block building (and demolishing!) site. I had been collecting medium and small sized cardboard boxes for a couple of months with this play station in mind. They were assorted sizes and would have worked fine… but we found something even better the day before the party.

Remember how DanO’s younger brother got married in early July? Well, they got dishes – lots and LOTS of dishes – as wedding gifts and they all came in identical boxes.

{{lightbulb!}}

We had 24 identical boxes that we reconstructed inside-out so that it was more of a tower building station and less of a Fiestaware ad. (Also? My brother and sister in law have 24 sets of Fiestaware. Holy dish envy, Batman. But hey! Sweet boxes for me!)

These boxes live, to this day, in our playroom. I have dreams of going nuts painting them with OBoy someday. Wouldn’t that be fun?

The third play area was the playroom which has a train table in the middle of it. Some days it has train tracks set up, others it’s duplos, but for the party it was an “Earth Movers” station.

We put out all of the trucks and cars OBoy owns and dumped packing peanuts (that came in one of those boxes I was saving) onto the table.

Then we set the kids free.

Be free, kids.

Sure, most of the peanuts were on the ground by the end of the party, and that was with a pick-up session or two, but the mess was minimal and the table was a capital h Huge hit. Apparently the chatty phone got in on the action, too.

The Earth Movers table was a hit. The Build Site was a hit. The Hardware Store was a hit.

The party was a hit.

So much fun and laughter, creativity and energy.

I love this age.

The sheer genius of my child, reading some Eric Carle to himself at 18 months old.

Notice how he associates the words with the pages being open? How he speaks, pauses to turn the page, then speaks again? How he points to the images on the pages? How he (mostly) turns the pages in the correct direction?

Those are emerging early literacy skills.

My little early-childhood teacher’s heart could.not.possibly. be more proud.

Next up? Shakespeare.

January 16, 201 1

Dear OBaby,

We celebrated your one and a half birthday yesterday.

{We sang ‘Happy half birthday” to you. You were not a fan.}

Every single month with you has been special, OBaby, but these last 6 months have been particularly amazing for your daddy and I to watch. You have gone from signing 2 words, to signing 5 words, to saying many of those words as you sign them. Your very favorite word is still “H i !” and you will say it to anyone and everyone. You have been known to say it repeatedly in the grocery store until the other person in the baking aisle says it back to you.

You can be stubborn like that. Ahem.

These last couple of months it has become incredibly clear that you love and adore Daddy. I am very much out of fashion these days, but I am more than ok with that because it means I get to watch you as you look up to and mimic Daddy. It warms my heart more than you could know. You got a tool set for Christmas that works just like the tools you see Daddy use and they were you instant favorite. You bring them upstairs with you when you go watch Daddy work on the house and you understand how to use them. In no time flat I am certain you will be Daddy’s right hand man on house projects.

Speaking of Christmas, Buddy, you were an absolute joy. You loved playing with and being oogled over by all of our extended family at the Christmas Eve dinner, and with the exception of when “Santa Clause” arrived, you had a smile on your face the entire evening (even well past your bedtime). Christmas morning was perfect. You were cuddly and excited, and you loved having your Nana, Papa, aunts and uncle over to celebrate. I think they loved seeing you on Christmas, too.

We got you three gifts for Christmas, just like the three wise men brought Jesus three gifts on his birthday. I think this is something we will continue to do, and hopefully the smaller-than-usual size of our “stuff giving” will help you see the value of true giving in Christ’s name.

It’s a time of big changes around here, and you have rolled with every single one of them so far. You are happily sleeping in (and O SO PROUD of) your big boy bed. Daddy and I were absolutely blown away by how quickly and happily you adjusted to the transition. You got the idea, you liked the idea, you acted on the idea. We are so proud of you, Buddy.

We’ve also had a busier schedule lately with work going on on our house and family functions that last later than you’re used to being out. You go with the flow on all of it. Sure, there are tantrums and moments of exhausted frustration, but far more often than not you are up for whatever your crazy parents bring your way (as long as it involves people and excitement).

Yes, people and flirting with them is still one of your first loves.

You have also begun to enjoy music and dancing in these last couple of months. In the morning you will wake up, walk straight over to the sound system, and sign please. We listen to various Pandora radio stations pretty much all day long, taking the occasional chance to have a dance party when a favorite song comes on. You love your music, Buddy, and I love watching you love your music.

