28 Weeks!

Raise your hand if you're in your 3rd Trimester!

Raise your hand if you're a total nesting freak for your entire pregnancy? 

Seriously, I can't stop organizing.  I can't stop making mental to do lists.  I can't stop redecorating, repurposing, and making to do piles (put away in organization baskets of course!)  It all started in November/December when

1.  I emptied everything out of the guest room to turn it into the new nursery and decided to have a yard sale and
2.  I completely organized the floor to ceiling wall of science materials at Lukas' school and gave it all a new home. 

That's where it started, I'll let you know where it ends.  Or at least slows down.  Ha ha. 

Okay, now that you've stepped into the black hole that I refer to as my brain lately, I will bring you onto a little normalcy. 

This week has been fun. 

We got a little dirty mouth. 

We celebrated Lukas' birthday.  All weekend.  That was pretty darn fun!  We made cupcakes with Lukas' class (I can't show you pictures because those aren't my personal children).  We had a small family party.  Lukas and I went on a dinner date.  We know how to par-tay!

Upon all of the partying and eating.  We ended the week slightly pooped.

But not too pooped to blog!

• How far along? 28 weeks, working on month 7 and the third trimester! 
• Total weight gain/loss: I'd say that this weekend may have pushed me into the 20's. 
• Maternity clothes? Yes. Today someone asked me how I had lost my 17 month old baby fat so quickly.  Um...  Thank you, but...  What?  Are you kidding?  Please see exhibit A in the bump section of the blog.
• Sleep: Horrible.  Like, hardly any sleeping.  Feeling tired.
• Best moments this past week:  Lukas' birthday was pretty fun. 
• Food cravings: Donuts.  They are starting to catch up to coke.  Why couldn't I crave spinach? 
• Gender: boy
• Labor Signs: No
• Belly Button in or out? In.  Flattening.
• What I miss:  Sleeping.  In whatever position I want.
• What I am looking forward to: This time next week we'll be at DISNEY WORLD! 
• Weekly Wisdom:  Figure out how to organize in a not obsessive manner.  Let me know when you do.  Ha ha.   

And now the baby is...

Still an eggplant. He has lots of brain things going on.  This week he can blink.  Also, we have decided on a name.  We'll decide when we share it at another time. 

And the bump...

Just wanted to give you a glimpse of the crazy whirlwind that I love to call my life.  This is my interpretation of Salvador Dali's Still Life Fast Moving seen here.  Are you impressed by the art reference?  I might be. 


And here's what we were doing when I was this pregnant last time!

So?? Little Brother or Little Sister??

We were all dying to know! 

Adorable invitations (made by one of our favorites AKA Alicia) featuring our favorite toddler were sent to our local family members and a small group of friends.  I don't know how to show them to you though.  Let me get back to you on that one.

Doctor's appointment had been attended (telling Lukas and I the news).

Georgia family members were given the phone call (I didn't want them to find out on Facebook now did I?).

The Big Brother was totally ready for his star moment, and then it had arrived.

                                                             And BOY did he shine! 

We decided to tell everyone this time by having Cameron come out with the pink or blue (in our case blue) balloon to tell everyone that it was a BOY! 

I am now outnumbered in our home!  And I am totally thrilled with that!

We cannot wait to meet our new little boy!

A "Smashing" Good Time

I know.  I'm as good at puns as I am at metaphors! 

Apparently the shining moment of 1 year old parties is the part where the 1 year old gets to enjoy his/her own cake.  Cameron's cake was no exception. 

Some babies don't like messes and cry.  Not this guy!  He likes to rub his dinner all over his face, hair, and body.  This is all before he throws it on the floor.  So I knew that he'd probably love this opportunity to make a mess without being told not to. 

Cameron was super ready to go.  He's even reaching for it before I can get it onto the tray!

It didn't take long to get smeared into his hair:

Or to decide that it tasted yummy:

Cameron even tested different eating methods for efficiency.  Were the hands really useful or should we just dig in with our mouth?

Hands it was.

And before we knew it, he looked like this:

That's my guy!  He thought that this was a lot of fun!

When the cake was all done (not eaten completely, but rather destroyed) it was time to clean off.

Kiddy pool style.

Here's what we were left with...

I'd consider it a success!

And as an additional bonus: 

Tomorrow is the last day for Birthday Week here at the blog.  As a celebration, Cameron has a very special surprise to share with everyone, so remember to check back in tomorrow!!

Let's Get this Party Started!

In honor of Cameron's 1st birthday we are having a birthday themed week here at the blog.  Every entry this week is in celebration of the big day.  Today we're discussing guests and gifts!

We decided to have a very small guest list.  This wasn't to exclude anyone, or tell anyone that they aren't important.  It was simply to keep things, well, simple.