I mean really, I just love watching you. Watching you learn, watching you grow, watching you enjoy, watching you try new things, watching you watch your daddy.

You, your boundless energy, and your endless enjoyment of life have helped me be a better person. Thank you so much for showing me what a joy life is everyday. I love you.

To the moon and back,

Mama

PS: I’m sorry about the purple cupcake. Apparently grocery stores think that customers only want Valentine baked goods for an entire month before Valentine’s Day. It was that or pink.

So we up and did it. We put the bed together Saturday morning, and by we I do mean all of us.

Monkey see, monkey do, much?

(Kind of terrifying, actually, that he will repeat exactly what he sees DanO or me model. Hope he turns out ok.)

After all of the ‘last bed in stock’ hubub and feeling a bit rushed/frantic, it turned out to be a really fun family project to put the bed together. DanO directed the efforts, OBaby brought tools and (light weight) parts on demand, and I did a wee bit more bending a lifting than my pregnant back would have liked me to have done.

Once the bed was together, the crib came down. And just that fast, it was big bed or bust. Like whoomp, there it is. (Hello early 90s reference.)

We set up the bed, OBaby helped put the sheets on, we put all of his stuffed animals at the foot of the mattress, (which is something one of YOU, my friends and readers (who are friends I just haven’t met yet) suggested to us. FABULOUS idea.) and we generally made it a really great place to be.

There is an opening in the railing, which is good because then OBaby can safely get up and down on his own without trying to climb over the rails (and you know he would), but we do need to keep a step stool under it because he is still a wee peanut. He kicked the stool out of the way once accidentally when trying to get down, which had me worried that it wouldn’t work, but once it was gone, he slid down on his belly, got down, and put the stool back.

Smart. Kid.

Conveniently, once we had finished all of this work, it was almost naptime. We did most of the naptime routine on the bed instead of on the rocker like we used to. I think this time on his bed with his Daddy (his most favoritest person in the whole entire worlds) was really good for OBaby – very first association with this new space was calm, positive, and unforced.

They did a little cuddling…

…and then OBaby…

…wait for it…

…dramatic pause…

had a completely successful naptime in his big boy bed, zero stuggles or hiccups!

Granted, no one within a mile radius of our house was allowed to breathe, you could have heard a pin drop for the entire duration of the nap, and DanO and I were completely glued to the video monitor, but it was a raging success. All parties were pleased. When OBaby woke up, he did what he had normally done in his crib: he rolled around a little, played with this toes, did some baby yoga (downward dog is his favorite), and then he got out of his bed. Just like that, he was a big boy bed user.

Can I just tell you how much that nap lowered my blood pressure? O My Serotonin levels, that nap was such a relief and gave us such confidence come bedtime. I imagine that relieved state of his parents helped OBaby with the change, too.

We did bedtime routine as usual and before you could say “They grow so fast”, OBaby was fast asleep for the night in his new bed. It was just as seamless as naptime had been!

At least… until 2:30am…

when DanO and I woke to the sound of little feet padding down the hallway and into our room.

“hi…” he whispered, waddling up to DanO’s side of the bed.

I absolutely died and exploded from the cute. HOW COULD YOU NOT?! I will cherish that memory forever – the sweetness of my little toddler wandering into our room in the middle of the night on his first night in his big boy bed. LOVE.

Except, it was still 2:30am, and he did still need to sleep several more hours. DanO brought him into his room and tried to help him calm down (apparently waking up at 2:30am and being able to walk into your parents’ bedroom puts one in a rather playful mood). We worked on that for an hour, rocking, calming, cuddling, but didn’t really take. Finally we told him that it was time to go to sleep, and we closed his bedroom door.

Please hear me out: I am not one to leave my baby to cry, I’m really not. When he was younger, we did a humorously short stint of trying to teach him to “self-soothe” as it’s called, and after an hour my entire digestive system had turned itself inside out. It just does not work for us.

But.

We knew that OBaby understood where to sleep, we knew that his room was a safe place for him to be, and we knew that he was not scared or disturbed by the situation based on the sounds he was making (a mama knows her baby’s cries). So, we let it happen. He whined, he banged, he complained, but he never bawled. And then, after less than 30 minutes of protest… silence.

Except we couldn’t see him on the video monitor, which meant he was not on his bed.

I’m pretty sure he slept on the rug by his door from 4am to 9am, and yes I feel kind of badly about that. However, he has not done it since. Our entire road since that 4am struggle has been an absolute cake walk. Next day’s nap was a breeze. The next night’s bedtime it only took going back in there once to reinforce that the bed is the place to sleep, and he got it (actually, when he dropped his binky, he climbed down, grabbed it, and climbed back in bed). Since then? Entirely uneventful.

My son sleeps in a big boy bed.

CAN I GET A FREAKING AMEN?!

Have you heard? We’re doing the Big Boy Bed Transition. Apparently one or two or 70 of you are familiar it (or it’s well-known sibling, Big Girl Bed Transition) and weighed in with your experiences last week. It was informative. It was comical. It was helpful. It gave us confidence.

And so we went for it.

It started with some epic furniture shopping trips. Remember all that advice about letting OBaby pick out his bed and his bedding? Well, THIS is what he really wanted to take home:

Uhm, yea. No.

He may not have had the most refined taste of the shopping party (the three of us), but he was a hoot and he had every single employee we interacted with wrapped around his little finger faster than you could say “special promotional offer”.

The retro circle bedding was also a No. Sorry buddy.

Here was our approach for picking out the bed:

1. We knew we wanted a twin and not a toddler bed (figured we’d skip a step and save money).

2. We plan on the boys sharing a room for many years, so we wanted to buy two matching twins while we were at it.

3. We wanted railings to hold OBaby in while he learns how to sleep in a big boy bed.

… all of which were solved easily by shopping for twin bunk beds. Twin size, two matching beds, and railings are included. Once we knew we were looking for bunk beds, we discussed it more. We made a list of purposes this bed needed to serve, and then one of features we wanted it to have. It looked something like this:

Needs to:

Both stack as bunks and break apart into separate beds

Be sturdy and quality enough to last 2 boys at least 10 years

Have railings on both sides of top bunk

Not cost 3 arms and 2 legs (we draw the line at 2 and 2)

Want it to:

Be wood, preferably either a dark finish or one that would match the crib (honey colored)

Have vertical slats on the railing to mimic a crib

Have a “substantial” look (OMW Please try to explain “visual weight” of a piece of furniture to DanO. I dare you.)

And then we shopped. And shopped. And shopped. Our first trip out we went to 4 furniture stores in one afternoon/evening (because we are masochists). It was actually a pretty good time to do so, it seemed, because several of the stores we went to were having new year promotions (although, aren’t they always having some sort of promotion?) and we found precisely two beds that fit all of our needs and one or two of our wants.

But dude. Bunk beds that will last you 10 years? They are not cheap. So we went home and thought it out, made plans of where else to check, and looked at the numbers. Gosh it would be nice if they were a bit less expensive. But we had been to the discount stores, and browsed IKEA. We just didn’t see anything we thought could handle what we anticipate our O Boys dishing out.

We hummed and hawed. And went out another evening to visit a local warehouse furniture store where we found an even MORE promising option for a wee bit cheaper than the other two we had liked. It was down to one, but we still wanted to sleep on it.

On the way home from shopping for big boy beds we decided to swing the family by Costco for pizza/dinner because that’s what all the really cool 25 year olds do with their Friday nights, yes? Yes.

As we walked through the pearly Costco gates (and flashed our membership card, of course) we caught glimpse of it. There, just over the horizon of 48728 inch TVs, Red Vine Tubs, and 8 packs of winter gloves was a beautiful, sturdy, slat-railed, and substantial bunk bed set. And it was $100 cheaper than the option we had just seen at the other store.

::angelic chorus::

But it was not wood stained. It was white. And the model title *might* have been a girl’s name. Also, there was only a girl’s bedroom picture on the box, no alternative boy bedding pictures. So we wondered – is it a girly bed set? I mean, it’s definitely sturdy and quality enough to for our boys, but was it masculine enough for them? Is that even a question worth asking or is it completely, utterly superficial and vain?

I snapped a picture and then naturally, I asked my twitter friends for their input on the gender neutral factor while our family split some pizza (have you SEEN the size of Costco’s “slices”?).