Once the guests arrived they indulged in the yummy snacks and donned their party hats

Luckily for Cameron and his parents, he is surrounded by people who love him.  

His Nanny and Poppy even drove all the way down from Georgia to share his special day with him! 

He loved visiting with his guests.

He was also pretty fond of getting presents! 

He read the books that were given to him:

He danced/pivoted in a circle to the new singing toys:

There was one gift that, well, scared the living daylights out of him. 

No worries though, he was happily ripping wrapping paper again in no time.  (You should also know that he and the toy are good pals now.)

Cameron is super blessed.  I don't mean that because he got so many cool gifts (and boy did he get a LOT of cool stuff!)  I mean it more because he has people in his life who want to give him gifts and share in his special time with him. 

He is so loved!

Party Preparations

In honor of Cameron's birthday we are doing a birthday themed week here at the blog!

Today we're breaking down the set up for the party!

After going back and forth with birthday party ideas for almost a year now (I'm a planner), we finally decided that the best route to go was...  Simple. 

• Small guest list- just family and a handful of close friends. 
• Easy decor
• Simple food

We wanted the day to really be about Cameron.  We really wanted to celebrate his first year.  That's how we came up with the sort of no-theme theme.  I didn't want to be so wrapped up in party games and other stuff that I lost sight of who and what this day was about. 

In the end, Cameron was the theme and he really enjoyed himself!

We also made just about everything that we used which made it really fun and personal.  And I should say that Pinterest may or may not have had a bit to do with the ideas. 

Here's what the day looked like:



This was super simple to make.  I got the idea from my good friend's blog from the sidebar (drywall and diapers). 

All it took was some ribbon, sticker letters, and scrapbook paper. 

1. Cut the papers into 4X5 rectangles. 
2. Cut the second papers into 3X4 rectangles. 
3. Glue them together. 
4. Stick on letters. 
5. Hole punch outer cards. 
6. Thread the ribbon. 
7. Hang.  And voila!! 

I'm excited to change the age and make new names to use this for party celebrations to come!

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For another doorway in the room we took baker's twine (a personal craft supply fave), extra pieces of scrapbook paper from the banner, clothespins, and pictures for the year in order to make a 1 year timeline (kind of like yesterday's post!).   There was one picture of Cameron from each month of the year. 

 This was really fun to make because Lukas and I got to look at all of the pictures from the year and pick out our favorite ones together.  It was a fun way for us to bond, laugh, and enjoy thinking about the great year we've had with our little boy. 

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I had a picture of the gift table, but my phone number was on the invitation that was pictured, so I didn't post it.  Allow me to paint a mental picture for you!

On the gift table we put out a picture of Cameron from the week of his birthday,  as well as the party invitation, and his birth announcement. 

That tiny green thing in the middle is the onesie that we took Cameron home from the hospital in.  It looked so little. 

We pivoted the cubby that usually goes against the wall that it's perpendicular to in the picture out in order to somewhat close off that area.  It was enough so that people could go to the bathroom if they wanted while also saying, "Please stay in this area of the house rather than that area." 
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I got this wonderful big red balloon from an online party supply shop called Sweet Lulu.  I had been picturing this big red balloon as a part of the party decor since I started visualizing the party decor.  I loved it! 

The amazing quilt on the wall was made by my super wonderful, super talented Grammy Joan.  We just got it 2 days before the party AND it was a surprise!  Nothing sweeter than a surprise last minute good addition to a party! 

The best part is that the letters of Cameron's name come off and we have the letters for our names too.  Whoever's birthday it is gets to celebrate with this quilt!  I love it.

And of course, what 1 year old birthday party doesn't have a smashing cake?

The cake may have been my favorite part (and Cameron's!).  I made a chocolate layer and a yellow layer and frosted it with colored icing and a frosting tip. 

The bunting was made by more (yes I still had some!) scrapbook paper originally purchased for the banner discussed earlier, more baker's twine, and food skewers also used for fruit on the table. 
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After decorating, we got to the food.  I love food. 

We had some celery and carrots pre-dipped in ranch dressing, taco dip, spinach dip, fruit skewers, and of course cupcakes!  I wanted it to be colorful, and I think it was!

Along with the soda outside, we had some lemon lime water.  Our hotel in Chicago had this made for us in the lobby every day and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I thought it was interesting that the limes sunk and the lemons floated.  Plus, I thought it would be another fun way to add color. 

Here's a close-up of the cupcakes.  They add a little bit more color and a lot more Cameron!

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Just add the birthday boy and your guests and you're ready to go! 



Don't forget to keep reading about birthday week!  We still have a cake smashing, and 1 year old gifts