After we wiped the pizza grease from our hands, we tallied up the twitter responses (What? You don’t let strangers friends from the interwebs help you make decisions on large purchases? O.) and it was a close, but “No, it’s not too girly” came in slightly ahead which gave us the boost we needed to go for it. It’s a quality piece of furniture for a great price with all of our needs and all but 1 of our wants. And I knew that boyish bedding on that sucker would leave no question about the gender of the bed occupant. It was a win.

We went back to the furniture section to put the boxes on a flat bed cart… but the boxes – BOTH of the beds that had been there before we ate dinner in the “food court” – were g.o.n.e. gone. All that debating, all that tweeting, all for nothing.

But wait, the employee said! They DID have one more bed! It was up in the stacks and they had to get a big machine thingy to get it down!

::angelic chorus again::

We got the beds home where the boxes took up our entire living room that night. It was decided. Even though we hadn’t been planning to start the transition until the following weekend, we would have to put it together the next day. We just simply were not going to step over those mammoth boxes for a week, nor were we going to haul all 300+lbs (not exaggerating) of them elsewhere to store.

We dove in head first Saturday morning.

{What? Don’t look at me.}

{Ok, so this one you can look at me for.}

To be continued…

(Admittedly, I’ve been known to not finish continued posts, but this continuation is already written – don’t worry! I just want to keep you in suspense slash not have a 2000 word post so yer gunna have to wait.)

(Can we take a moment to talk about the high schoolers who show up with a pillow case but no costume? Honestly? Is that just my neighborhood? I gave a couple of them a hard time last night, asking them what they were supposed to be, and I got some sob story about how they lost their mustaches and they used to be Mario and Luigi – in jeans and sweatshirts. I gave them candy anyway because I’m a push over slash I would have had to eat it if they didn’t.)

I will, will, will tell you about the wonderful parts of PA that we visited over the last two weeks, but first I need to show you pictures of my munchkin last night because no one will want to hear one more thing about Halloween a week from now (myself included because, hello? It’s November 1 and I have already moved on to Christmas music. True story.)

OBaby was a dragon. We figured “Trick-or-treat!” would be too much to tackle this year, so over the last few weeks we’ve been working on “What does a dragon say?”

“Raaaaaaaawr”

It is painfully cute. Painfully.

The cheeks. The squeals of excitement. The poofy costume. The Raaaawr.

It was the best Halloween ever.

(Is it time to go yet, Mama?)

OBaby liked helping people pick the candy out of the bowl. We said “Take 2!” to every trick-or-treater that came our way, but OBaby often snuck a 3rd or 4th piece into kids’ bags. It’s so much fun to share.

This is the one mid-trick-or-treating shot I have because it got dark so fast and my camera would not cooperate.

I think it’s ok, though, that I only have this one picture, because going house to house (all 6 of them that we did) was not the highlight for OBaby. Not by any means.

He much preferred the giving than the receiving, in fact he tried to hand the candy back to the people at the doors after they gave it to him. I think Halloween is one big sharing party in his mind (and ain’t that how it should be?).

OBaby waited patiently between kids coming to our door, then squealed and shrieked with joy when he saw a group coming up our walk way.

He had little to no understanding of the cause of all of these new friends coming to visit him, but he loved every minute of it.

“Raaaaaawr” means, roughly translated,

“Here, please. Take our candy. I want you to have it.”

(Obaby’s first trick-or-treating. Where in creation has time gone?)

August 16, 2010

Dear OBaby,

Besides exploring and examining, your biggest thing is smiling. It’s been said of you that your goal in life is to smile at everyone you come in contact with. So far you have been highly successful. Highly, highly successful, you little flirt. I am happy to say that your smiles are non-discriminating thus far, but you are beginning to pick up on the fact that the ones with the long hair and the higher pitched voices typically oogle over you more. How could they not fall in love with your sweet partially-toothed grin, your shoulder shrugs and your pretending to be shy? I just hope you are slow to catch on to the extent to which we are wrapped around your finger.

So, buddy. Let’s talk about the squawking, shall we? WHAT. IS. THAT. ABOUT?! I am trying every thing I can to help you, teaching you sign language, being readily available and attentive to you, but still. The squawking. You actually went as far as to squawk in my face a few days ago in the grocery line, you were in a pack on my front and we were both O so done waiting. I gave you a grumpy face and started whispering in your ear to distract you and also cue you into a more appropriate volume level (O boy would those gentle parenting books be so ! proud !) but you didn’t give a hoot about my Dr. Sears approved parenting strategies. You just went on squawking in my right ear drum until every last item was scanned and bagged. Then, you smiled nicely and waved to the cashier as we exited the store.

You are a puzzle, little one. A messy, busy, smiley puzzle.

As puzzling, exciting, entertaining, and frustrating as your behavior can be, I wouldn’t trade this moment in your development for the whole wide world. I really wouldn’t. I feel like now more than ever before you are my little buddy, my daily companion on our adventures (like grocery trips and play dates). If it were even possible for a toddler to make errands more fun, you do it. You smile and giggle and flirt your way through the day with me and my heart is on the very verge of bursting. Even with the squawking.

To the moon and back buddy,

Mama

Anyway. While I wasn’t speaking with city inspectors and frantically calling in family reinforcements to help us level the back yard’s weeds, I was watching my baby walk. All the time. Everywhere. We went to the library with friends and enjoyed ourselves. That was what we needed to do yesterday, not blog. Perhaps I should have been more organized with my time other evenings, but it is what it is. Today I hope to bring you two more posts about organizing, one about cloth diapering and one to inspire.

But for now, here’s my kid walking. This was taken Monday and I’m telling you he’s already worlds steadier than this. It happened! so! fast!

PS: I totally remembered to turn the video the right way this time! I learn fast, too!

~~~~~~

This is pretty average-ish walking performance for OBaby lately (and by lately I mean these last 3 days). Sometimes it’s better, sometimes he’s not interested at all. But HEY! I caught it on film! And the tripod was only in my dining room for a few hours to do it! ::pats self on back::

PS: O for Pete’s sake… do I ever wear anything but that shirt?!

So, remember that time that I sat down to write my son’s first birthday post and then I proceeded to stare at the screen for the first 20 minutes of naptime because, O My Heavens, what do I even say? I mean, if I write the post about him being one entire year old doesn’t that mean I can’t deny it anymore? Won’t that make it official and I will have to stop pretending that he’s a wittle bebe after that?

Because I do. not. want. that.

But, as it turns out, I don’t so much have a choice. One day, there I was, bouncing on a big exercise ball at 39.5 weeks pregnant, hoping and wishing and praying that time would speed the heck up, and then BAM, here I am dragging my feet more everyday as we hurdle toward toddler-hood. And I guess if I don’t have any say in the matter, I might as well do it up right, no? So here are 1374 words of birthday goodness, comin’ atcha.

~~~~~~

I feel a little bit like I’ve survived a wedding weekend, what with the out of town guests, the piggy-backed events to plan, coordinate, and host, the merging of friends, family and neighbors, O, and the exhaustion. Definitely the exhaustion.

My parents came into town Thursday and we were off running with dinner out that night and a Friday (OBaby’s actual birthday) filled with celebrating at Ikea eating Swedish meatballs and buying first birthday presents (yea, I plan ahead like that).

Friday evening, O My Immediate Family (all 11 of us) sat around 2 tables in our living/dining room for a birthday dinner (either I need a bigger dining room table or we need a smaller family). OBaby was not interested in dinner, so he nommed some blueberries and saved most of his tummy room for…

PS: My son apparently does NOT like being told “No, you cannot touch the flame.”

PPS: He DOES apparently like cookies and cream frosting.

The shirt and bib, by the way? A beautiful gift from the beautiful Kim (of I Want a Minivan). She doesn’t have an etsy or other online shop yet, but I was thinking that if you and I sent her some gentle persuasion, maybe she would open one so that we could all have a little Kim craftiness in our lives. Did I mention that the bib was reversible (as in, double the cute)?

Gift time was so wonderful. A few pieces of clothes and a few toys were given to OBaby. OBaby now has a college savings account in his name (praise God!) and a few new great, educational, hands-on toys. Nothing was over-the-top or ‘you shouldn’t have’. I am so grateful for our families; their priorities are evident and admirable.

We took Saturday to spend time with my parents, going to the farmer’s market, a park, and the science museum together. (Like I said, it was practically a wedding weekend. Non-stop family and celebrations.)

Sunday was the big bash with friends and extended family, including but not limited to great aunts, great grandparents, 1st cousins once-remove’ds, The Flipping Couple, The Howells, and Kelly at Love Well‘s beautiful family. This day, friends? This day was literally the epitome of God’s provision. Provision of OBaby’s first year, of family and community, of food to share, of weather to enjoy.

We had reserved a picnic pavilion at the lake up the street, and thankfully the weather was beautiful because 26 people would have been a tight squeeze in our house (see: needing a larger table/smaller family). The setting was so beautiful on its own that I decided that the only decorating I would do was a banner that matched OBaby’s invitations (banner tutorial in a forthcoming post).

Wait, have I told you about the invitations?

They set the theme for the entire party, and I am so, so grateful for that. Back in, what? May? I was already feeling daunted by this whole first birthday thing but these invitations and the easy, causal tone they set was per.fect. They were given to us by Pear Tree Greetings, along with matching thank you cards and address labels. When I first started working with Pear Tree in June I jumped right on their birthday invitations page and fell head over heels for this design (I mean, the banner! And the birdie!) and knew I had found the right fit for our party. Having them provided to us by Pear Tree was just the… well… icing on the cake.

(Cue lame transition:) Speaking of icing on the cake, THE CAKE! Isn’t it amazing?! So here’s how that worked out: There’s this incredibly talented woman named Amanda.  She loves the Lord. She makes spectacular cakes. She lives in Minnesota. She has a website. I like her a lot. I asked her one day if she had room for a cake order in her busy life, and she was so incredibly sweet about it (get it? sweet? cake? bahaha), working with my schedule and offering to meet me half way for pick-up. I did little more than send her a picture of the invitations and she was off and running with her incredible creativity.

If you need culinary inspiration, I highly recommend her baking blog full of recipes and tutorials. Here is her post about how she made this very cake! (I also highly recommend eating her chocolate cake while taking a hot bath to recover from your son’s birthday party. But that’s just me.)

Cooler than having a beautiful and delicious cake for OBaby’s party, though? Meeting Mrs. I Am Baker and her lovely family. It was so special to me to see how God has put wonderful people like Amanda (and Kim, and Cindy of Pear Tree) in our lives and how they each became a special part of the celebration.

So yea, the cake. It was yummy. And blue. And awesome.

(OBaby totes agrees.)

{cake smashing photo credit goes to Marjorie of The Howells whose Nikon I now covet}

This right here? This is about about the point in the week where my planning and foresight ended. Ran out. Hit a wall. Went kaput.

Because after feeding a total of 55 meals to various mouths in 4 days, I failed to anticipate the following situation: Blue frosting all over baby and baby’s clothing. at a park. without a towel. or change of clothes.

Apparently I can’t do it all.

DanO decided that the rinse-off spigot on the water fountain was the best means by which to clean off OBaby, but that was about as far as he thought, because mere moments later we had a naked, wet, cold-ish baby without any dry clothes to wear.

Remember that whole God’s provision thing? Well, this may seem silly, but for a reason you may or may not know about, I had brought a change of clothes for myself to the party just in case. With a trick I remember seeing my friend do at the state fair for her little boy, I tied the straps of my tank top together and made a shirt for OBaby.

A really long shirt.

Ok, so it was more of a dress.

But OBaby looks really cute in a dress, no?

Which already has me planning ahead: 2nd birthday, toga party.

~~~~~~

{An Update: (Because 1151 words wasn’t a long enough post already…) We are so thankful for your thoughts and prayers over the last couple of days. I want you to know that they were felt. I also want you to know that we are doing well. So, so well. That peace, His peace, has continued to be on us, it has been a good week so far. Once the physical pain I had was lifted yesterday, I felt exactly like myself again. OBaby and I went back to life as usual today, and I can truly say that we are glad to be exactly where we are in life right now. Summary: You guys are great. God is great.}

{Update #2: To the O My Birthday Bash Winners – I have decided to keep all the prizes for myself. Just kidding! I wanted to ask that you please forgive me for not emailing you all back just yet. It is on the top of my list, I promise.}